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diff --git a/old/3dfre10.txt b/old/3dfre10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4e2d109 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/3dfre10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,27158 @@ +The Project Gutenberg Etext of Volume 3: +The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire +by Edward Gibbon + + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check +the copyright laws for your country before posting these files!! + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. Do not remove this. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**Etexts Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*These Etexts Prepared By Hundreds of Volunteers and Donations* + +Information on contacting Project Gutenberg to get Etexts, and +further information is included below. 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Haradda@aol.com and +davidr@inconnect.com are my email addresses for now. Please feel +free to send me your comments and I hope you enjoy this. + +David Reed + + + + + +History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire + +Edward Gibbon, Esq. + +With notes by the Rev. H. H. Milman + +Vol. 3 + + + +Chapter XXVII: Civil Wars, Reign Of Theodosius. + +Part I. + + Death Of Gratian. - Ruin Of Arianism. - St. Ambrose. - First +Civil War, Against Maximus. - Character, Administration, And +Penance Of Theodosius. - Death Of Valentinian II. - Second Civil +War, Against Eugenius. - Death Of Theodosius. + + The fame of Gratian, before he had accomplished the +twentieth year of his age, was equal to that of the most +celebrated princes. His gentle and amiable disposition endeared +him to his private friends, the graceful affability of his +manners engaged the affection of the people: the men of letters, +who enjoyed the liberality, acknowledged the taste and eloquence, +of their sovereign; his valor and dexterity in arms were equally +applauded by the soldiers; and the clergy considered the humble +piety of Gratian as the first and most useful of his virtues. +The victory of Colmar had delivered the West from a formidable +invasion; and the grateful provinces of the East ascribed the +merits of Theodosius to the author of his greatness, and of the +public safety. Gratian survived those memorable events only four +or five years; but he survived his reputation; and, before he +fell a victim to rebellion, he had lost, in a great measure, the +respect and confidence of the Roman world. + The remarkable alteration of his character or conduct may +not be imputed to the arts of flattery, which had besieged the +son of Valentinian from his infancy; nor to the headstrong +passions which the that gentle youth appears to have escaped. A +more attentive view of the life of Gratian may perhaps suggest +the true cause of the disappointment of the public hopes. His +apparent virtues, instead of being the hardy productions of +experience and adversity, were the premature and artificial +fruits of a royal education. The anxious tenderness of his +father was continually employed to bestow on him those +advantages, which he might perhaps esteem the more highly, as he +himself had been deprived of them; and the most skilful masters +of every science, and of every art, had labored to form the mind +and body of the young prince. ^1 The knowledge which they +painfully communicated was displayed with ostentation, and +celebrated with lavish praise. His soft and tractable +disposition received the fair impression of their judicious +precepts, and the absence of passion might easily be mistaken for +the strength of reason. His preceptors gradually rose to the +rank and consequence of ministers of state: ^2 and, as they +wisely dissembled their secret authority, he seemed to act with +firmness, with propriety, and with judgment, on the most +important occasions of his life and reign. But the influence of +this elaborate instruction did not penetrate beyond the surface; +and the skilful preceptors, who so accurately guided the steps of +their royal pupil, could not infuse into his feeble and indolent +character the vigorous and independent principle of action which +renders the laborious pursuit of glory essentially necessary to +the happiness, and almost to the existence, of the hero. As soon +as time and accident had removed those faithful counsellors from +the throne, the emperor of the West insensibly descended to the +level of his natural genius; abandoned the reins of government to +the ambitious hands which were stretched forwards to grasp them; +and amused his leisure with the most frivolous gratifications. A +public sale of favor and injustice was instituted, both in the +court and in the provinces, by the worthless delegates of his +power, whose merit it was made sacrilege to question. ^3 The +conscience of the credulous prince was directed by saints and +bishops; ^4 who procured an Imperial edict to punish, as a +capital offence, the violation, the neglect, or even the +ignorance, of the divine law. ^5 Among the various arts which had +exercised the youth of Gratian, he had applied himself, with +singular inclination and success, to manage the horse, to draw +the bow, and to dart the javelin; and these qualifications, which +might be useful to a soldier, were prostituted to the viler +purposes of hunting. Large parks were enclosed for the Imperial +pleasures, and plentifully stocked with every species of wild +beasts; and Gratian neglected the duties, and even the dignity, +of his rank, to consume whole days in the vain display of his +dexterity and boldness in the chase. The pride and wish of the +Roman emperor to excel in an art, in which he might be surpassed +by the meanest of his slaves, reminded the numerous spectators of +the examples of Nero and Commodus, but the chaste and temperate +Gratian was a stranger to their monstrous vices; and his hands +were stained only with the blood of animals. ^6 The behavior of +Gratian, which degraded his character in the eyes of mankind, +could not have disturbed the security of his reign, if the army +had not been provoked to resent their peculiar injuries. As long +as the young emperor was guided by the instructions of his +masters, he professed himself the friend and pupil of the +soldiers; many of his hours were spent in the familiar +conversation of the camp; and the health, the comforts, the +rewards, the honors, of his faithful troops, appeared to be the +objects of his attentive concern. But, after Gratian more freely +indulged his prevailing taste for hunting and shooting, he +naturally connected himself with the most dexterous ministers of +his favorite amusement. A body of the Alani was received into +the military and domestic service of the palace; and the +admirable skill, which they were accustomed to display in the +unbounded plains of Scythia, was exercised, on a more narrow +theatre, in the parks and enclosures of Gaul. Gratian admired +the talents and customs of these favorite guards, to whom alone +he intrusted the defence of his person; and, as if he meant to +insult the public opinion, he frequently showed himself to the +soldiers and people, with the dress and arms, the long bow, the +sounding quiver, and the fur garments of a Scythian warrior. The +unworthy spectacle of a Roman prince, who had renounced the dress +and manners of his country, filled the minds of the legions with +grief and indignation. ^7 Even the Germans, so strong and +formidable in the armies of the empire, affected to disdain the +strange and horrid appearance of the savages of the North, who, +in the space of a few years, had wandered from the banks of the +Volga to those of the Seine. A loud and licentious murmur was +echoed through the camps and garrisons of the West; and as the +mild indolence of Gratian neglected to extinguish the first +symptoms of discontent, the want of love and respect was not +supplied by the influence of fear. But the subversion of an +established government is always a work of some real, and of much +apparent, difficulty; and the throne of Gratian was protected by +the sanctions of custom, law, religion, and the nice balance of +the civil and military powers, which had been established by the +policy of Constantine. It is not very important to inquire from +what cause the revolt of Britain was produced. Accident is +commonly the parent of disorder; the seeds of rebellion happened +to fall on a soil which was supposed to be more fruitful than any +other in tyrants and usurpers; ^8 the legions of that sequestered +island had been long famous for a spirit of presumption and +arrogance; ^9 and the name of Maximus was proclaimed, by the +tumultuary, but unanimous voice, both of the soldiers and of the +provincials. The emperor, or the rebel, - for this title was not +yet ascertained by fortune, - was a native of Spain, the +countryman, the fellow-soldier, and the rival of Theodosius whose +elevation he had not seen without some emotions of envy and +resentment: the events of his life had long since fixed him in +Britain; and I should not be unwilling to find some evidence for +the marriage, which he is said to have contracted with the +daughter of a wealthy lord of Caernarvonshire. ^10 But this +provincial rank might justly be considered as a state of exile +and obscurity; and if Maximus had obtained any civil or military +office, he was not invested with the authority either of governor +or general. ^11 His abilities, and even his integrity, are +acknowledged by the partial writers of the age; and the merit +must indeed have been conspicuous that could extort such a +confession in favor of the vanquished enemy of Theodosius. The +discontent of Maximus might incline him to censure the conduct of +his sovereign, and to encourage, perhaps, without any views of +ambition, the murmurs of the troops. But in the midst of the +tumult, he artfully, or modestly, refused to ascend the throne; +and some credit appears to have been given to his own positive +declaration, that he was compelled to accept the dangerous +present of the Imperial purple. ^12 + +[Footnote 1: Valentinian was less attentive to the religion of +his son; since he intrusted the education of Gratian to Ausonius, +a professed Pagan. (Mem. de l'Academie des Inscriptions, tom. xv. +p. 125 - 138. The poetical fame of Ausonius condemns the taste +of his age.] + +[Footnote 2: Ausonius was successively promoted to the Praetorian +praefecture of Italy, (A.D. 377,) and of Gaul, (A.D. 378;) and +was at length invested with the consulship, (A.D. 379.) He +expressed his gratitude in a servile and insipid piece of +flattery, (Actio Gratiarum, p. 699 - 736,) which has survived +more worthy productions.] + +[Footnote 3: Disputare de principali judicio non oportet. +Sacrilegii enim instar est dubitare, an is dignus sit, quem +elegerit imperator. Codex Justinian, l. ix. tit. xxix. leg. 3. +This convenient law was revived and promulgated, after the death +of Gratian, by the feeble court of Milan.] +[Footnote 4: Ambrose composed, for his instruction, a theological +treatise on the faith of the Trinity: and Tillemont, (Hist. des +Empereurs, tom. v. p. 158, 169,) ascribes to the archbishop the +merit of Gratian's intolerant laws.] +[Footnote 5: Qui divinae legis sanctitatem nesciendo omittunt, +aut negligende violant, et offendunt, sacrilegium committunt. +Codex Justinian. l. ix. tit. xxix. leg. 1. Theodosius indeed may +claim his share in the merit of this comprehensive law.] + +[Footnote 6: Ammianus (xxxi. 10) and the younger Victor +acknowledge the virtues of Gratian; and accuse, or rather lament, +his degenerate taste. The odious parallel of Commodus is saved by +"licet incruentus;" and perhaps Philostorgius (l. x. c. 10, and +Godefroy, p. 41) had guarded with some similar reserve, the +comparison of Nero.] + +[Footnote 7: Zosimus (l. iv. p. 247) and the younger Victor +ascribe the revolution to the favor of the Alani, and the +discontent of the Roman troops Dum exercitum negligeret, et +paucos ex Alanis, quos ingenti auro ad sa transtulerat, +anteferret veteri ac Romano militi.] + +[Footnote 8: Britannia fertilis provincia tyrannorum, is a +memorable expression, used by Jerom in the Pelagian controversy, +and variously tortured in the disputes of our national +antiquaries. The revolutions of the last age appeared to justify +the image of the sublime Bossuet, "sette ile, plus orageuse que +les mers qui l'environment."] + +[Footnote 9: Zosimus says of the British soldiers.] + +[Footnote 10: Helena, the daughter of Eudda. Her chapel may +still be seen at Caer-segont, now Caer-narvon. (Carte's Hist. of +England, vol. i. p. 168, from Rowland's Mona Antiqua.) The +prudent reader may not perhaps be satisfied with such Welsh +evidence.] + +[Footnote 11: Camden (vol. i. introduct. p. ci.) appoints him +governor at Britain; and the father of our antiquities is +followed, as usual, by his blind progeny. Pacatus and Zosimus +had taken some pains to prevent this error, or fable; and I shall +protect myself by their decisive testimonies. Regali habitu +exulem suum, illi exules orbis induerunt, (in Panegyr. Vet. xii. +23,) and the Greek historian still less equivocally, (Maximus) +(l. iv. p. 248.)] +[Footnote 12: Sulpicius Severus, Dialog. ii. 7. Orosius, l. vii. +c. 34. p. 556. They both acknowledge (Sulpicius had been his +subject) his innocence and merit. It is singular enough, that +Maximus should be less favorably treated by Zosimus, the partial +adversary of his rival.] + + But there was danger likewise in refusing the empire; and +from the moment that Maximus had violated his allegiance to his +lawful sovereign, he could not hope to reign, or even to live, if +he confined his moderate ambition within the narrow limits of +Britain. He boldly and wisely resolved to prevent the designs of +Gratian; the youth of the island crowded to his standard, and he +invaded Gaul with a fleet and army, which were long afterwards +remembered, as the emigration of a considerable part of the +British nation. ^13 The emperor, in his peaceful residence of +Paris, was alarmed by their hostile approach; and the darts which +he idly wasted on lions and bears, might have been employed more +honorably against the rebels. But his feeble efforts announced +his degenerate spirit and desperate situation; and deprived him +of the resources, which he still might have found, in the support +of his subjects and allies. The armies of Gaul, instead of +opposing the march of Maximus, received him with joyful and loyal +acclamations; and the shame of the desertion was transferred from +the people to the prince. The troops, whose station more +immediately attached them to the service of the palace, abandoned +the standard of Gratian the first time that it was displayed in +the neighborhood of Paris. The emperor of the West fled towards +Lyons, with a train of only three hundred horse; and, in the +cities along the road, where he hoped to find refuge, or at least +a passage, he was taught, by cruel experience, that every gate is +shut against the unfortunate. Yet he might still have reached, +in safety, the dominions of his brother; and soon have returned +with the forces of Italy and the East; if he had not suffered +himself to be fatally deceived by the perfidious governor of the +Lyonnese province. Gratian was amused by protestations of +doubtful fidelity, and the hopes of a support, which could not be +effectual; till the arrival of Andragathius, the general of the +cavalry of Maximus, put an end to his suspense. That resolute +officer executed, without remorse, the orders or the intention of +the usurper. Gratian, as he rose from supper, was delivered into +the hands of the assassin: and his body was denied to the pious +and pressing entreaties of his brother Valentinian. ^14 The death +of the emperor was followed by that of his powerful general +Mellobaudes, the king of the Franks; who maintained, to the last +moment of his life, the ambiguous reputation, which is the just +recompense of obscure and subtle policy. ^15 These executions +might be necessary to the public safety: but the successful +usurper, whose power was acknowledged by all the provinces of the +West, had the merit, and the satisfaction, of boasting, that, +except those who had perished by the chance of war, his triumph +was not stained by the blood of the Romans. ^16 + +[Footnote 13: Archbishop Usher (Antiquat. Britan. Eccles. p. 107, +108) has diligently collected the legends of the island, and the +continent. The whole emigration consisted of 30,000 soldiers, +and 100,000 plebeians, who settled in Bretagne. Their destined +brides, St. Ursula with 11,000 noble, and 60,000 plebeian, +virgins, mistook their way; landed at Cologne, and were all most +cruelly murdered by the Huns. But the plebeian sisters have been +defrauded of their equal honors; and what is still harder, John +Trithemius presumes to mention the children of these British +virgins.] +[Footnote 14: Zosimus (l. iv. p. 248, 249) has transported the +death of Gratian from Lugdunum in Gaul (Lyons) to Singidunum in +Moesia. Some hints may be extracted from the Chronicles; some +lies may be detected in Sozomen (l. vii. c. 13) and Socrates, (l. +v. c. 11.) Ambrose is our most authentic evidence, (tom. i. +Enarrat. in Psalm lxi. p. 961, tom ii. epist. xxiv. p. 888 &c., +and de Obitu Valentinian Consolat. Ner. 28, p. 1182.)] +[Footnote 15: Pacatus (xii. 28) celebrates his fidelity; while +his treachery is marked in Prosper's Chronicle, as the cause of +the ruin of Gratian. Ambrose, who has occasion to exculpate +himself, only condemns the death of Vallio, a faithful servant of +Gratian, (tom. ii. epist. xxiv. p. 891, edit. Benedict.) + + Note: Le Beau contests the reading in the chronicle of +Prosper upon which this charge rests. Le Beau, iv. 232. - M. + + Note: According to Pacatus, the Count Vallio, who commanded the +army, was carried to Chalons to be burnt alive; but Maximus, +dreading the imputation of cruelty, caused him to be secretly +strangled by his Bretons. Macedonius also, master of the +offices, suffered the death which he merited. Le Beau, iv. 244. +- M.] + +[Footnote 16: He protested, nullum ex adversariis nisi in acissie +occubu. Sulp. Jeverus in Vit. B. Martin, c. 23. The orator +Theodosius bestows reluctant, and therefore weighty, praise on +his clemency. Si cui ille, pro ceteris sceleribus suis, minus +crudelis fuisse videtur, (Panegyr. Vet. xii. 28.)] + + The events of this revolution had passed in such rapid +succession, that it would have been impossible for Theodosius to +march to the relief of his benefactor, before he received the +intelligence of his defeat and death. During the season of +sincere grief, or ostentatious mourning, the Eastern emperor was +interrupted by the arrival of the principal chamberlain of +Maximus; and the choice of a venerable old man, for an office +which was usually exercised by eunuchs, announced to the court of +Constantinople the gravity and temperance of the British usurper. + +The ambassador condescended to justify, or excuse, the conduct of +his master; and to protest, in specious language, that the murder +of Gratian had been perpetrated, without his knowledge or +consent, by the precipitate zeal of the soldiers. But he +proceeded, in a firm and equal tone, to offer Theodosius the +alternative of peace, or war. The speech of the ambassador +concluded with a spirited declaration, that although Maximus, as +a Roman, and as the father of his people, would choose rather to +employ his forces in the common defence of the republic, he was +armed and prepared, if his friendship should be rejected, to +dispute, in a field of battle, the empire of the world. An +immediate and peremptory answer was required; but it was +extremely difficult for Theodosius to satisfy, on this important +occasion, either the feelings of his own mind, or the +expectations of the public. The imperious voice of honor and +gratitude called aloud for revenge. From the liberality of +Gratian, he had received the Imperial diadem; his patience would +encourage the odious suspicion, that he was more deeply sensible +of former injuries, than of recent obligations; and if he +accepted the friendship, he must seem to share the guilt, of the +assassin. Even the principles of justice, and the interest of +society, would receive a fatal blow from the impunity of Maximus; +and the example of successful usurpation would tend to dissolve +the artificial fabric of government, and once more to replunge +the empire in the crimes and calamities of the preceding age. +But, as the sentiments of gratitude and honor should invariably +regulate the conduct of an individual, they may be overbalanced +in the mind of a sovereign, by the sense of superior duties; and +the maxims both of justice and humanity must permit the escape of +an atrocious criminal, if an innocent people would be involved in +the consequences of his punishment. The assassin of Gratian had +usurped, but he actually possessed, the most warlike provinces of +the empire: the East was exhausted by the misfortunes, and even +by the success, of the Gothic war; and it was seriously to be +apprehended, that, after the vital strength of the republic had +been wasted in a doubtful and destructive contest, the feeble +conqueror would remain an easy prey to the Barbarians of the +North. These weighty considerations engaged Theodosius to +dissemble his resentment, and to accept the alliance of the +tyrant. But he stipulated, that Maximus should content himself +with the possession of the countries beyond the Alps. The +brother of Gratian was confirmed and secured in the sovereignty +of Italy, Africa, and the Western Illyricum; and some honorable +conditions were inserted in the treaty, to protect the memory, +and the laws, of the deceased emperor. ^17 According to the +custom of the age, the images of the three Imperial colleagues +were exhibited to the veneration of the people; nor should it be +lightly supposed, that, in the moment of a solemn reconciliation, +Theodosius secretly cherished the intention of perfidy and +revenge. ^18 + +[Footnote 17: Ambrose mentions the laws of Gratian, quas non +abrogavit hostia (tom. ii epist. xvii. p. 827.)] + +[Footnote 18: Zosimus, l. iv. p. 251, 252. We may disclaim his +odious suspicions; but we cannot reject the treaty of peace which +the friends of Theodosius have absolutely forgotten, or slightly +mentioned.] + The contempt of Gratian for the Roman soldiers had exposed +him to the fatal effects of their resentment. His profound +veneration for the Christian clergy was rewarded by the applause +and gratitude of a powerful order, which has claimed, in every +age, the privilege of dispensing honors, both on earth and in +heaven. ^19 The orthodox bishops bewailed his death, and their +own irreparable loss; but they were soon comforted by the +discovery, that Gratian had committed the sceptre of the East to +the hands of a prince, whose humble faith and fervent zeal, were +supported by the spirit and abilities of a more vigorous +character. Among the benefactors of the church, the fame of +Constantine has been rivalled by the glory of Theodosius. If +Constantine had the advantage of erecting the standard of the +cross, the emulation of his successor assumed the merit of +subduing the Arian heresy, and of abolishing the worship of idols +in the Roman world. Theodosius was the first of the emperors +baptized in the true faith of the Trinity. Although he was born +of a Christian family, the maxims, or at least the practice, of +the age, encouraged him to delay the ceremony of his initiation; +till he was admonished of the danger of delay, by the serious +illness which threatened his life, towards the end of the first +year of his reign. Before he again took the field against the +Goths, he received the sacrament of baptism ^20 from Acholius, +the orthodox bishop of Thessalonica: ^21 and, as the emperor +ascended from the holy font, still glowing with the warm feelings +of regeneration, he dictated a solemn edict, which proclaimed his +own faith, and prescribed the religion of his subjects. "It is +our pleasure (such is the Imperial style) that all the nations, +which are governed by our clemency and moderation, should +steadfastly adhere to the religion which was taught by St. Peter +to the Romans; which faithful tradition has preserved; and which +is now professed by the pontiff Damasus, and by Peter, bishop of +Alexandria, a man of apostolic holiness. According to the +discipline of the apostles, and the doctrine of the gospel, let +us believe the sole deity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy +Ghost; under an equal majesty, and a pious Trinity. We authorize +the followers of this doctrine to assume the title of Catholic +Christians; and as we judge, that all others are extravagant +madmen, we brand them with the infamous name of Heretics; and +declare that their conventicles shall no longer usurp the +respectable appellation of churches. Besides the condemnation of +divine justice, they must expect to suffer the severe penalties, +which our authority, guided by heavenly wisdom, shall think +proper to inflict upon them." ^22 The faith of a soldier is +commonly the fruit of instruction, rather than of inquiry; but as +the emperor always fixed his eyes on the visible landmarks of +orthodoxy, which he had so prudently constituted, his religious +opinions were never affected by the specious texts, the subtle +arguments, and the ambiguous creeds of the Arian doctors. Once +indeed he expressed a faint inclination to converse with the +eloquent and learned Eunomius, who lived in retirement at a small +distance from Constantinople. But the dangerous interview was +prevented by the prayers of the empress Flaccilla, who trembled +for the salvation of her husband; and the mind of Theodosius was +confirmed by a theological argument, adapted to the rudest +capacity. He had lately bestowed on his eldest son, Arcadius, +the name and honors of Augustus, and the two princes were seated +on a stately throne to receive the homage of their subjects. A +bishop, Amphilochius of Iconium, approached the throne, and after +saluting, with due reverence, the person of his sovereign, he +accosted the royal youth with the same familiar tenderness which +he might have used towards a plebeian child. Provoked by this +insolent behavior, the monarch gave orders, that the rustic +priest should be instantly driven from his presence. But while +the guards were forcing him to the door, the dexterous polemic +had time to execute his design, by exclaiming, with a loud voice, +"Such is the treatment, O emperor! which the King of heaven has +prepared for those impious men, who affect to worship the Father, +but refuse to acknowledge the equal majesty of his divine Son." +Theodosius immediately embraced the bishop of Iconium, and never +forgot the important lesson, which he had received from this +dramatic parable. ^23 + +[Footnote 19: Their oracle, the archbishop of Milan, assigns to +his pupil Gratian, a high and respectable place in heaven, (tom. +ii. de Obit. Val. Consol p. 1193.)] + +[Footnote 20: For the baptism of Theodosius, see Sozomen, (l. +vii. c. 4,) Socrates, (l. v. c. 6,) and Tillemont, (Hist. des +Empereurs, tom. v. p. 728.)] + +[Footnote 21: Ascolius, or Acholius, was honored by the +friendship, and the praises, of Ambrose; who styles him murus +fidei atque sanctitatis, (tom. ii. epist. xv. p. 820;) and +afterwards celebrates his speed and diligence in running to +Constantinople, Italy, &c., (epist. xvi. p. 822.) a virtue which +does not appertain either to a wall, or a bishop.] + +[Footnote 22: Codex Theodos. l. xvi. tit. i. leg. 2, with +Godefroy's Commentary, tom. vi. p. 5 - 9. Such an edict deserved +the warmest praises of Baronius, auream sanctionem, edictum pium +et salutare. - Sic itua ad astra.] +[Footnote 23: Sozomen, l. vii. c. 6. Theodoret, l. v. c. 16. +Tillemont is displeased (Mem. Eccles. tom. vi. p. 627, 628) with +the terms of "rustic bishop," "obscure city." Yet I must take +leave to think, that both Amphilochius and Iconium were objects +of inconsiderable magnitude in the Roman empire.] + +Chapter XXVII: Civil Wars, Reign Of Theodosius. + +Part II. + + Constantinople was the principal seat and fortress of +Arianism; and, in a long interval of forty years, ^24 the faith +of the princes and prelates, who reigned in the capital of the +East, was rejected in the purer schools of Rome and Alexandria. +The archiepiscopal throne of Macedonius, which had been polluted +with so much Christian blood, was successively filled by Eudoxus +and Damophilus. Their diocese enjoyed a free importation of vice +and error from every province of the empire; the eager pursuit of +religious controversy afforded a new occupation to the busy +idleness of the metropolis; and we may credit the assertion of an +intelligent observer, who describes, with some pleasantry, the +effects of their loquacious zeal. "This city," says he, "is full +of mechanics and slaves, who are all of them profound +theologians; and preach in the shops, and in the streets. If you +desire a man to change a piece of silver, he informs you, wherein +the Son differs from the Father; if you ask the price of a loaf, +you are told by way of reply, that the Son is inferior to the +Father; and if you inquire, whether the bath is ready, the answer +is, that the Son was made out of nothing." ^25 The heretics, of +various denominations, subsisted in peace under the protection of +the Arians of Constantinople; who endeavored to secure the +attachment of those obscure sectaries, while they abused, with +unrelenting severity, the victory which they had obtained over +the followers of the council of Nice. During the partial reigns +of Constantius and Valens, the feeble remnant of the Homoousians +was deprived of the public and private exercise of their +religion; and it has been observed, in pathetic language, that +the scattered flock was left without a shepherd to wander on the +mountains, or to be devoured by rapacious wolves. ^26 But, as +their zeal, instead of being subdued, derived strength and vigor +from oppression, they seized the first moments of imperfect +freedom, which they had acquired by the death of Valens, to form +themselves into a regular congregation, under the conduct of an +episcopal pastor. Two natives of Cappadocia, Basil, and Gregory +Nazianzen, ^27 were distinguished above all their contemporaries, +^28 by the rare union of profane eloquence and of orthodox piety. + +These orators, who might sometimes be compared, by themselves, +and by the public, to the most celebrated of the ancient Greeks, +were united by the ties of the strictest friendship. They had +cultivated, with equal ardor, the same liberal studies in the +schools of Athens; they had retired, with equal devotion, to the +same solitude in the deserts of Pontus; and every spark of +emulation, or envy, appeared to be totally extinguished in the +holy and ingenuous breasts of Gregory and Basil. But the +exaltation of Basil, from a private life to the archiepiscopal +throne of Caesarea, discovered to the world, and perhaps to +himself, the pride of his character; and the first favor which he +condescended to bestow on his friend, was received, and perhaps +was intended, as a cruel insult. ^29 Instead of employing the +superior talents of Gregory in some useful and conspicuous +station, the haughty prelate selected, among the fifty bishoprics +of his extensive province, the wretched village of Sasima, ^30 +without water, without verdure, without society, situate at the +junction of three highways, and frequented only by the incessant +passage of rude and clamorous wagoners. Gregory submitted with +reluctance to this humiliating exile; he was ordained bishop of +Sasima; but he solemnly protests, that he never consummated his +spiritual marriage with this disgusting bride. He afterwards +consented to undertake the government of his native church of +Nazianzus, ^31 of which his father had been bishop above +five-and-forty years. But as he was still conscious that he +deserved another audience, and another theatre, he accepted, with +no unworthy ambition, the honorable invitation, which was +addressed to him from the orthodox party of Constantinople. On +his arrival in the capital, Gregory was entertained in the house +of a pious and charitable kinsman; the most spacious room was +consecrated to the uses of religious worship; and the name of +Anastasia was chosen to express the resurrection of the Nicene +faith. This private conventicle was afterwards converted into a +magnificent church; and the credulity of the succeeding age was +prepared to believe the miracles and visions, which attested the +presence, or at least the protection, of the Mother of God. ^32 +The pulpit of the Anastasia was the scene of the labors and +triumphs of Gregory Nazianzen; and, in the space of two years, he +experienced all the spiritual adventures which constitute the +prosperous or adverse fortunes of a missionary. ^33 The Arians, +who were provoked by the boldness of his enterprise, represented +his doctrine, as if he had preached three distinct and equal +Deities; and the devout populace was excited to suppress, by +violence and tumult, the irregular assemblies of the Athanasian +heretics. From the cathedral of St. Sophia there issued a motley +crowd "of common beggars, who had forfeited their claim to pity; +of monks, who had the appearance of goats or satyrs; and of +women, more terrible than so many Jezebels." The doors of the +Anastasia were broke open; much mischief was perpetrated, or +attempted, with sticks, stones, and firebrands; and as a man lost +his life in the affray, Gregory, who was summoned the next +morning before the magistrate, had the satisfaction of supposing, +that he publicly confessed the name of Christ. After he was +delivered from the fear and danger of a foreign enemy, his infant +church was disgraced and distracted by intestine faction. A +stranger who assumed the name of Maximus, ^34 and the cloak of a +Cynic philosopher, insinuated himself into the confidence of +Gregory; deceived and abused his favorable opinion; and forming a +secret connection with some bishops of Egypt, attempted, by a +clandestine ordination, to supplant his patron in the episcopal +seat of Constantinople. These mortifications might sometimes +tempt the Cappadocian missionary to regret his obscure solitude. +But his fatigues were rewarded by the daily increase of his fame +and his congregation; and he enjoyed the pleasure of observing, +that the greater part of his numerous audience retired from his +sermons satisfied with the eloquence of the preacher, ^35 or +dissatisfied with the manifold imperfections of their faith and +practice. ^36 + +[Footnote 24: Sozomen, l. vii. c. v. Socrates, l. v. c. 7. +Marcellin. in Chron. The account of forty years must be dated +from the election or intrusion of Eusebius, who wisely exchanged +the bishopric of Nicomedia for the throne of Constantinople.] +[Footnote 25: See Jortin's Remarks on Ecclesiastical History, +vol. iv. p. 71. The thirty-third Oration of Gregory Nazianzen +affords indeed some similar ideas, even some still more +ridiculous; but I have not yet found the words of this remarkable +passage, which I allege on the faith of a correct and liberal +scholar.] + +[Footnote 26: See the thirty-second Oration of Gregory Nazianzen, +and the account of his own life, which he has composed in 1800 +iambics. Yet every physician is prone to exaggerate the +inveterate nature of the disease which he has cured.] + +[Footnote 27: I confess myself deeply indebted to the two lives +of Gregory Nazianzen, composed, with very different views, by +Tillemont (Mem. Eccles. tom. ix. p. 305 - 560, 692 - 731) and Le +Clerc, (Bibliotheque Universelle, tom. xviii. p. 1 - 128.)] +[Footnote 28: Unless Gregory Nazianzen mistook thirty years in +his own age, he was born, as well as his friend Basil, about the +year 329. The preposterous chronology of Suidas has been +graciously received, because it removes the scandal of Gregory's +father, a saint likewise, begetting children after he became a +bishop, (Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. ix. p. 693 - 697.)] + +[Footnote 29: Gregory's Poem on his own Life contains some +beautiful lines, (tom. ii. p. 8,) which burst from the heart, and +speak the pangs of injured and lost friendship. + +In the Midsummer Night's Dream, Helena addresses the same +pathetic complaint to her friend Hermia: - + + Is all the counsel that we two have shared. + The sister's vows, &c. + +Shakspeare had never read the poems of Gregory Nazianzen; he was +ignorant of the Greek language; but his mother tongue, the +language of Nature, is the same in Cappadocia and in Britain.] +[Footnote 30: This unfavorable portrait of Sasimae is drawn by +Gregory Nazianzen, (tom. ii. de Vita sua, p. 7, 8.) Its precise +situation, forty- nine miles from Archelais, and thirty-two from +Tyana, is fixed in the Itinerary of Antoninus, (p. 144, edit. +Wesseling.)] + +[Footnote 31: The name of Nazianzus has been immortalized by +Gregory; but his native town, under the Greek or Roman title of +Diocaesarea, (Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. ix. p. 692,) is +mentioned by Pliny, (vi. 3,) Ptolemy, and Hierocles, (Itinerar. +Wesseling, p. 709). It appears to have been situate on the edge +of Isauria.] + +[Footnote 32: See Ducange, Constant. Christiana, l. iv. p. 141, +142. The Sozomen (l. vii. c. 5) is interpreted to mean the +Virgin Mary.] +[Footnote 33: Tillemont (Mem. Eccles. tom. ix. p. 432, &c.) +diligently collects, enlarges, and explains, the oratorical and +poetical hints of Gregory himself.] + +[Footnote 34: He pronounced an oration (tom. i. Orat. xxiii. p. +409) in his praise; but after their quarrel, the name of Maximus +was changed into that of Heron, (see Jerom, tom. i. in Catalog. +Script. Eccles. p. 301). I touch slightly on these obscure and +personal squabbles.] + +[Footnote 35: Under the modest emblem of a dream, Gregory (tom. +ii. Carmen ix. p. 78) describes his own success with some human +complacency. Yet it should seem, from his familiar conversation +with his auditor St. Jerom, (tom. i. Epist. ad Nepotian. p. 14,) +that the preacher understood the true value of popular applause.] + +[Footnote 36: Lachrymae auditorum laudes tuae sint, is the lively +and judicious advice of St. Jerom.] + + The Catholics of Constantinople were animated with joyful +confidence by the baptism and edict of Theodosius; and they +impatiently waited the effects of his gracious promise. Their +hopes were speedily accomplished; and the emperor, as soon as he +had finished the operations of the campaign, made his public +entry into the capital at the head of a victorious army. The next +day after his arrival, he summoned Damophilus to his presence, +and offered that Arian prelate the hard alternative of +subscribing the Nicene creed, or of instantly resigning, to the +orthodox believers, the use and possession of the episcopal +palace, the cathedral of St. Sophia, and all the churches of +Constantinople. The zeal of Damophilus, which in a Catholic +saint would have been justly applauded, embraced, without +hesitation, a life of poverty and exile, ^37 and his removal was +immediately followed by the purification of the Imperial city. +The Arians might complain, with some appearance of justice, that +an inconsiderable congregation of sectaries should usurp the +hundred churches, which they were insufficient to fill; whilst +the far greater part of the people was cruelly excluded from +every place of religious worship. Theodosius was still +inexorable; but as the angels who protected the Catholic cause +were only visible to the eyes of faith, he prudently reenforced +those heavenly legions with the more effectual aid of temporal +and carnal weapons; and the church of St. Sophia was occupied by +a large body of the Imperial guards. If the mind of Gregory was +susceptible of pride, he must have felt a very lively +satisfaction, when the emperor conducted him through the streets +in solemn triumph; and, with his own hand, respectfully placed +him on the archiepiscopal throne of Constantinople. But the +saint (who had not subdued the imperfections of human virtue) was +deeply affected by the mortifying consideration, that his +entrance into the fold was that of a wolf, rather than of a +shepherd; that the glittering arms which surrounded his person, +were necessary for his safety; and that he alone was the object +of the imprecations of a great party, whom, as men and citizens, +it was impossible for him to despise. He beheld the innumerable +multitude of either sex, and of every age, who crowded the +streets, the windows, and the roofs of the houses; he heard the +tumultuous voice of rage, grief, astonishment, and despair; and +Gregory fairly confesses, that on the memorable day of his +installation, the capital of the East wore the appearance of a +city taken by storm, and in the hands of a Barbarian conqueror. +^38 About six weeks afterwards, Theodosius declared his +resolution of expelling from all the churches of his dominions +the bishops and their clergy who should obstinately refuse to +believe, or at least to profess, the doctrine of the council of +Nice. His lieutenant, Sapor, was armed with the ample powers of +a general law, a special commission, and a military force; ^39 +and this ecclesiastical revolution was conducted with so much +discretion and vigor, that the religion of the emperor was +established, without tumult or bloodshed, in all the provinces of +the East. The writings of the Arians, if they had been permitted +to exist, ^40 would perhaps contain the lamentable story of the +persecution, which afflicted the church under the reign of the +impious Theodosius; and the sufferings of their holy confessors +might claim the pity of the disinterested reader. Yet there is +reason to imagine, that the violence of zeal and revenge was, in +some measure, eluded by the want of resistance; and that, in +their adversity, the Arians displayed much less firmness than had +been exerted by the orthodox party under the reigns of +Constantius and Valens. The moral character and conduct of the +hostile sects appear to have been governed by the same common +principles of nature and religion: but a very material +circumstance may be discovered, which tended to distinguish the +degrees of their theological faith. Both parties, in the +schools, as well as in the temples, acknowledged and worshipped +the divine majesty of Christ; and, as we are always prone to +impute our own sentiments and passions to the Deity, it would be +deemed more prudent and respectful to exaggerate, than to +circumscribe, the adorable perfections of the Son of God. The +disciple of Athanasius exulted in the proud confidence, that he +had entitled himself to the divine favor; while the follower of +Arius must have been tormented by the secret apprehension, that +he was guilty, perhaps, of an unpardonable offence, by the scanty +praise, and parsimonious honors, which he bestowed on the Judge +of the World. The opinions of Arianism might satisfy a cold and +speculative mind: but the doctrine of the Nicene creed, most +powerfully recommended by the merits of faith and devotion, was +much better adapted to become popular and successful in a +believing age. + +[Footnote 37: Socrates (l. v. c. 7) and Sozomen (l. vii. c. 5) +relate the evangelical words and actions of Damophilus without a +word of approbation. He considered, says Socrates, that it is +difficult to resist the powerful, but it was easy, and would have +been profitable, to submit.] +[Footnote 38: See Gregory Nazianzen, tom. ii. de Vita sua, p. 21, +22. For the sake of posterity, the bishop of Constantinople +records a stupendous prodigy. In the month of November, it was a +cloudy morning, but the sun broke forth when the procession +entered the church.] + +[Footnote 39: Of the three ecclesiastical historians, Theodoret +alone (l. v. c. 2) has mentioned this important commission of +Sapor, which Tillemont (Hist. des Empereurs, tom. v. p. 728) +judiciously removes from the reign of Gratian to that of +Theodosius.] + +[Footnote 40: I do not reckon Philostorgius, though he mentions +(l. ix. c. 19) the explosion of Damophilus. The Eunomian +historian has been carefully strained through an orthodox sieve.] + + The hope, that truth and wisdom would be found in the +assemblies of the orthodox clergy, induced the emperor to +convene, at Constantinople, a synod of one hundred and fifty +bishops, who proceeded, without much difficulty or delay, to +complete the theological system which had been established in the +council of Nice. The vehement disputes of the fourth century had +been chiefly employed on the nature of the Son of God; and the +various opinions which were embraced, concerning the Second, were +extended and transferred, by a natural analogy, to the Third +person of the Trinity. ^41 Yet it was found, or it was thought, +necessary, by the victorious adversaries of Arianism, to explain +the ambiguous language of some respectable doctors; to confirm +the faith of the Catholics; and to condemn an unpopular and +inconsistent sect of Macedonians; who freely admitted that the +Son was consubstantial to the Father, while they were fearful of +seeming to acknowledge the existence of Three Gods. A final and +unanimous sentence was pronounced to ratify the equal Deity of +the Holy Ghost: the mysterious doctrine has been received by all +the nations, and all the churches of the Christian world; and +their grateful reverence has assigned to the bishops of +Theodosius the second rank among the general councils. ^42 Their +knowledge of religious truth may have been preserved by +tradition, or it may have been communicated by inspiration; but +the sober evidence of history will not allow much weight to the +personal authority of the Fathers of Constantinople. In an age +when the ecclesiastics had scandalously degenerated from the +model of apostolic purity, the most worthless and corrupt were +always the most eager to frequent, and disturb, the episcopal +assemblies. The conflict and fermentation of so many opposite +interests and tempers inflamed the passions of the bishops: and +their ruling passions were, the love of gold, and the love of +dispute. Many of the same prelates who now applauded the orthodox +piety of Theodosius, had repeatedly changed, with prudent +flexibility, their creeds and opinions; and in the various +revolutions of the church and state, the religion of their +sovereign was the rule of their obsequious faith. When the +emperor suspended his prevailing influence, the turbulent synod +was blindly impelled by the absurd or selfish motives of pride, +hatred, or resentment. The death of Meletius, which happened at +the council of Constantinople, presented the most favorable +opportunity of terminating the schism of Antioch, by suffering +his aged rival, Paulinus, peaceably to end his days in the +episcopal chair. The faith and virtues of Paulinus were +unblemished. But his cause was supported by the Western +churches; and the bishops of the synod resolved to perpetuate the +mischiefs of discord, by the hasty ordination of a perjured +candidate, ^43 rather than to betray the imagined dignity of the +East, which had been illustrated by the birth and death of the +Son of God. Such unjust and disorderly proceedings forced the +gravest members of the assembly to dissent and to secede; and the +clamorous majority which remained masters of the field of battle, +could be compared only to wasps or magpies, to a flight of +cranes, or to a flock of geese. ^44 + +[Footnote 41: Le Clerc has given a curious extract (Bibliotheque +Universelle, tom. xviii. p. 91 - 105) of the theological sermons +which Gregory Nazianzen pronounced at Constantinople against the +Arians, Eunomians, Macedonians, &c. He tells the Macedonians, +who deified the Father and the Son without the Holy Ghost, that +they might as well be styled Tritheists as Ditheists. Gregory +himself was almost a Tritheist; and his monarchy of heaven +resembles a well-regulated aristocracy.] +[Footnote 42: The first general council of Constantinople now +triumphs in the Vatican; but the popes had long hesitated, and +their hesitation perplexes, and almost staggers, the humble +Tillemont, (Mem. Eccles. tom. ix. p. 499, 500.)] + +[Footnote 43: Before the death of Meletius, six or eight of his +most popular ecclesiastics, among whom was Flavian, had abjured, +for the sake of peace, the bishopric of Antioch, (Sozomen, l. +vii. c. 3, 11. Socrates, l. v. c. v.) Tillemont thinks it his +duty to disbelieve the story; but he owns that there are many +circumstances in the life of Flavian which seem inconsistent with +the praises of Chrysostom, and the character of a saint, (Mem. +Eccles. tom. x. p. 541.)] + +[Footnote 44: Consult Gregory Nazianzen, de Vita sua, tom. ii. p. +25 - 28. His general and particular opinion of the clergy and +their assemblies may be seen in verse and prose, (tom. i. Orat. +i. p. 33. Epist. lv. p. 814, tom. ii. Carmen x. p. 81.) Such +passages are faintly marked by Tillemont, and fairly produced by +Le Clerc.] + + A suspicion may possibly arise, that so unfavorable a +picture of ecclesiastical synods has been drawn by the partial +hand of some obstinate heretic, or some malicious infidel. But +the name of the sincere historian who has conveyed this +instructive lesson to the knowledge of posterity, must silence +the impotent murmurs of superstition and bigotry. He was one of +the most pious and eloquent bishops of the age; a saint, and a +doctor of the church; the scourge of Arianism, and the pillar of +the orthodox faith; a distinguished member of the council of +Constantinople, in which, after the death of Meletius, he +exercised the functions of president; in a word - Gregory +Nazianzen himself. The harsh and ungenerous treatment which he +experienced, ^45 instead of derogating from the truth of his +evidence, affords an additional proof of the spirit which +actuated the deliberations of the synod. Their unanimous +suffrage had confirmed the pretensions which the bishop of +Constantinople derived from the choice of the people, and the +approbation of the emperor. But Gregory soon became the victim +of malice and envy. The bishops of the East, his strenuous +adherents, provoked by his moderation in the affairs of Antioch, +abandoned him, without support, to the adverse faction of the +Egyptians; who disputed the validity of his election, and +rigorously asserted the obsolete canon, that prohibited the +licentious practice of episcopal translations. The pride, or the +humility, of Gregory prompted him to decline a contest which +might have been imputed to ambition and avarice; and he publicly +offered, not without some mixture of indignation, to renounce the +government of a church which had been restored, and almost +created, by his labors. His resignation was accepted by the +synod, and by the emperor, with more readiness than he seems to +have expected. At the time when he might have hoped to enjoy the +fruits of his victory, his episcopal throne was filled by the +senator Nectarius; and the new archbishop, accidentally +recommended by his easy temper and venerable aspect, was obliged +to delay the ceremony of his consecration, till he had previously +despatched the rites of his baptism. ^46 After this remarkable +experience of the ingratitude of princes and prelates, Gregory +retired once more to his obscure solitude of Cappadocia; where he +employed the remainder of his life, about eight years, in the +exercises of poetry and devotion. The title of Saint has been +added to his name: but the tenderness of his heart, ^47 and the +elegance of his genius, reflect a more pleasing lustre on the +memory of Gregory Nazianzen. + +[Footnote 45: See Gregory, tom. ii. de Vita sua, p. 28 - 31. The +fourteenth, twenty-seventh, and thirty-second Orations were +pronounced in the several stages of this business. The +peroration of the last, (tom. i. p. 528,) in which he takes a +solemn leave of men and angels, the city and the emperor, the +East and the West, &c., is pathetic, and almost sublime.] +[Footnote 46: The whimsical ordination of Nectarius is attested +by Sozomen, (l. vii. c. 8;) but Tillemont observes, (Mem. Eccles. +tom. ix. p. 719,) Apres tout, ce narre de Sozomene est si +honteux, pour tous ceux qu'il y mele, et surtout pour Theodose, +qu'il vaut mieux travailler a le detruire, qu'a le soutenir; an +admirable canon of criticism!] + +[Footnote 47: I can only be understood to mean, that such was his +natural temper when it was not hardened, or inflamed, by +religious zeal. From his retirement, he exhorts Nectarius to +prosecute the heretics of Constantinople.] + + It was not enough that Theodosius had suppressed the +insolent reign of Arianism, or that he had abundantly revenged +the injuries which the Catholics sustained from the zeal of +Constantius and Valens. The orthodox emperor considered every +heretic as a rebel against the supreme powers of heaven and of +earth; and each of those powers might exercise their peculiar +jurisdiction over the soul and body of the guilty. The decrees +of the council of Constantinople had ascertained the true +standard of the faith; and the ecclesiastics, who governed the +conscience of Theodosius, suggested the most effectual methods of +persecution. In the space of fifteen years, he promulgated at +least fifteen severe edicts against the heretics; ^48 more +especially against those who rejected the doctrine of the +Trinity; and to deprive them of every hope of escape, he sternly +enacted, that if any laws or rescripts should be alleged in their +favor, the judges should consider them as the illegal productions +either of fraud or forgery. The penal statutes were directed +against the ministers, the assemblies, and the persons of the +heretics; and the passions of the legislator were expressed in +the language of declamation and invective. I. The heretical +teachers, who usurped the sacred titles of Bishops, or +Presbyters, were not only excluded from the privileges and +emoluments so liberally granted to the orthodox clergy, but they +were exposed to the heavy penalties of exile and confiscation, if +they presumed to preach the doctrine, or to practise the rites, +of their accursed sects. A fine of ten pounds of gold (above +four hundred pounds sterling) was imposed on every person who +should dare to confer, or receive, or promote, an heretical +ordination: and it was reasonably expected, that if the race of +pastors could be extinguished, their helpless flocks would be +compelled, by ignorance and hunger, to return within the pale of +the Catholic church. II. The rigorous prohibition of +conventicles was carefully extended to every possible +circumstance, in which the heretics could assemble with the +intention of worshipping God and Christ according to the dictates +of their conscience. Their religious meetings, whether public or +secret, by day or by night, in cities or in the country, were +equally proscribed by the edicts of Theodosius; and the building, +or ground, which had been used for that illegal purpose, was +forfeited to the Imperial domain. III. It was supposed, that +the error of the heretics could proceed only from the obstinate +temper of their minds; and that such a temper was a fit object of +censure and punishment. The anathemas of the church were +fortified by a sort of civil excommunication; which separated +them from their fellow- citizens, by a peculiar brand of infamy; +and this declaration of the supreme magistrate tended to justify, +or at least to excuse, the insults of a fanatic populace. The +sectaries were gradually disqualified from the possession of +honorable or lucrative employments; and Theodosius was satisfied +with his own justice, when he decreed, that, as the Eunomians +distinguished the nature of the Son from that of the Father, they +should be incapable of making their wills or of receiving any +advantage from testamentary donations. The guilt of the +Manichaean heresy was esteemed of such magnitude, that it could +be expiated only by the death of the offender; and the same +capital punishment was inflicted on the Audians, or +Quartodecimans, ^49 who should dare to perpetrate the atrocious +crime of celebrating on an improper day the festival of Easter. +Every Roman might exercise the right of public accusation; but +the office of Inquisitors of the Faith, a name so deservedly +abhorred, was first instituted under the reign of Theodosius. +Yet we are assured, that the execution of his penal edicts was +seldom enforced; and that the pious emperor appeared less +desirous to punish, than to reclaim, or terrify, his refractory +subjects. ^50 +[Footnote 48: See the Theodosian Code, l. xvi. tit. v. leg. 6 - +23, with Godefroy's commentary on each law, and his general +summary, or Paratitlon, tom vi. p. 104 - 110.] + +[Footnote 49: They always kept their Easter, like the Jewish +Passover, on the fourteenth day of the first moon after the +vernal equinox; and thus pertinaciously opposed the Roman Church +and Nicene synod, which had fixed Easter to a Sunday. Bingham's +Antiquities, l. xx. c. 5, vol. ii. p. 309, fol. edit.] + +[Footnote 50: Sozomen, l. vii. c. 12.] + + The theory of persecution was established by Theodosius, +whose justice and piety have been applauded by the saints: but +the practice of it, in the fullest extent, was reserved for his +rival and colleague, Maximus, the first, among the Christian +princes, who shed the blood of his Christian subjects on account +of their religious opinions. The cause of the Priscillianists, +^51 a recent sect of heretics, who disturbed the provinces of +Spain, was transferred, by appeal, from the synod of Bordeaux to +the Imperial consistory of Treves; and by the sentence of the +Praetorian praefect, seven persons were tortured, condemned, and +executed. The first of these was Priscillian ^52 himself, bishop +of Avila, in Spain; who adorned the advantages of birth and +fortune, by the accomplishments of eloquence and learning. Two +presbyters, and two deacons, accompanied their beloved master in +his death, which they esteemed as a glorious martyrdom; and the +number of religious victims was completed by the execution of +Latronian, a poet, who rivalled the fame of the ancients; and of +Euchrocia, a noble matron of Bordeaux, the widow of the orator +Delphidius. ^54 Two bishops who had embraced the sentiments of +Priscillian, were condemned to a distant and dreary exile; ^55 +and some indulgence was shown to the meaner criminals, who +assumed the merit of an early repentance. If any credit could be +allowed to confessions extorted by fear or pain, and to vague +reports, the offspring of malice and credulity, the heresy of the +Priscillianists would be found to include the various +abominations of magic, of impiety, and of lewdness. ^56 +Priscillian, who wandered about the world in the company of his +spiritual sisters, was accused of praying stark naked in the +midst of the congregation; and it was confidently asserted, that +the effects of his criminal intercourse with the daughter of +Euchrocia had been suppressed, by means still more odious and +criminal. But an accurate, or rather a candid, inquiry will +discover, that if the Priscillianists violated the laws of +nature, it was not by the licentiousness, but by the austerity, +of their lives. They absolutely condemned the use of the +marriage-bed; and the peace of families was often disturbed by +indiscreet separations. They enjoyed, or recommended, a total +abstinence from all anima food; and their continual prayers, +fasts, and vigils, inculcated a rule of strict and perfect +devotion. The speculative tenets of the sect, concerning the +person of Christ, and the nature of the human soul, were derived +from the Gnostic and Manichaean system; and this vain philosophy, +which had been transported from Egypt to Spain, was ill adapted +to the grosser spirits of the West. The obscure disciples of +Priscillian suffered languished, and gradually disappeared: his +tenets were rejected by the clergy and people, but his death was +the subject of a long and vehement controversy; while some +arraigned, and others applauded, the justice of his sentence. It +is with pleasure that we can observe the humane inconsistency of +the most illustrious saints and bishops, Ambrose of Milan, ^57 +and Martin of Tours, ^58 who, on this occasion, asserted the +cause of toleration. They pitied the unhappy men, who had been +executed at Treves; they refused to hold communion with their +episcopal murderers; and if Martin deviated from that generous +resolution, his motives were laudable, and his repentance was +exemplary. The bishops of Tours and Milan pronounced, without +hesitation, the eternal damnation of heretics; but they were +surprised, and shocked, by the bloody image of their temporal +death, and the honest feelings of nature resisted the artificial +prejudices of theology. The humanity of Ambrose and Martin was +confirmed by the scandalous irregularity of the proceedings +against Priscillian and his adherents. The civil and +ecclesiastical ministers had transgressed the limits of their +respective provinces. The secular judge had presumed to receive +an appeal, and to pronounce a definitive sentence, in a matter of +faith, and episcopal jurisdiction. The bishops had disgraced +themselves, by exercising the functions of accusers in a criminal +prosecution. The cruelty of Ithacius, ^59 who beheld the +tortures, and solicited the death, of the heretics, provoked the +just indignation of mankind; and the vices of that profligate +bishop were admitted as a proof, that his zeal was instigated by +the sordid motives of interest. Since the death of Priscillian, +the rude attempts of persecution have been refined and methodized +in the holy office, which assigns their distinct parts to the +ecclesiastical and secular powers. The devoted victim is +regularly delivered by the priest to the magistrate, and by the +magistrate to the executioner; and the inexorable sentence of the +church, which declares the spiritual guilt of the offender, is +expressed in the mild language of pity and intercession. + +[Footnote 51: See the Sacred History of Sulpicius Severus, (l. +ii. p. 437 - 452, edit. Ludg. Bat. 1647,) a correct and original +writer. Dr. Lardner (Credibility, &c., part ii. vol. ix. p. 256 +- 350) has labored this article with pure learning, good sense, +and moderation. Tillemont (Mem. Eccles. tom. viii. p. 491 - 527) +has raked together all the dirt of the fathers; a useful +scavenger!] + +[Footnote 52: Severus Sulpicius mentions the arch-heretic with +esteem and pity Faelix profecto, si non pravo studio corrupisset +optimum ingenium prorsus multa in eo animi et corporis bona +cerneres. (Hist. Sacra, l ii. p. 439.) Even Jerom (tom. i. in +Script. Eccles. p. 302) speaks with temper of Priscillian and +Latronian.] + +[Footnote 53: The bishopric (in Old Castile) is now worth 20,000 +ducats a year, (Busching's Geography, vol. ii. p. 308,) and is +therefore much less likely to produce the author of a new +heresy.] + +[Footnote 54: Exprobrabatur mulieri viduae nimia religio, et +diligentius culta divinitas, (Pacat. in Panegyr. Vet. xii. 29.) +Such was the idea of a humane, though ignorant, polytheist.] +[Footnote 55: One of them was sent in Sillinam insulam quae ultra +Britannianest. What must have been the ancient condition of the +rocks of Scilly? (Camden's Britannia, vol. ii. p. 1519.)] +[Footnote 56: The scandalous calumnies of Augustin, Pope Leo, +&c., which Tillemont swallows like a child, and Lardner refutes +like a man, may suggest some candid suspicions in favor of the +older Gnostics.] + +[Footnote 57: Ambros. tom. ii. Epist. xxiv. p. 891.] + +[Footnote 58: In the Sacred History, and the Life of St. Martin, +Sulpicius Severus uses some caution; but he declares himself more +freely in the Dialogues, (iii. 15.) Martin was reproved, however, +by his own conscience, and by an angel; nor could he afterwards +perform miracles with so much ease.] +[Footnote 59: The Catholic Presbyter (Sulp. Sever. l. ii. p. 448) +and the Pagan Orator (Pacat. in Panegyr. Vet. xii. 29) reprobate, +with equal indignation, the character and conduct of Ithacius.] +Chapter XXVII: Civil Wars, Reign Of Theodosius. + +Part III. + + Among the ecclesiastics, who illustrated the reign of +Theodosius, Gregory Nazianzen was distinguished by the talents of +an eloquent preacher; the reputation of miraculous gifts added +weight and dignity to the monastic virtues of Martin of Tours; +^60 but the palm of episcopal vigor and ability was justly +claimed by the intrepid Ambrose. ^61 He was descended from a +noble family of Romans; his father had exercised the important +office of Praetorian praefect of Gaul; and the son, after passing +through the studies of a liberal education, attained, in the +regular gradation of civil honors, the station of consular of +Liguria, a province which included the Imperial residence of +Milan. At the age of thirty-four, and before he had received the +sacrament of baptism, Ambrose, to his own surprise, and to that +of the world, was suddenly transformed from a governor to an +archbishop. Without the least mixture, as it is said, of art or +intrigue, the whole body of the people unanimously saluted him +with the episcopal title; the concord and perseverance of their +acclamations were ascribed to a praeternatural impulse; and the +reluctant magistrate was compelled to undertake a spiritual +office, for which he was not prepared by the habits and +occupations of his former life. But the active force of his +genius soon qualified him to exercise, with zeal and prudence, +the duties of his ecclesiastical jurisdiction; and while he +cheerfully renounced the vain and splendid trappings of temporal +greatness, he condescended, for the good of the church, to direct +the conscience of the emperors, and to control the administration +of the empire. Gratian loved and revered him as a father; and +the elaborate treatise on the faith of the Trinity was designed +for the instruction of the young prince. After his tragic death, +at a time when the empress Justina trembled for her own safety, +and for that of her son Valentinian, the archbishop of Milan was +despatched, on two different embassies, to the court of Treves. +He exercised, with equal firmness and dexterity, the powers of +his spiritual and political characters; and perhaps contributed, +by his authority and eloquence, to check the ambition of Maximus, +and to protect the peace of Italy. ^62 Ambrose had devoted his +life, and his abilities, to the service of the church. Wealth +was the object of his contempt; he had renounced his private +patrimony; and he sold, without hesitation, the consecrated +plate, for the redemption of captives. The clergy and people of +Milan were attached to their archbishop; and he deserved the +esteem, without soliciting the favor, or apprehending the +displeasure, of his feeble sovereigns. + +[Footnote 60: The Life of St. Martin, and the Dialogues +concerning his miracles contain facts adapted to the grossest +barbarism, in a style not unworthy of the Augustan age. So +natural is the alliance between good taste and good sense, that I +am always astonished by this contrast.] +[Footnote 61: The short and superficial Life of St. Ambrose, by +his deacon Paulinus, (Appendix ad edit. Benedict. p. i. - xv.,) +has the merit of original evidence. Tillemont (Mem. Eccles. tom. +x. p. 78 - 306) and the Benedictine editors (p. xxxi. - lxiii.) +have labored with their usual diligence.] +[Footnote 62: Ambrose himself (tom. ii. Epist. xxiv. p. 888 - +891) gives the emperor a very spirited account of his own +embassy.] + + The government of Italy, and of the young emperor, naturally +devolved to his mother Justina, a woman of beauty and spirit, but +who, in the midst of an orthodox people, had the misfortune of +professing the Arian heresy, which she endeavored to instil into +the mind of her son. Justina was persuaded, that a Roman emperor +might claim, in his own dominions, the public exercise of his +religion; and she proposed to the archbishop, as a moderate and +reasonable concession, that he should resign the use of a single +church, either in the city or the suburbs of Milan. But the +conduct of Ambrose was governed by very different principles. ^63 +The palaces of the earth might indeed belong to Caesar; but the +churches were the houses of God; and, within the limits of his +diocese, he himself, as the lawful successor of the apostles, was +the only minister of God. The privileges of Christianity, +temporal as well as spiritual, were confined to the true +believers; and the mind of Ambrose was satisfied, that his own +theological opinions were the standard of truth and orthodoxy. +The archbishop, who refused to hold any conference, or +negotiation, with the instruments of Satan, declared, with modest +firmness, his resolution to die a martyr, rather than to yield to +the impious sacrilege; and Justina, who resented the refusal as +an act of insolence and rebellion, hastily determined to exert +the Imperial prerogative of her son. As she desired to perform +her public devotions on the approaching festival of Easter, +Ambrose was ordered to appear before the council. He obeyed the +summons with the respect of a faithful subject, but he was +followed, without his consent, by an innumerable people they +pressed, with impetuous zeal, against the gates of the palace; +and the affrighted ministers of Valentinian, instead of +pronouncing a sentence of exile on the archbishop of Milan, +humbly requested that he would interpose his authority, to +protect the person of the emperor, and to restore the tranquility +of the capital. But the promises which Ambrose received and +communicated were soon violated by a perfidious court; and, +during six of the most solemn days, which Christian piety had set +apart for the exercise of religion, the city was agitated by the +irregular convulsions of tumult and fanaticism. The officers of +the household were directed to prepare, first, the Portian, and +afterwards, the new, Basilica, for the immediate reception of the +emperor and his mother. The splendid canopy and hangings of the +royal seat were arranged in the customary manner; but it was +found necessary to defend them. by a strong guard, from the +insults of the populace. The Arian ecclesiastics, who ventured +to show themselves in the streets, were exposed to the most +imminent danger of their lives; and Ambrose enjoyed the merit and +reputation of rescuing his personal enemies from the hands of the +enraged multitude. + +[Footnote 63: His own representation of his principles and +conduct (tom. ii. Epist. xx xxi. xxii. p. 852 - 880) is one of +the curious monuments of ecclesiastical antiquity. It contains +two letters to his sister Marcellina, with a petition to +Valentinian and the sermon de Basilicis non madendis.] + But while he labored to restrain the effects of their zeal, +the pathetic vehemence of his sermons continually inflamed the +angry and seditious temper of the people of Milan. The +characters of Eve, of the wife of Job, of Jezebel, of Herodias, +were indecently applied to the mother of the emperor; and her +desire to obtain a church for the Arians was compared to the most +cruel persecutions which Christianity had endured under the reign +of Paganism. The measures of the court served only to expose the +magnitude of the evil. A fine of two hundred pounds of gold was +imposed on the corporate body of merchants and manufacturers: an +order was signified, in the name of the emperor, to all the +officers, and inferior servants, of the courts of justice, that, +during the continuance of the public disorders, they should +strictly confine themselves to their houses; and the ministers of +Valentinian imprudently confessed, that the most respectable part +of the citizens of Milan was attached to the cause of their +archbishop. He was again solicited to restore peace to his +country, by timely compliance with the will of his sovereign. +The reply of Ambrose was couched in the most humble and +respectful terms, which might, however, be interpreted as a +serious declaration of civil war. "His life and fortune were in +the hands of the emperor; but he would never betray the church of +Christ, or degrade the dignity of the episcopal character. In +such a cause he was prepared to suffer whatever the malice of the +daemon could inflict; and he only wished to die in the presence +of his faithful flock, and at the foot of the altar; he had not +contributed to excite, but it was in the power of God alone to +appease, the rage of the people: he deprecated the scenes of +blood and confusion which were likely to ensue; and it was his +fervent prayer, that he might not survive to behold the ruin of a +flourishing city, and perhaps the desolation of all Italy." ^64 +The obstinate bigotry of Justina would have endangered the empire +of her son, if, in this contest with the church and people of +Milan, she could have depended on the active obedience of the +troops of the palace. A large body of Goths had marched to +occupy the Basilica, which was the object of the dispute: and it +might be expected from the Arian principles, and barbarous +manners, of these foreign mercenaries, that they would not +entertain any scruples in the execution of the most sanguinary +orders. They were encountered, on the sacred threshold, by the +archbishop, who, thundering against them a sentence of +excommunication, asked them, in the tone of a father and a +master, whether it was to invade the house of God, that they had +implored the hospitable protection of the republic. The suspense +of the Barbarians allowed some hours for a more effectual +negotiation; and the empress was persuaded, by the advice of her +wisest counsellors, to leave the Catholics in possession of all +the churches of Milan; and to dissemble, till a more convenient +season, her intentions of revenge. The mother of Valentinian +could never forgive the triumph of Ambrose; and the royal youth +uttered a passionate exclamation, that his own servants were +ready to betray him into the hands of an insolent priest. + +[Footnote 64: Retz had a similar message from the queen, to +request that he would appease the tumult of Paris. It was no +longer in his power, &c. A quoi j'ajoutai tout ce que vous +pouvez vous imaginer de respect de douleur, de regret, et de +soumission, &c. (Memoires, tom. i. p. 140.) Certainly I do not +compare either the causes or the men yet the coadjutor himself +had some idea (p. 84) of imitating St. Ambrose] + + The laws of the empire, some of which were inscribed with +the name of Valentinian, still condemned the Arian heresy, and +seemed to excuse the resistance of the Catholics. By the +influence of Justina, an edict of toleration was promulgated in +all the provinces which were subject to the court of Milan; the +free exercise of their religion was granted to those who +professed the faith of Rimini; and the emperor declared, that all +persons who should infringe this sacred and salutary +constitution, should be capitally punished, as the enemies of the +public peace. ^65 The character and language of the archbishop of +Milan may justify the suspicion, that his conduct soon afforded a +reasonable ground, or at least a specious pretence, to the Arian +ministers; who watched the opportunity of surprising him in some +act of disobedience to a law which he strangely represents as a +law of blood and tyranny. A sentence of easy and honorable +banishment was pronounced, which enjoined Ambrose to depart from +Milan without delay; whilst it permitted him to choose the place +of his exile, and the number of his companions. But the +authority of the saints, who have preached and practised the +maxims of passive loyalty, appeared to Ambrose of less moment +than the extreme and pressing danger of the church. He boldly +refused to obey; and his refusal was supported by the unanimous +consent of his faithful people. ^66 They guarded by turns the +person of their archbishop; the gates of the cathedral and the +episcopal palace were strongly secured; and the Imperial troops, +who had formed the blockade, were unwilling to risk the attack, +of that impregnable fortress. The numerous poor, who had been +relieved by the liberality of Ambrose, embraced the fair occasion +of signalizing their zeal and gratitude; and as the patience of +the multitude might have been exhausted by the length and +uniformity of nocturnal vigils, he prudently introduced into the +church of Milan the useful institution of a loud and regular +psalmody. While he maintained this arduous contest, he was +instructed, by a dream, to open the earth in a place where the +remains of two martyrs, Gervasius and Protasius, ^67 had been +deposited above three hundred years. Immediately under the +pavement of the church two perfect skeletons were found, ^68 with +the heads separated from their bodies, and a plentiful effusion +of blood. The holy relics were presented, in solemn pomp, to the +veneration of the people; and every circumstance of this +fortunate discovery was admirably adapted to promote the designs +of Ambrose. The bones of the martyrs, their blood, their +garments, were supposed to contain a healing power; and the +praeternatural influence was communicated to the most distant +objects, without losing any part of its original virtue. The +extraordinary cure of a blind man, ^69 and the reluctant +confessions of several daemoniacs, appeared to justify the faith +and sanctity of Ambrose; and the truth of those miracles is +attested by Ambrose himself, by his secretary Paulinus, and by +his proselyte, the celebrated Augustin, who, at that time, +professed the art of rhetoric in Milan. The reason of the +present age may possibly approve the incredulity of Justina and +her Arian court; who derided the theatrical representations which +were exhibited by the contrivance, and at the expense, of the +archbishop. ^70 Their effect, however, on the minds of the +people, was rapid and irresistible; and the feeble sovereign of +Italy found himself unable to contend with the favorite of +Heaven. The powers likewise of the earth interposed in the +defence of Ambrose: the disinterested advice of Theodosius was +the genuine result of piety and friendship; and the mask of +religious zeal concealed the hostile and ambitious designs of the +tyrant of Gaul. ^71 + +[Footnote 65: Sozomen alone (l. vii. c. 13) throws this luminous +fact into a dark and perplexed narrative.] + +[Footnote 66: Excubabat pia plebs in ecclesia, mori parata cum +episcopo suo .... Nos, adhuc frigidi, excitabamur tamen civitate +attonita atque curbata. Augustin. Confession. l. ix. c. 7] +[Footnote 67: Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. ii. p. 78, 498. Many +churches in Italy, Gaul, &c., were dedicated to these unknown +martyrs, of whom St. Gervaise seems to have been more fortunate +than his companion.] +[Footnote 68: Invenimus mirae magnitudinis viros duos, ut prisca +aetas ferebat, tom. ii. Epist. xxii. p. 875. The size of these +skeletons was fortunately, or skillfully, suited to the popular +prejudice of the gradual decrease of the human stature, which has +prevailed in every age since the time of Homer. + + Grandiaque effossis mirabitur ossa sepulchris.] + +[Footnote 69: Ambros. tom. ii. Epist. xxii. p. 875. Augustin. +Confes, l. ix. c. 7, de Civitat. Dei, l. xxii. c. 8. Paulin. in +Vita St. Ambros. c. 14, in Append. Benedict. p. 4. The blind +man's name was Severus; he touched the holy garment, recovered +his sight, and devoted the rest of his life (at least twenty-five +years) to the service of the church. I should recommend this +miracle to our divines, if it did not prove the worship of +relics, as well as the Nicene creed.] + +[Footnote 70: Paulin, in Tit. St. Ambros. c. 5, in Append. +Benedict. p. 5.] +[Footnote 71: Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. x. p. 190, 750. He +partially allow the mediation of Theodosius, and capriciously +rejects that of Maximus, though it is attested by Prosper, +Sozomen, and Theodoret.] + + The reign of Maximus might have ended in peace and +prosperity, could he have contented himself with the possession +of three ample countries, which now constitute the three most +flourishing kingdoms of modern Europe. But the aspiring usurper, +whose sordid ambition was not dignified by the love of glory and +of arms, considered his actual forces as the instruments only of +his future greatness, and his success was the immediate cause of +his destruction. The wealth which he extorted ^72 from the +oppressed provinces of Gaul, Spain, and Britain, was employed in +levying and maintaining a formidable army of Barbarians, +collected, for the most part, from the fiercest nations of +Germany. The conquest of Italy was the object of his hopes and +preparations: and he secretly meditated the ruin of an innocent +youth, whose government was abhorred and despised by his Catholic +subjects. But as Maximus wished to occupy, without resistance, +the passes of the Alps, he received, with perfidious smiles, +Domninus of Syria, the ambassador of Valentinian, and pressed him +to accept the aid of a considerable body of troops, for the +service of a Pannonian war. The penetration of Ambrose had +discovered the snares of an enemy under the professions of +friendship; ^73 but the Syrian Domninus was corrupted, or +deceived, by the liberal favor of the court of Treves; and the +council of Milan obstinately rejected the suspicion of danger, +with a blind confidence, which was the effect, not of courage, +but of fear. The march of the auxiliaries was guided by the +ambassador; and they were admitted, without distrust, into the +fortresses of the Alps. But the crafty tyrant followed, with +hasty and silent footsteps, in the rear; and, as he diligently +intercepted all intelligence of his motions, the gleam of armor, +and the dust excited by the troops of cavalry, first announced +the hostile approach of a stranger to the gates of Milan. In +this extremity, Justina and her son might accuse their own +imprudence, and the perfidious arts of Maximus; but they wanted +time, and force, and resolution, to stand against the Gauls and +Germans, either in the field, or within the walls of a large and +disaffected city. Flight was their only hope, Aquileia their +only refuge; and as Maximus now displayed his genuine character, +the brother of Gratian might expect the same fate from the hands +of the same assassin. Maximus entered Milan in triumph; and if +the wise archbishop refused a dangerous and criminal connection +with the usurper, he might indirectly contribute to the success +of his arms, by inculcating, from the pulpit, the duty of +resignation, rather than that of resistance. ^74 The unfortunate +Justina reached Aquileia in safety; but she distrusted the +strength of the fortifications: she dreaded the event of a siege; +and she resolved to implore the protection of the great +Theodosius, whose power and virtue were celebrated in all the +countries of the West. A vessel was secretly provided to +transport the Imperial family; they embarked with precipitation +in one of the obscure harbors of Venetia, or Istria; traversed +the whole extent of the Adriatic and Ionian Seas; turned the +extreme promontory of Peloponnesus; and, after a long, but +successful navigation, reposed themselves in the port of +Thessalonica. All the subjects of Valentinian deserted the cause +of a prince, who, by his abdication, had absolved them from the +duty of allegiance; and if the little city of Aemona, on the +verge of Italy, had not presumed to stop the career of his +inglorious victory, Maximus would have obtained, without a +struggle, the sole possession of the Western empire. + +[Footnote 72: The modest censure of Sulpicius (Dialog. iii. 15) +inflicts a much deeper wound than the declamation of Pacatus, +(xii. 25, 26.)] +[Footnote 73: Esto tutior adversus hominem, pacis involurco +tegentem, was the wise caution of Ambrose (tom. ii. p. 891) after +his return from his second embassy.] + +[Footnote 74: Baronius (A.D. 387, No. 63) applies to this season +of public distress some of the penitential sermons of the +archbishop.] + Instead of inviting his royal guests to take the palace of +Constantinople, Theodosius had some unknown reasons to fix their +residence at Thessalonica; but these reasons did not proceed from +contempt or indifference, as he speedily made a visit to that +city, accompanied by the greatest part of his court and senate. +After the first tender expressions of friendship and sympathy, +the pious emperor of the East gently admonished Justina, that the +guilt of heresy was sometimes punished in this world, as well as +in the next; and that the public profession of the Nicene faith +would be the most efficacious step to promote the restoration of +her son, by the satisfaction which it must occasion both on earth +and in heaven. The momentous question of peace or war was +referred, by Theodosius, to the deliberation of his council; and +the arguments which might be alleged on the side of honor and +justice, had acquired, since the death of Gratian, a considerable +degree of additional weight. The persecution of the Imperial +family, to which Theodosius himself had been indebted for his +fortune, was now aggravated by recent and repeated injuries. +Neither oaths nor treaties could restrain the boundless ambition +of Maximus; and the delay of vigorous and decisive measures, +instead of prolonging the blessings of peace, would expose the +Eastern empire to the danger of a hostile invasion. The +Barbarians, who had passed the Danube, had lately assumed the +character of soldiers and subjects, but their native fierceness +was yet untamed: and the operations of a war, which would +exercise their valor, and diminish their numbers, might tend to +relieve the provinces from an intolerable oppression. +Notwithstanding these specious and solid reasons, which were +approved by a majority of the council, Theodosius still hesitated +whether he should draw the sword in a contest which could no +longer admit any terms of reconciliation; and his magnanimous +character was not disgraced by the apprehensions which he felt +for the safety of his infant sons, and the welfare of his +exhausted people. In this moment of anxious doubt, while the +fate of the Roman world depended on the resolution of a single +man, the charms of the princess Galla most powerfully pleaded the +cause of her brother Valentinian. ^75 The heart of Theodosius wa +softened by the tears of beauty; his affections were insensibly +engaged by the graces of youth and innocence: the art of Justina +managed and directed the impulse of passion; and the celebration +of the royal nuptials was the assurance and signal of the civil +war. The unfeeling critics, who consider every amorous weakness +as an indelible stain on the memory of a great and orthodox +emperor, are inclined, on this occasion, to dispute the +suspicious evidence of the historian Zosimus. For my own part, I +shall frankly confess, that I am willing to find, or even to +seek, in the revolutions of the world, some traces of the mild +and tender sentiments of domestic life; and amidst the crowd of +fierce and ambitious conquerors, I can distinguish, with peculiar +complacency, a gentle hero, who may be supposed to receive his +armor from the hands of love. The alliance of the Persian king +was secured by the faith of treaties; the martial Barbarians were +persuaded to follow the standard, or to respect the frontiers, of +an active and liberal monarch; and the dominions of Theodosius, +from the Euphrates to the Adriatic, resounded with the +preparations of war both by land and sea. The skilful +disposition of the forces of the East seemed to multiply their +numbers, and distracted the attention of Maximus. He had reason +to fear, that a chosen body of troops, under the command of the +intrepid Arbogastes, would direct their march along the banks of +the Danube, and boldly penetrate through the Rhaetian provinces +into the centre of Gaul. A powerful fleet was equipped in the +harbors of Greece and Epirus, with an apparent design, that, as +soon as the passage had been opened by a naval victory, +Valentinian and his mother should land in Italy, proceed, without +delay, to Rome, and occupy the majestic seat of religion and +empire. In the mean while, Theodosius himself advanced at the +head of a brave and disciplined army, to encounter his unworthy +rival, who, after the siege of Aemona, ^* had fixed his camp in +the neighborhood of Siscia, a city of Pannonia, strongly +fortified by the broad and rapid stream of the Save. + +[Footnote 75: The flight of Valentinian, and the love of +Theodosius for his sister, are related by Zosimus, (l. iv. p. +263, 264.) Tillemont produces some weak and ambiguous evidence to +antedate the second marriage of Theodosius, (Hist. des Empereurs, +to. v. p. 740,) and consequently to refute ces contes de Zosime, +qui seroient trop contraires a la piete de Theodose.] +[Footnote *: Aemonah, Laybach. Siscia Sciszek. - M.] + +Chapter XXVII: Civil Wars, Reign Of Theodosius. + +Part IV. + + The veterans, who still remembered the long resistance, and +successive resources, of the tyrant Magnentius, might prepare +themselves for the labors of three bloody campaigns. But the +contest with his successor, who, like him, had usurped the throne +of the West, was easily decided in the term of two months, ^76 +and within the space of two hundred miles. The superior genius +of the emperor of the East might prevail over the feeble Maximus, +who, in this important crisis, showed himself destitute of +military skill, or personal courage; but the abilities of +Theodosius were seconded by the advantage which he possessed of a +numerous and active cavalry. The Huns, the Alani, and, after +their example, the Goths themselves, were formed into squadrons +of archers; who fought on horseback, and confounded the steady +valor of the Gauls and Germans, by the rapid motions of a Tartar +war. After the fatigue of a long march, in the heat of summer, +they spurred their foaming horses into the waters of the Save, +swam the river in the presence of the enemy, and instantly +charged and routed the troops who guarded the high ground on the +opposite side. Marcellinus, the tyrant's brother, advanced to +support them with the select cohorts, which were considered as +the hope and strength of the army. The action, which had been +interrupted by the approach of night, was renewed in the morning; +and, after a sharp conflict, the surviving remnant of the bravest +soldiers of Maximus threw down their arms at the feet of the +conqueror. Without suspending his march, to receive the loyal +acclamations of the citizens of Aemona, Theodosius pressed +forwards to terminate the war by the death or captivity of his +rival, who fled before him with the diligence of fear. From the +summit of the Julian Alps, he descended with such incredible +speed into the plain of Italy, that he reached Aquileia on the +evening of the first day; and Maximus, who found himself +encompassed on all sides, had scarcely time to shut the gates of +the city. But the gates could not long resist the effort of a +victorious enemy; and the despair, the disaffection, the +indifference of the soldiers and people, hastened the downfall of +the wretched Maximus. He was dragged from his throne, rudely +stripped of the Imperial ornaments, the robe, the diadem, and the +purple slippers; and conducted, like a malefactor, to the camp +and presence of Theodosius, at a place about three miles from +Aquileia. The behavior of the emperor was not intended to +insult, and he showed disposition to pity and forgive, the tyrant +of the West, who had never been his personal enemy, and was now +become the object of his contempt. Our sympathy is the most +forcibly excited by the misfortunes to which we are exposed; and +the spectacle of a proud competitor, now prostrate at his feet, +could not fail of producing very serious and solemn thoughts in +the mind of the victorious emperor. But the feeble emotion of +involuntary pity was checked by his regard for public justice, +and the memory of Gratian; and he abandoned the victim to the +pious zeal of the soldiers, who drew him out of the Imperial +presence, and instantly separated his head from his body. The +intelligence of his defeat and death was received with sincere or +well-dissembled joy: his son Victor, on whom he had conferred the +title of Augustus, died by the order, perhaps by the hand, of the +bold Arbogastes; and all the military plans of Theodosius were +successfully executed. When he had thus terminated the civil +war, with less difficulty and bloodshed than he might naturally +expect, he employed the winter months of his residence at Milan, +to restore the state of the afflicted provinces; and early in the +spring he made, after the example of Constantine and Constantius, +his triumphal entry into the ancient capital of the Roman empire. +^77 +[Footnote 76: See Godefroy's Chronology of the Laws, Cod. +Theodos, tom l. p. cxix.] + +[Footnote 77: Besides the hints which may be gathered from +chronicles and ecclesiastical history, Zosimus (l. iv. p. 259 - +267,) Orosius, (l. vii. c. 35,) and Pacatus, (in Panegyr. Vet. +xii. 30 - 47,) supply the loose and scanty materials of this +civil war. Ambrose (tom. ii. Epist. xl. p. 952, 953) darkly +alludes to the well-known events of a magazine surprised, an +action at Petovio, a Sicilian, perhaps a naval, victory, &c., +Ausonius (p. 256, edit. Toll.) applauds the peculiar merit and +good fortune of Aquileia.] + The orator, who may be silent without danger, may praise +without difficulty, and without reluctance; ^78 and posterity +will confess, that the character of Theodosius ^79 might furnish +the subject of a sincere and ample panegyric. The wisdom of his +laws, and the success of his arms, rendered his administration +respectable in the eyes both of his subjects and of his enemies. +He loved and practised the virtues of domestic life, which seldom +hold their residence in the palaces of kings. Theodosius was +chaste and temperate; he enjoyed, without excess, the sensual and +social pleasures of the table; and the warmth of his amorous +passions was never diverted from their lawful objects. The proud +titles of Imperial greatness were adorned by the tender names of +a faithful husband, an indulgent father; his uncle was raised, by +his affectionate esteem, to the rank of a second parent: +Theodosius embraced, as his own, the children of his brother and +sister; and the expressions of his regard were extended to the +most distant and obscure branches of his numerous kindred. His +familiar friends were judiciously selected from among those +persons, who, in the equal intercourse of private life, had +appeared before his eyes without a mask; the consciousness of +personal and superior merit enabled him to despise the accidental +distinction of the purple; and he proved by his conduct, that he +had forgotten all the injuries, while he most gratefully +remembered all the favors and services, which he had received +before he ascended the throne of the Roman empire. The serious +or lively tone of his conversation was adapted to the age, the +rank, or the character of his subjects, whom he admitted into his +society; and the affability of his manners displayed the image of +his mind. Theodosius respected the simplicity of the good and +virtuous: every art, every talent, of a useful, or even of an +innocent nature, was rewarded by his judicious liberality; and, +except the heretics, whom he persecuted with implacable hatred, +the diffusive circle of his benevolence was circumscribed only by +the limits of the human race. The government of a mighty empire +may assuredly suffice to occupy the time, and the abilities, of a +mortal: yet the diligent prince, without aspiring to the +unsuitable reputation of profound learning, always reserved some +moments of his leisure for the instructive amusement of reading. +History, which enlarged his experience, was his favorite study. +The annals of Rome, in the long period of eleven hundred years, +presented him with a various and splendid picture of human life: +and it has been particularly observed, that whenever he perused +the cruel acts of Cinna, of Marius, or of Sylla, he warmly +expressed his generous detestation of those enemies of humanity +and freedom. His disinterested opinion of past events was +usefully applied as the rule of his own actions; and Theodosius +has deserved the singular commendation, that his virtues always +seemed to expand with his fortune: the season of his prosperity +was that of his moderation; and his clemency appeared the most +conspicuous after the danger and success of a civil war. The +Moorish guards of the tyrant had been massacred in the first heat +of the victory, and a small number of the most obnoxious +criminals suffered the punishment of the law. But the emperor +showed himself much more attentive to relieve the innocent than +to chastise the guilty. The oppressed subjects of the West, who +would have deemed themselves happy in the restoration of their +lands, were astonished to receive a sum of money equivalent to +their losses; and the liberality of the conqueror supported the +aged mother, and educated the orphan daughters, of Maximus. ^80 A +character thus accomplished might almost excuse the extravagant +supposition of the orator Pacatus; that, if the elder Brutus +could be permitted to revisit the earth, the stern republican +would abjure, at the feet of Theodosius, his hatred of kings; and +ingenuously confess, that such a monarch was the most faithful +guardian of the happiness and dignity of the Roman people. ^81 +[Footnote 78: Quam promptum laudare principem, tam tutum siluisse +de principe, (Pacat. in Panegyr. Vet. xii. 2.) Latinus Pacatus +Drepanius, a native of Gaul, pronounced this oration at Rome, +(A.D. 388.) He was afterwards proconsul of Africa; and his friend +Ausonius praises him as a poet second only to Virgil. See +Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, tom. v. p. 303.] + +[Footnote 79: See the fair portrait of Theodosius, by the younger +Victor; the strokes are distinct, and the colors are mixed. The +praise of Pacatus is too vague; and Claudian always seems afraid +of exalting the father above the son.] +[Footnote 80: Ambros. tom. ii. Epist. xl. p. 55. Pacatus, from +the want of skill or of courage, omits this glorious +circumstance.] + +[Footnote 81: Pacat. in Panegyr. Vet. xii. 20.] + + Yet the piercing eye of the founder of the republic must +have discerned two essential imperfections, which might, perhaps, +have abated his recent love of despostism. The virtuous mind of +Theodosius was often relaxed by indolence, ^82 and it was +sometimes inflamed by passion. ^83 In the pursuit of an important +object, his active courage was capable of the most vigorous +exertions; but, as soon as the design was accomplished, or the +danger was surmounted, the hero sunk into inglorious repose; and, +forgetful that the time of a prince is the property of his +people, resigned himself to the enjoyment of the innocent, but +trifling, pleasures of a luxurious court. The natural +disposition of Theodosius was hasty and choleric; and, in a +station where none could resist, and few would dissuade, the +fatal consequence of his resentment, the humane monarch was +justly alarmed by the consciousness of his infirmity and of his +power. It was the constant study of his life to suppress, or +regulate, the intemperate sallies of passion and the success of +his efforts enhanced the merit of his clemency. But the painful +virtue which claims the merit of victory, is exposed to the +danger of defeat; and the reign of a wise and merciful prince was +polluted by an act of cruelty which would stain the annals of +Nero or Domitian. Within the space of three years, the +inconsistent historian of Theodosius must relate the generous +pardon of the citizens of Antioch, and the inhuman massacre of +the people of Thessalonica. +[Footnote 82: Zosimus, l. iv. p. 271, 272. His partial evidence +is marked by an air of candor and truth. He observes these +vicissitudes of sloth and activity, not as a vice, but as a +singularity in the character of Theodosius.] +[Footnote 83: This choleric temper is acknowledged and excused by +Victor Sed habes (says Ambrose, in decent and many language, to +his sovereign) nature impetum, quem si quis lenire velit, cito +vertes ad misericordiam: si quis stimulet, in magis exsuscitas, +ut eum revocare vix possis, (tom. ii. Epist. li. p. 998.) +Theodosius (Claud. in iv. Hon. 266, &c.) exhorts his son to +moderate his anger.] + + The lively impatience of the inhabitants of Antioch was +never satisfied with their own situation, or with the character +and conduct of their successive sovereigns. The Arian subjects +of Theodosius deplored the loss of their churches; and as three +rival bishops disputed the throne of Antioch, the sentence which +decided their pretensions excited the murmurs of the two +unsuccessful congregations. The exigencies of the Gothic war, +and the inevitable expense that accompanied the conclusion of the +peace, had constrained the emperor to aggravate the weight of the +public impositions; and the provinces of Asia, as they had not +been involved in the distress were the less inclined to +contribute to the relief, of Europe. The auspicious period now +approached of the tenth year of his reign; a festival more +grateful to the soldiers, who received a liberal donative, than +to the subjects, whose voluntary offerings had been long since +converted into an extraordinary and oppressive burden. The +edicts of taxation interrupted the repose, and pleasures, of +Antioch; and the tribunal of the magistrate was besieged by a +suppliant crowd; who, in pathetic, but, at first, in respectful +language, solicited the redress of their grievances. They were +gradually incensed by the pride of their haughty rulers, who +treated their complaints as a criminal resistance; their +satirical wit degenerated into sharp and angry invectives; and, +from the subordinate powers of government, the invectives of the +people insensibly rose to attack the sacred character of the +emperor himself. Their fury, provoked by a feeble opposition, +discharged itself on the images of the Imperial family, which +were erected, as objects of public veneration, in the most +conspicuous places of the city. The statues of Theodosius, of +his father, of his wife Flaccilla, of his two sons, Arcadius and +Honorius, were insolently thrown down from their pedestals, +broken in pieces, or dragged with contempt through the streets; +and the indignities which were offered to the representations of +Imperial majesty, sufficiently declared the impious and +treasonable wishes of the populace. The tumult was almost +immediately suppressed by the arrival of a body of archers: and +Antioch had leisure to reflect on the nature and consequences of +her crime. ^84 According to the duty of his office, the governor +of the province despatched a faithful narrative of the whole +transaction: while the trembling citizens intrusted the +confession of their crime, and the assurances of their +repentance, to the zeal of Flavian, their bishop, and to the +eloquence of the senator Hilarius, the friend, and most probably +the disciple, of Libanius; whose genius, on this melancholy +occasion, was not useless to his country. ^85 But the two +capitals, Antioch and Constantinople, were separated by the +distance of eight hundred miles; and, notwithstanding the +diligence of the Imperial posts, the guilty city was severely +punished by a long and dreadful interval of suspense. Every +rumor agitated the hopes and fears of the Antiochians, and they +heard with terror, that their sovereign, exasperated by the +insult which had been offered to his own statues, and more +especially, to those of his beloved wife, had resolved to level +with the ground the offending city; and to massacre, without +distinction of age or sex, the criminal inhabitants; ^86 many of +whom were actually driven, by their apprehensions, to seek a +refuge in the mountains of Syria, and the adjacent desert. At +length, twenty-four days after the sedition, the general +Hellebicus and Caesarius, master of the offices, declared the +will of the emperor, and the sentence of Antioch. That proud +capital was degraded from the rank of a city; and the metropolis +of the East, stripped of its lands, its privileges, and its +revenues, was subjected, under the humiliating denomination of a +village, to the jurisdiction of Laodicea. ^87 The baths, the +Circus, and the theatres were shut: and, that every source of +plenty and pleasure might at the same time be intercepted, the +distribution of corn was abolished, by the severe instructions of +Theodosius. His commissioners then proceeded to inquire into the +guilt of individuals; of those who had perpetrated, and of those +who had not prevented, the destruction of the sacred statues. +The tribunal of Hellebicus and Caesarius, encompassed with armed +soldiers, was erected in the midst of the Forum. The noblest, +and most wealthy, of the citizens of Antioch appeared before them +in chains; the examination was assisted by the use of torture, +and their sentence was pronounced or suspended, according to the +judgment of these extraordinary magistrates. The houses of the +criminals were exposed to sale, their wives and children were +suddenly reduced, from affluence and luxury, to the most abject +distress; and a bloody execution was expected to conclude the +horrors of the day, ^88 which the preacher of Antioch, the +eloquent Chrysostom, has represented as a lively image of the +last and universal judgment of the world. But the ministers of +Theodosius performed, with reluctance, the cruel task which had +been assigned them; they dropped a gentle tear over the +calamities of the people; and they listened with reverence to the +pressing solicitations of the monks and hermits, who descended in +swarms from the mountains. ^89 Hellebicus and Caesarius were +persuaded to suspend the execution of their sentence; and it was +agreed that the former should remain at Antioch, while the latter +returned, with all possible speed, to Constantinople; and +presumed once more to consult the will of his sovereign. The +resentment of Theodosius had already subsided; the deputies of +the people, both the bishop and the orator, had obtained a +favorable audience; and the reproaches of the emperor were the +complaints of injured friendship, rather than the stern menaces +of pride and power. A free and general pardon was granted to the +city and citizens of Antioch; the prison doors were thrown open; +the senators, who despaired of their lives, recovered the +possession of their houses and estates; and the capital of the +East was restored to the enjoyment of her ancient dignity and +splendor. Theodosius condescended to praise the senate of +Constantinople, who had generously interceded for their +distressed brethren: he rewarded the eloquence of Hilarius with +the government of Palestine; and dismissed the bishop of Antioch +with the warmest expressions of his respect and gratitude. A +thousand new statues arose to the clemency of Theodosius; the +applause of his subjects was ratified by the approbation of his +own heart; and the emperor confessed, that, if the exercise of +justice is the most important duty, the indulgence of mercy is +the most exquisite pleasure, of a sovereign. ^90 + +[Footnote 84: The Christians and Pagans agreed in believing that +the sedition of Antioch was excited by the daemons. A gigantic +woman (says Sozomen, l. vii. c. 23) paraded the streets with a +scourge in her hand. An old man, says Libanius, (Orat. xii. p. +396,) transformed himself into a youth, then a boy, &c.] + +[Footnote 85: Zosimus, in his short and disingenuous account, (l. +iv. p. 258, 259,) is certainly mistaken in sending Libanius +himself to Constantinople. His own orations fix him at Antioch.] +[Footnote 86: Libanius (Orat. i. p. 6, edit. Venet.) declares, +that under such a reign the fear of a massacre was groundless and +absurd, especially in the emperor's absence, for his presence, +according to the eloquent slave, might have given a sanction to +the most bloody acts.] + +[Footnote 87: Laodicea, on the sea-coast, sixty-five miles from +Antioch, (see Noris Epoch. Syro-Maced. Dissert. iii. p. 230.) +The Antiochians were offended, that the dependent city of +Seleucia should presume to intercede for them.] + +[Footnote 88: As the days of the tumult depend on the movable +festival of Easter, they can only be determined by the previous +determination of the year. The year 387 has been preferred, after +a laborious inquiry, by Tillemont (Hist. des. Emp. tom. v. p. 741 +- 744) and Montfaucon, (Chrysostom, tom. xiii. p. 105 - 110.)] +[Footnote 89: Chrysostom opposes their courage, which was not +attended with much risk, to the cowardly flight of the Cynics.] +[Footnote 90: The sedition of Antioch is represented in a lively, +and almost dramatic, manner by two orators, who had their +respective shares of interest and merit. See Libanius (Orat. +xiv. xv. p. 389 - 420, edit. Morel. Orat. i. p. 1 - 14, Venet. +1754) and the twenty orations of St. John Chrysostom, de Statuis, +(tom. ii. p. 1 - 225, edit. Montfaucon.) I do not pretend to much +personal acquaintance with Chrysostom but Tillemont (Hist. des. +Empereurs, tom. v. p. 263 - 283) and Hermant (Vie de St. +Chrysostome, tom. i. p. 137 - 224) had read him with pious +curiosity and diligence.] + + The sedition of Thessalonica is ascribed to a more shameful +cause, and was productive of much more dreadful consequences. +That great city, the metropolis of all the Illyrian provinces, +had been protected from the dangers of the Gothic war by strong +fortifications and a numerous garrison. Botheric, the general of +those troops, and, as it should seem from his name, a Barbarian, +had among his slaves a beautiful boy, who excited the impure +desires of one of the charioteers of the Circus. The insolent +and brutal lover was thrown into prison by the order of Botheric; +and he sternly rejected the importunate clamors of the multitude, +who, on the day of the public games, lamented the absence of +their favorite; and considered the skill of a charioteer as an +object of more importance than his virtue. The resentment of the +people was imbittered by some previous disputes; and, as the +strength of the garrison had been drawn away for the service of +the Italian war, the feeble remnant, whose numbers were reduced +by desertion, could not save the unhappy general from their +licentious fury. Botheric, and several of his principal +officers, were inhumanly murdered; their mangled bodies were +dragged about the streets; and the emperor, who then resided at +Milan, was surprised by the intelligence of the audacious and +wanton cruelty of the people of Thessalonica. The sentence of a +dispassionate judge would have inflicted a severe punishment on +the authors of the crime; and the merit of Botheric might +contribute to exasperate the grief and indignation of his master. + +The fiery and choleric temper of Theodosius was impatient of the +dilatory forms of a judicial inquiry; and he hastily resolved, +that the blood of his lieutenant should be expiated by the blood +of the guilty people. Yet his mind still fluctuated between the +counsels of clemency and of revenge; the zeal of the bishops had +almost extorted from the reluctant emperor the promise of a +general pardon; his passion was again inflamed by the flattering +suggestions of his minister Rufinus; and, after Theodosius had +despatched the messengers of death, he attempted, when it was too +late, to prevent the execution of his orders. The punishment of a +Roman city was blindly committed to the undistinguishing sword of +the Barbarians; and the hostile preparations were concerted with +the dark and perfidious artifice of an illegal conspiracy. The +people of Thessalonica were treacherously invited, in the name of +their sovereign, to the games of the Circus; and such was their +insatiate avidity for those amusements, that every consideration +of fear, or suspicion, was disregarded by the numerous +spectators. As soon as the assembly was complete, the soldiers, +who had secretly been posted round the Circus, received the +signal, not of the races, but of a general massacre. The +promiscuous carnage continued three hours, without discrimination +of strangers or natives, of age or sex, of innocence or guilt; +the most moderate accounts state the number of the slain at seven +thousand; and it is affirmed by some writers that more than +fifteen thousand victims were sacrificed to the names of +Botheric. A foreign merchant, who had probably no concern in his +murder, offered his own life, and all his wealth, to supply the +place of one of his two sons; but, while the father hesitated +with equal tenderness, while he was doubtful to choose, and +unwilling to condemn, the soldiers determined his suspense, by +plunging their daggers at the same moment into the breasts of the +defenceless youths. The apology of the assassins, that they were +obliged to produce the prescribed number of heads, serves only to +increase, by an appearance of order and design, the horrors of +the massacre, which was executed by the commands of Theodosius. +The guilt of the emperor is aggravated by his long and frequent +residence at Thessalonica. The situation of the unfortunate +city, the aspect of the streets and buildings, the dress and +faces of the inhabitants, were familiar, and even present, to his +imagination; and Theodosius possessed a quick and lively sense of +the existence of the people whom he destroyed. ^91 +[Footnote 91: The original evidence of Ambrose, (tom. ii. Epist. +li. p. 998.) Augustin, (de Civitat. Dei, v. 26,) and Paulinus, +(in Vit. Ambros. c. 24,) is delivered in vague expressions of +horror and pity. It is illustrated by the subsequent and unequal +testimonies of Sozomen, (l. vii. c. 25,) Theodoret, (l. v. c. +17,) Theophanes, (Chronograph. p. 62,) Cedrenus, (p. 317,) and +Zonaras, (tom. ii. l. xiii. p. 34.) Zosimus alone, the partial +enemy of Theodosius, most unaccountably passes over in silence +the worst of his actions.] + The respectful attachment of the emperor for the orthodox +clergy, had disposed him to love and admire the character of +Ambrose; who united all the episcopal virtues in the most eminent +degree. The friends and ministers of Theodosius imitated the +example of their sovereign; and he observed, with more surprise +than displeasure, that all his secret counsels were immediately +communicated to the archbishop; who acted from the laudable +persuasion, that every measure of civil government may have some +connection with the glory of God, and the interest of the true +religion. The monks and populace of Callinicum, ^* an obscure +town on the frontier of Persia, excited by their own fanaticism, +and by that of their bishop, had tumultuously burnt a conventicle +of the Valentinians, and a synagogue of the Jews. The seditious +prelate was condemned, by the magistrate of the province, either +to rebuild the synagogue, or to repay the damage; and this +moderate sentence was confirmed by the emperor. But it was not +confirmed by the archbishop of Milan. ^92 He dictated an epistle +of censure and reproach, more suitable, perhaps, if the emperor +had received the mark of circumcision, and renounced the faith of +his baptism. Ambrose considers the toleration of the Jewish, as +the persecution of the Christian, religion; boldly declares that +he himself, and every true believer, would eagerly dispute with +the bishop of Callinicum the merit of the deed, and the crown of +martyrdom; and laments, in the most pathetic terms, that the +execution of the sentence would be fatal to the fame and +salvation of Theodosius. As this private admonition did not +produce an immediate effect, the archbishop, from his pulpit, ^93 +publicly addressed the emperor on his throne; ^94 nor would he +consent to offer the oblation of the altar, till he had obtained +from Theodosius a solemn and positive declaration, which secured +the impunity of the bishop and monks of Callinicum. The +recantation of Theodosius was sincere; ^95 and, during the term +of his residence at Milan, his affection for Ambrose was +continually increased by the habits of pious and familiar +conversation. + +[Footnote *: Raeca, on the Euphrates - M.] + +[Footnote 92: See the whole transaction in Ambrose, (tom. ii. +Epist. xl. xli. p. 950 - 956,) and his biographer Paulinus, (c. +23.) Bayle and Barbeyrac (Morales des Peres, c. xvii. p. 325, +&c.) have justly condemned the archbishop.] + +[Footnote 93: His sermon is a strange allegory of Jeremiah's rod, +of an almond tree, of the woman who washed and anointed the feet +of Christ. But the peroration is direct and personal.] + +[Footnote 94: Hodie, Episcope, de me proposuisti. Ambrose +modestly confessed it; but he sternly reprimanded Timasius, +general of the horse and foot, who had presumed to say that the +monks of Callinicum deserved punishment.] +[Footnote 95: Yet, five years afterwards, when Theodosius was +absent from his spiritual guide, he tolerated the Jews, and +condemned the destruction of their synagogues. Cod. Theodos. l. +xvi. tit. viii. leg. 9, with Godefroy's Commentary, tom. vi. p. +225.] + + When Ambrose was informed of the massacre of Thessalonica, +his mind was filled with horror and anguish. He retired into the +country to indulge his grief, and to avoid the presence of +Theodosius. But as the archbishop was satisfied that a timid +silence would render him the accomplice of his guilt, he +represented, in a private letter, the enormity of the crime; +which could only be effaced by the tears of penitence. The +episcopal vigor of Ambrose was tempered by prudence; and he +contented himself with signifying ^96 an indirect sort of +excommunication, by the assurance, that he had been warned in a +vision not to offer the oblation in the name, or in the presence, +of Theodosius; and by the advice, that he would confine himself +to the use of prayer, without presuming to approach the altar of +Christ, or to receive the holy eucharist with those hands that +were still polluted with the blood of an innocent people. The +emperor was deeply affected by his own reproaches, and by those +of his spiritual father; and after he had bewailed the +mischievous and irreparable consequences of his rash fury, he +proceeded, in the accustomed manner, to perform his devotions in +the great church of Milan. He was stopped in the porch by the +archbishop; who, in the tone and language of an ambassador of +Heaven, declared to his sovereign, that private contrition was +not sufficient to atone for a public fault, or to appease the +justice of the offended Deity. Theodosius humbly represented, +that if he had contracted the guilt of homicide, David, the man +after God's own heart, had been guilty, not only of murder, but +of adultery. "You have imitated David in his crime, imitate then +his repentance," was the reply of the undaunted Ambrose. The +rigorous conditions of peace and pardon were accepted; and the +public penance of the emperor Theodosius has been recorded as one +of the most honorable events in the annals of the church. +According to the mildest rules of ecclesiastical discipline, +which were established in the fourth century, the crime of +homicide was expiated by the penitence of twenty years: ^97 and +as it was impossible, in the period of human life, to purge the +accumulated guilt of the massacre of Thessalonica, the murderer +should have been excluded from the holy communion till the hour +of his death. But the archbishop, consulting the maxims of +religious policy, granted some indulgence to the rank of his +illustrious penitent, who humbled in the dust the pride of the +diadem; and the public edification might be admitted as a weighty +reason to abridge the duration of his punishment. It was +sufficient, that the emperor of the Romans, stripped of the +ensigns of royalty, should appear in a mournful and suppliant +posture; and that, in the midst of the church of Milan, he should +humbly solicit, with sighs and tears, the pardon of his sins. ^98 +In this spiritual cure, Ambrose employed the various methods of +mildness and severity. After a delay of about eight months, +Theodosius was restored to the communion of the faithful; and the +edict which interposes a salutary interval of thirty days between +the sentence and the execution, may be accepted as the worthy +fruits of his repentance. ^99 Posterity has applauded the +virtuous firmness of the archbishop; and the example of +Theodosius may prove the beneficial influence of those +principles, which could force a monarch, exalted above the +apprehension of human punishment, to respect the laws, and +ministers, of an invisible Judge. "The prince," says Montesquieu, +"who is actuated by the hopes and fears of religion, may be +compared to a lion, docile only to the voice, and tractable to +the hand, of his keeper." ^100 The motions of the royal animal +will therefore depend on the inclination, and interest, of the +man who has acquired such dangerous authority over him; and the +priest, who holds in his hands the conscience of a king, may +inflame, or moderate, his sanguinary passions. The cause of +humanity, and that of persecution, have been asserted, by the +same Ambrose, with equal energy, and with equal success. +[Footnote 96: Ambros. tom. ii. Epist. li. p. 997 - 1001. His +epistle is a miserable rhapsody on a noble subject. Ambrose +could act better than he could write. His compositions are +destitute of taste, or genius; without the spirit of Tertullian, +the copious elegance of Lactantius the lively wit of Jerom, or +the grave energy of Augustin.] + +[Footnote 97: According to the discipline of St. Basil, (Canon +lvi.,) the voluntary homicide was four years a mourner; five a +hearer; seven in a prostrate state; and four in a standing +posture. I have the original (Beveridge, Pandect. tom. ii. p. 47 +- 151) and a translation (Chardon, Hist. des Sacremens, tom. iv. +p. 219 - 277) of the Canonical Epistles of St. Basil.] +[Footnote 98: The penance of Theodosius is authenticated by +Ambrose, (tom. vi. de Obit. Theodos. c. 34, p. 1207,) Augustin, +(de Civitat. Dei, v. 26,) and Paulinus, (in Vit. Ambros. c. 24.) +Socrates is ignorant; Sozomen (l. vii. c. 25) concise; and the +copious narrative of Theodoret (l. v. c. 18) must be used with +precaution.] + +[Footnote 99: Codex Theodos. l. ix. tit. xl. leg. 13. The date +and circumstances of this law are perplexed with difficulties; +but I feel myself inclined to favor the honest efforts of +Tillemont (Hist. des Emp. tom. v. p. 721) and Pagi, (Critica, +tom. i. p. 578.)] + +[Footnote 100: Un prince qui aime la religion, et qui la craint, +est un lion qui cede a la main qui le flatte, ou a la voix qui +l'appaise. Esprit des Loix, l. xxiv. c. 2.] + +Chapter XXVII: Civil Wars, Reign Of Theodosius. + +Part V. + + After the defeat and death of the tyrant of Gaul, the Roman +world was in the possession of Theodosius. He derived from the +choice of Gratian his honorable title to the provinces of the +East: he had acquired the West by the right of conquest; and the +three years which he spent in Italy were usefully employed to +restore the authority of the laws, and to correct the abuses +which had prevailed with impunity under the usurpation of +Maximus, and the minority of Valentinian. The name of +Valentinian was regularly inserted in the public acts: but the +tender age, and doubtful faith, of the son of Justina, appeared +to require the prudent care of an orthodox guardian; and his +specious ambition might have excluded the unfortunate youth, +without a struggle, and almost without a murmur, from the +administration, and even from the inheritance, of the empire. If +Theodosius had consulted the rigid maxims of interest and policy, +his conduct would have been justified by his friends; but the +generosity of his behavior on this memorable occasion has +extorted the applause of his most inveterate enemies. He seated +Valentinian on the throne of Milan; and, without stipulating any +present or future advantages, restored him to the absolute +dominion of all the provinces, from which he had been driven by +the arms of Maximus. To the restitution of his ample patrimony, +Theodosius added the free and generous gift of the countries +beyond the Alps, which his successful valor had recovered from +the assassin of Gratian. ^101 Satisfied with the glory which he +had acquired, by revenging the death of his benefactor, and +delivering the West from the yoke of tyranny, the emperor +returned from Milan to Constantinople; and, in the peaceful +possession of the East, insensibly relapsed into his former +habits of luxury and indolence. Theodosius discharged his +obligation to the brother, he indulged his conjugal tenderness to +the sister, of Valentinian; and posterity, which admires the pure +and singular glory of his elevation, must applaud his unrivalled +generosity in the use of victory. + +[Footnote 101: It is the niggard praise of Zosimus himself, (l. +iv. p. 267.) Augustin says, with some happiness of expression, +Valentinianum .... misericordissima veneratione restituit.] +The empress Justina did not long survive her return to Italy; +and, though she beheld the triumph of Theodosius, she was not +allowed to influence the government of her son. ^102 The +pernicious attachment to the Arian sect, which Valentinian had +imbibed from her example and instructions, was soon erased by the +lessons of a more orthodox education. His growing zeal for the +faith of Nice, and his filial reverence for the character and +authority of Ambrose, disposed the Catholics to entertain the +most favorable opinion of the virtues of the young emperor of the +West. ^103 They applauded his chastity and temperance, his +contempt of pleasure, his application to business, and his tender +affection for his two sisters; which could not, however, seduce +his impartial equity to pronounce an unjust sentence against the +meanest of his subjects. But this amiable youth, before he had +accomplished the twentieth year of his age, was oppressed by +domestic treason; and the empire was again involved in the +horrors of a civil war. Arbogastes, ^104 a gallant soldier of the +nation of the Franks, held the second rank in the service of +Gratian. On the death of his master he joined the standard of +Theodosius; contributed, by his valor and military conduct, to +the destruction of the tyrant; and was appointed, after the +victory, master-general of the armies of Gaul. His real merit, +and apparent fidelity, had gained the confidence both of the +prince and people; his boundless liberality corrupted the +allegiance of the troops; and, whilst he was universally esteemed +as the pillar of the state, the bold and crafty Barbarian was +secretly determined either to rule, or to ruin, the empire of the +West. The important commands of the army were distributed among +the Franks; the creatures of Arbogastes were promoted to all the +honors and offices of the civil government; the progress of the +conspiracy removed every faithful servant from the presence of +Valentinian; and the emperor, without power and without +intelligence, insensibly sunk into the precarious and dependent +condition of a captive. ^105 The indignation which he expressed, +though it might arise only from the rash and impatient temper of +youth, may be candidly ascribed to the generous spirit of a +prince, who felt that he was not unworthy to reign. He secretly +invited the archbishop of Milan to undertake the office of a +mediator; as the pledge of his sincerity, and the guardian of his +safety. He contrived to apprise the emperor of the East of his +helpless situation, and he declared, that, unless Theodosius +could speedily march to his assistance, he must attempt to escape +from the palace, or rather prison, of Vienna in Gaul, where he +had imprudently fixed his residence in the midst of the hostile +faction. But the hopes of relief were distant, and doubtful: +and, as every day furnished some new provocation, the emperor, +without strength or counsel, too hastily resolved to risk an +immediate contest with his powerful general. He received +Arbogastes on the throne; and, as the count approached with some +appearance of respect, delivered to him a paper, which dismissed +him from all his employments. "My authority," replied +Arbogastes, with insulting coolness, "does not depend on the +smile or the frown of a monarch;" and he contemptuously threw the +paper on the ground. The indignant monarch snatched at the sword +of one of the guards, which he struggled to draw from its +scabbard; and it was not without some degree of violence that he +was prevented from using the deadly weapon against his enemy, or +against himself. A few days after this extraordinary quarrel, in +which he had exposed his resentment and his weakness, the +unfortunate Valentinian was found strangled in his apartment; and +some pains were employed to disguise the manifest guilt of +Arbogastes, and to persuade the world, that the death of the +young emperor had been the voluntary effect of his own despair. +^106 His body was conducted with decent pomp to the sepulchre of +Milan; and the archbishop pronounced a funeral oration to +commemorate his virtues and his misfortunes. ^107 On this +occasion the humanity of Ambrose tempted him to make a singular +breach in his theological system; and to comfort the weeping +sisters of Valentinian, by the firm assurance, that their pious +brother, though he had not received the sacrament of baptism, was +introduced, without difficulty, into the mansions of eternal +bliss. ^108 + +[Footnote 102: Sozomen, l. vii. c. 14. His chronology is very +irregular.] +[Footnote 103: See Ambrose, (tom. ii. de Obit. Valentinian. c. +15, &c. p. 1178. c. 36, &c. p. 1184.) When the young emperor gave +an entertainment, he fasted himself; he refused to see a handsome +actress, &c. Since he ordered his wild beasts to to be killed, +it is ungenerous in Philostor (l. xi. c. 1) to reproach him with +the love of that amusement.] + +[Footnote 104: Zosimus (l. iv. p. 275) praises the enemy of +Theodosius. But he is detested by Socrates (l. v. c. 25) and +Orosius, (l. vii. c. 35.)] +[Footnote 105: Gregory of Tours (l. ii. c. 9, p. 165, in the +second volume of the Historians of France) has preserved a +curious fragment of Sulpicius Alexander, an historian far more +valuable than himself.] + +[Footnote 106: Godefroy (Dissertat. ad. Philostorg. p. 429 - 434) +has diligently collected all the circumstances of the death of +Valentinian II. The variations, and the ignorance, of +contemporary writers, prove that it was secret.] + +[Footnote 107: De Obitu Valentinian. tom. ii. p. 1173 - 1196. He +is forced to speak a discreet and obscure language: yet he is +much bolder than any layman, or perhaps any other ecclesiastic, +would have dared to be.] +[Footnote 108: See c. 51, p. 1188, c. 75, p. 1193. Dom Chardon, +(Hist. des Sacramens, tom. i. p. 86,) who owns that St. Ambrose +most strenuously maintains the indispensable necessity of +baptism, labors to reconcile the contradiction.] + + The prudence of Arbogastes had prepared the success of his +ambitious designs: and the provincials, in whose breast every +sentiment of patriotism or loyalty was extinguished, expected, +with tame resignation, the unknown master, whom the choice of a +Frank might place on the Imperial throne. But some remains of +pride and prejudice still opposed the elevation of Arbogastes +himself; and the judicious Barbarian thought it more advisable to +reign under the name of some dependent Roman. He bestowed the +purple on the rhetorician Eugenius; ^109 whom he had already +raised from the place of his domestic secretary to the rank of +master of the offices. In the course, both of his private and +public service, the count had always approved the attachment and +abilities of Eugenius; his learning and eloquence, supported by +the gravity of his manners, recommended him to the esteem of the +people; and the reluctance with which he seemed to ascend the +throne, may inspire a favorable prejudice of his virtue and +moderation. The ambassadors of the new emperor were immediately +despatched to the court of Theodosius, to communicate, with +affected grief, the unfortunate accident of the death of +Valentinian; and, without mentioning the name of Arbogastes, to +request, that the monarch of the East would embrace, as his +lawful colleague, the respectable citizen, who had obtained the +unanimous suffrage of the armies and provinces of the West. ^110 +Theodosius was justly provoked, that the perfidy of a Barbarian, +should have destroyed, in a moment, the labors, and the fruit, of +his former victory; and he was excited by the tears of his +beloved wife, ^111 to revenge the fate of her unhappy brother, +and once more to assert by arms the violated majesty of the +throne. But as the second conquest of the West was a task of +difficulty and danger, he dismissed, with splendid presents, and +an ambiguous answer, the ambassadors of Eugenius; and almost two +years were consumed in the preparations of the civil war. Before +he formed any decisive resolution, the pious emperor was anxious +to discover the will of Heaven; and as the progress of +Christianity had silenced the oracles of Delphi and Dodona, he +consulted an Egyptian monk, who possessed, in the opinion of the +age, the gift of miracles, and the knowledge of futurity. +Eutropius, one of the favorite eunuchs of the palace of +Constantinople, embarked for Alexandria, from whence he sailed up +the Nile, as far as the city of Lycopolis, or of Wolves, in the +remote province of Thebais. ^112 In the neighborhood of that +city, and on the summit of a lofty mountain, the holy John ^113 +had constructed, with his own hands, an humble cell, in which he +had dwelt above fifty years, without opening his door, without +seeing the face of a woman, and without tasting any food that had +been prepared by fire, or any human art. Five days of the week +he spent in prayer and meditation; but on Saturdays and Sundays +he regularly opened a small window, and gave audience to the +crowd of suppliants who successively flowed from every part of +the Christian world. The eunuch of Theodosius approached the +window with respectful steps, proposed his questions concerning +the event of the civil war, and soon returned with a favorable +oracle, which animated the courage of the emperor by the +assurance of a bloody, but infallible victory. ^114 The +accomplishment of the prediction was forwarded by all the means +that human prudence could supply. The industry of the two +master-generals, Stilicho and Timasius, was directed to recruit +the numbers, and to revive the discipline of the Roman legions. +The formidable troops of Barbarians marched under the ensigns of +their national chieftains. The Iberian, the Arab, and the Goth, +who gazed on each other with mutual astonishment, were enlisted +in the service of the same prince; ^* and the renowned Alaric +acquired, in the school of Theodosius, the knowledge of the art +of war, which he afterwards so fatally exerted for the +destruction of Rome. ^115 + +[Footnote 109: Quem sibi Germanus famulam delegerat exul, is the +contemptuous expression of Claudian, (iv. Cons. Hon. 74.) +Eugenius professed Christianity; but his secret attachment to +Paganism (Sozomen, l. vii. c. 22, Philostorg. l. xi. c. 2) is +probable in a grammarian, and would secure the friendship of +Zosimus, (l. iv. p. 276, 277.)] + +[Footnote 110: Zosimus (l. iv. p. 278) mentions this embassy; but +he is diverted by another story from relating the event.] + +[Footnote 111: Zosim. l. iv. p. 277. He afterwards says (p. 280) +that Galla died in childbed; and intimates, that the affliction +of her husband was extreme but short.] + +[Footnote 112: Lycopolis is the modern Siut, or Osiot, a town of +Said, about the size of St. Denys, which drives a profitable +trade with the kingdom of Senaar, and has a very convenient +fountain, "cujus potu signa virgini tatis eripiuntur." See +D'Anville, Description de l'Egypte, p. 181 Abulfeda, Descript. +Egypt. p. 14, and the curious Annotations, p. 25, 92, of his +editor Michaelis.] + +[Footnote 113: The Life of John of Lycopolis is described by his +two friends, Rufinus (l. ii. c. i. p. 449) and Palladius, (Hist. +Lausiac. c. 43, p. 738,) in Rosweyde's great Collection of the +Vitae Patrum. Tillemont (Mem. Eccles. tom. x. p. 718, 720) has +settled the chronology.] + +[Footnote 114: Sozomen, l. vii. c. 22. Claudian (in Eutrop. l. +i. 312) mentions the eunuch's journey; but he most contemptuously +derides the Egyptian dreams, and the oracles of the Nile.] +[Footnote *: Gibbon has embodied the picturesque verses of +Claudian: - + .... Nec tantis dissona linguis + Turba, nec armorum cultu diversion unquam] + +[Footnote 115: Zosimus, l. iv. p. 280. Socrates, l. vii. 10. +Alaric himself (de Bell. Getico, 524) dwells with more +complacency on his early exploits against the Romans. + + .... Tot Augustos Hebro qui teste fugavi. + +Yet his vanity could scarcely have proved this plurality of +flying emperors.] + The emperor of the West, or, to speak more properly, his +general Arbogastes, was instructed by the misconduct and +misfortune of Maximus, how dangerous it might prove to extend the +line of defence against a skilful antagonist, who was free to +press, or to suspend, to contract, or to multiply, his various +methods of attack. ^116 Arbogastes fixed his station on the +confines of Italy; the troops of Theodosius were permitted to +occupy, without resistance, the provinces of Pannonia, as far as +the foot of the Julian Alps; and even the passes of the mountains +were negligently, or perhaps artfully, abandoned to the bold +invader. He descended from the hills, and beheld, with some +astonishment, the formidable camp of the Gauls and Germans, that +covered with arms and tents the open country which extends to the +walls of Aquileia, and the banks of the Frigidus, ^117 or Cold +River. ^118 This narrow theatre of the war, circumscribed by the +Alps and the Adriatic, did not allow much room for the operations +of military skill; the spirit of Arbogastes would have disdained +a pardon; his guilt extinguished the hope of a negotiation; and +Theodosius was impatient to satisfy his glory and revenge, by the +chastisement of the assassins of Valentinian. Without weighing +the natural and artificial obstacles that opposed his efforts, +the emperor of the East immediately attacked the fortifications +of his rivals, assigned the post of honorable danger to the +Goths, and cherished a secret wish, that the bloody conflict +might diminish the pride and numbers of the conquerors. Ten +thousand of those auxiliaries, and Bacurius, general of the +Iberians, died bravely on the field of battle. But the victory +was not purchased by their blood; the Gauls maintained their +advantage; and the approach of night protected the disorderly +flight, or retreat, of the troops of Theodosius. The emperor +retired to the adjacent hills; where he passed a disconsolate +night, without sleep, without provisions, and without hopes; ^119 +except that strong assurance, which, under the most desperate +circumstances, the independent mind may derive from the contempt +of fortune and of life. The triumph of Eugenius was celebrated +by the insolent and dissolute joy of his camp; whilst the active +and vigilant Arbogastes secretly detached a considerable body of +troops to occupy the passes of the mountains, and to encompass +the rear of the Eastern army. The dawn of day discovered to the +eyes of Theodosius the extent and the extremity of his danger; +but his apprehensions were soon dispelled, by a friendly message +from the leaders of those troops who expressed their inclination +to desert the standard of the tyrant. The honorable and +lucrative rewards, which they stipulated as the price of their +perfidy, were granted without hesitation; and as ink and paper +could not easily be procured, the emperor subscribed, on his own +tablets, the ratification of the treaty. The spirit of his +soldiers was revived by this seasonable reenforcement; and they +again marched, with confidence, to surprise the camp of a tyrant, +whose principal officers appeared to distrust, either the justice +or the success of his arms. In the heat of the battle, a violent +tempest, ^120 such as is often felt among the Alps, suddenly +arose from the East. The army of Theodosius was sheltered by +their position from the impetuosity of the wind, which blew a +cloud of dust in the faces of the enemy, disordered their ranks, +wrested their weapons from their hands, and diverted, or +repelled, their ineffectual javelins. This accidental advantage +was skilfully improved, the violence of the storm was magnified +by the superstitious terrors of the Gauls; and they yielded +without shame to the invisible powers of heaven, who seemed to +militate on the side of the pious emperor. His victory was +decisive; and the deaths of his two rivals were distinguished +only by the difference of their characters. The rhetorician +Eugenius, who had almost acquired the dominion of the world, was +reduced to implore the mercy of the conqueror; and the +unrelenting soldiers separated his head from his body as he lay +prostrate at the feet of Theodosius. Arbogastes, after the loss +of a battle, in which he had discharged the duties of a soldier +and a general, wandered several days among the mountains. But +when he was convinced that his cause was desperate, and his +escape impracticable, the intrepid Barbarian imitated the example +of the ancient Romans, and turned his sword against his own +breast. The fate of the empire was determined in a narrow corner +of Italy; and the legitimate successor of the house of +Valentinian embraced the archbishop of Milan, and graciously +received the submission of the provinces of the West. Those +provinces were involved in the guilt of rebellion; while the +inflexible courage of Ambrose alone had resisted the claims of +successful usurpation. With a manly freedom, which might have +been fatal to any other subject, the archbishop rejected the +gifts of Eugenius, ^* declined his correspondence, and withdrew +himself from Milan, to avoid the odious presence of a tyrant, +whose downfall he predicted in discreet and ambiguous language. +The merit of Ambrose was applauded by the conqueror, who secured +the attachment of the people by his alliance with the church; and +the clemency of Theodosius is ascribed to the humane intercession +of the archbishop of Milan. ^121 +[Footnote 116: Claudian (in iv. Cons. Honor. 77, &c.) contrasts +the military plans of the two usurpers: - + + .... Novitas audere priorem + Suadebat; cautumque dabant exempla sequentem. + Hic nova moliri praeceps: hic quaerere tuta + Providus. Hic fusis; colectis viribus ille. + Hic vagus excurrens; hic intra claustra reductus + Dissimiles, sed morte pares ......] + +[Footnote 117: The Frigidus, a small, though memorable, stream in +the country of Goretz, now called the Vipao, falls into the +Sontius, or Lisonzo, above Aquileia, some miles from the +Adriatic. See D'Anville's ancient and modern maps, and the +Italia Antiqua of Cluverius, (tom. i. c. 188.)] +[Footnote 118: Claudian's wit is intolerable: the snow was dyed +red; the cold ver smoked; and the channel must have been choked +with carcasses the current had not been swelled with blood. +Confluxit populus: totam pater undique secum + Moverat Aurorem; mixtis hic Colchus Iberis, + Hic mitra velatus Arabs, hic crine decoro + Armenius, hic picta Saces, fucataque Medus, + Hic gemmata tiger tentoria fixerat Indus. - De Laud. Stil. +l. 145. - M.] +[Footnote 119: Theodoret affirms, that St. John, and St. Philip, +appeared to the waking, or sleeping, emperor, on horseback, &c. +This is the first instance of apostolic chivalry, which +afterwards became so popular in Spain, and in the Crusades.] +[Footnote 120: Te propter, gelidis Aquilo de monte procellis + + Obruit adversas acies; revolutaque tela + Vertit in auctores, et turbine reppulit hastas + + O nimium dilecte Deo, cui fundit ab antris + Aeolus armatas hyemes; cui militat Aether, + Et conjurati veniunt ad classica venti. + + These famous lines of Claudian (in iii. Cons. Honor. 93, &c. +A.D. 396) are alleged by his contemporaries, Augustin and +Orosius; who suppress the Pagan deity of Aeolus, and add some +circumstances from the information of eye-witnesses. Within four +months after the victory, it was compared by Ambrose to the +miraculous victories of Moses and Joshua.] + +[Footnote *: Arbogastes and his emperor had openly espoused the +Pagan party, according to Ambrose and Augustin. See Le Beau, v. +40. Beugnot (Histoire de la Destruction du Paganisme) is more +full, and perhaps somewhat fanciful, on this remarkable reaction +in favor of Paganism, but compare p 116. - M.] + +[Footnote 121: The events of this civil war are gathered from +Ambrose, (tom. ii. Epist. lxii. p. 1022,) Paulinus, (in Vit. +Ambros. c. 26 - 34,) Augustin, (de Civitat. Dei, v. 26,) Orosius, +(l. vii. c. 35,) Sozomen, (l. vii. c. 24,) Theodoret, (l. v. c. +24,) Zosimus, (l. iv. p. 281, 282,) Claudian, (in iii. Cons. Hon. +63 - 105, in iv. Cons. Hon. 70 - 117,) and the Chronicles +published by Scaliger.] + + After the defeat of Eugenius, the merit, as well as the +authority, of Theodosius was cheerfully acknowledged by all the +inhabitants of the Roman world. The experience of his past +conduct encouraged the most pleasing expectations of his future +reign; and the age of the emperor, which did not exceed fifty +years, seemed to extend the prospect of the public felicity. His +death, only four months after his victory, was considered by the +people as an unforeseen and fatal event, which destroyed, in a +moment, the hopes of the rising generation. But the indulgence +of ease and luxury had secretly nourished the principles of +disease. ^122 The strength of Theodosius was unable to support +the sudden and violent transition from the palace to the camp; +and the increasing symptoms of a dropsy announced the speedy +dissolution of the emperor. The opinion, and perhaps the +interest, of the public had confirmed the division of the Eastern +and Western empires; and the two royal youths, Arcadius and +Honorius, who had already obtained, from the tenderness of their +father, the title of Augustus, were destined to fill the thrones +of Constantinople and of Rome. Those princes were not permitted +to share the danger and glory of the civil war; ^123 but as soon +as Theodosius had triumphed over his unworthy rivals, he called +his younger son, Honorius, to enjoy the fruits of the victory, +and to receive the sceptre of the West from the hands of his +dying father. The arrival of Honorius at Milan was welcomed by a +splendid exhibition of the games of the Circus; and the emperor, +though he was oppressed by the weight of his disorder, +contributed by his presence to the public joy. But the remains +of his strength were exhausted by the painful effort which he +made to assist at the spectacles of the morning. Honorius +supplied, during the rest of the day, the place of his father; +and the great Theodosius expired in the ensuing night. +Notwithstanding the recent animosities of a civil war, his death +was universally lamented. The Barbarians, whom he had vanquished +and the churchmen, by whom he had been subdued, celebrated, with +loud and sincere applause, the qualities of the deceased emperor, +which appeared the most valuable in their eyes. The Romans were +terrified by the impending dangers of a feeble and divided +administration, and every disgraceful moment of the unfortunate +reigns of Arcadius and Honorius revived the memory of their +irreparable loss. + +[Footnote 122: This disease, ascribed by Socrates (l. v. c. 26) +to the fatigues of war, is represented by Philostorgius (l. xi. +c. 2) as the effect of sloth and intemperance; for which Photius +calls him an impudent liar, (Godefroy, Dissert. p. 438.)] + +[Footnote 123: Zosimus supposes, that the boy Honorius +accompanied his father, (l. iv. p. 280.) Yet the quanto +flagrabrant pectora voto is all that flattery would allow to a +contemporary poet; who clearly describes the emperor's refusal, +and the journey of Honorius, after the victory (Claudian in iii. +Cons. 78 - 125.)] + + In the faithful picture of the virtues of Theodosius, his +imperfections have not been dissembled; the act of cruelty, and +the habits of indolence, which tarnished the glory of one of the +greatest of the Roman princes. An historian, perpetually adverse +to the fame of Theodosius, has exaggerated his vices, and their +pernicious effects; he boldly asserts, that every rank of +subjects imitated the effeminate manners of their sovereign; and +that every species of corruption polluted the course of public +and private life; and that the feeble restraints of order and +decency were insufficient to resist the progress of that +degenerate spirit, which sacrifices, without a blush, the +consideration of duty and interest to the base indulgence of +sloth and appetite. ^124 The complaints of contemporary writers, +who deplore the increase of luxury, and depravation of manners, +are commonly expressive of their peculiar temper and situation. +There are few observers, who possess a clear and comprehensive +view of the revolutions of society; and who are capable of +discovering the nice and secret springs of action, which impel, +in the same uniform direction, the blind and capricious passions +of a multitude of individuals. If it can be affirmed, with any +degree of truth, that the luxury of the Romans was more shameless +and dissolute in the reign of Theodosius than in the age of +Constantine, perhaps, or of Augustus, the alteration cannot be +ascribed to any beneficial improvements, which had gradually +increased the stock of national riches. A long period of +calamity or decay must have checked the industry, and diminished +the wealth, of the people; and their profuse luxury must have +been the result of that indolent despair, which enjoys the +present hour, and declines the thoughts of futurity. The +uncertain condition of their property discouraged the subjects of +Theodosius from engaging in those useful and laborious +undertakings which require an immediate expense, and promise a +slow and distant advantage. The frequent examples of ruin and +desolation tempted them not to spare the remains of a patrimony, +which might, every hour, become the prey of the rapacious Goth. +And the mad prodigality which prevails in the confusion of a +shipwreck, or a siege, may serve to explain the progress of +luxury amidst the misfortunes and terrors of a sinking nation. +[Footnote 124: Zosimus, l. iv. p. 244.] + + The effeminate luxury, which infected the manners of courts +and cities, had instilled a secret and destructive poison into +the camps of the legions; and their degeneracy has been marked by +the pen of a military writer, who had accurately studied the +genuine and ancient principles of Roman discipline. It is the +just and important observation of Vegetius, that the infantry was +invariably covered with defensive armor, from the foundation of +the city, to the reign of the emperor Gratian. The relaxation of +discipline, and the disuse of exercise, rendered the soldiers +less able, and less willing, to support the fatigues of the +service; they complained of the weight of the armor, which they +seldom wore; and they successively obtained the permission of +laying aside both their cuirasses and their helmets. The heavy +weapons of their ancestors, the short sword, and the formidable +pilum, which had subdued the world, insensibly dropped from their +feeble hands. As the use of the shield is incompatible with that +of the bow, they reluctantly marched into the field; condemned to +suffer either the pain of wounds, or the ignominy of flight, and +always disposed to prefer the more shameful alternative. The +cavalry of the Goths, the Huns, and the Alani, had felt the +benefits, and adopted the use, of defensive armor; and, as they +excelled in the management of missile weapons, they easily +overwhelmed the naked and trembling legions, whose heads and +breasts were exposed, without defence, to the arrows of the +Barbarians. The loss of armies, the destruction of cities, and +the dishonor of the Roman name, ineffectually solicited the +successors of Gratian to restore the helmets and the cuirasses of +the infantry. The enervated soldiers abandoned their own and the +public defence; and their pusillanimous indolence may be +considered as the immediate cause of the downfall of the empire. +^125 + +[Footnote 125: Vegetius, de Re Militari, l. i. c. 10. The series +of calamities which he marks, compel us to believe, that the +Hero, to whom he dedicates his book, is the last and most +inglorious of the Valentinians.] + +Chapter XXVIII: Destruction Of Paganism. + +Part I. + + Final Destruction Of Paganism. - Introduction Of The Worship +Of Saints, And Relics, Among The Christians. + + The ruin of Paganism, in the age of Theodosius, is perhaps +the only example of the total extirpation of any ancient and +popular superstition; and may therefore deserve to be considered +as a singular event in the history of the human mind. The +Christians, more especially the clergy, had impatiently supported +the prudent delays of Constantine, and the equal toleration of +the elder Valentinian; nor could they deem their conquest perfect +or secure, as long as their adversaries were permitted to exist. +The influence which Ambrose and his brethren had acquired over +the youth of Gratian, and the piety of Theodosius, was employed +to infuse the maxims of persecution into the breasts of their +Imperial proselytes. Two specious principles of religious +jurisprudence were established, from whence they deduced a direct +and rigorous conclusion, against the subjects of the empire who +still adhered to the ceremonies of their ancestors: that the +magistrate is, in some measure, guilty of the crimes which he +neglects to prohibit, or to punish; and, that the idolatrous +worship of fabulous deities, and real daemons, is the most +abominable crime against the supreme majesty of the Creator. The +laws of Moses, and the examples of Jewish history, ^1 were +hastily, perhaps erroneously, applied, by the clergy, to the mild +and universal reign of Christianity. ^2 The zeal of the emperors +was excited to vindicate their own honor, and that of the Deity: +and the temples of the Roman world were subverted, about sixty +years after the conversion of Constantine. + +[Footnote 1: St. Ambrose (tom. ii. de Obit. Theodos. p. 1208) +expressly praises and recommends the zeal of Josiah in the +destruction of idolatry The language of Julius Firmicus Maternus +on the same subject (de Errore Profan. Relig. p. 467, edit. +Gronov.) is piously inhuman. Nec filio jubet (the Mosaic Law) +parci, nec fratri, et per amatam conjugera gladium vindicem +ducit, &c.] + +[Footnote 2: Bayle (tom. ii. p. 406, in his Commentaire +Philosophique) justifies, and limits, these intolerant laws by +the temporal reign of Jehovah over the Jews. The attempt is +laudable.] + + From the age of Numa to the reign of Gratian, the Romans +preserved the regular succession of the several colleges of the +sacerdotal order. ^3 Fifteen Pontiffs exercised their supreme +jurisdiction over all things, and persons, that were consecrated +to the service of the gods; and the various questions which +perpetually arose in a loose and traditionary system, were +submitted to the judgment of their holy tribunal Fifteen grave +and learned Augurs observed the face of the heavens, and +prescribed the actions of heroes, according to the flight of +birds. Fifteen keepers of the Sibylline books (their name of +Quindecemvirs was derived from their number) occasionally +consulted the history of future, and, as it should seem, of +contingent, events. Six Vestals devoted their virginity to the +guard of the sacred fire, and of the unknown pledges of the +duration of Rome; which no mortal had been suffered to behold +with impunity. ^4 Seven Epulos prepared the table of the gods, +conducted the solemn procession, and regulated the ceremonies of +the annual festival. The three Flamens of Jupiter, of Mars, and +of Quirinus, were considered as the peculiar ministers of the +three most powerful deities, who watched over the fate of Rome +and of the universe. The King of the Sacrifices represented the +person of Numa, and of his successors, in the religious +functions, which could be performed only by royal hands. The +confraternities of the Salians, the Lupercals, &c., practised +such rites as might extort a smile of contempt from every +reasonable man, with a lively confidence of recommending +themselves to the favor of the immortal gods. The authority, +which the Roman priests had formerly obtained in the counsels of +the republic, was gradually abolished by the establishment of +monarchy, and the removal of the seat of empire. But the dignity +of their sacred character was still protected by the laws, and +manners of their country; and they still continued, more +especially the college of pontiffs, to exercise in the capital, +and sometimes in the provinces, the rights of their +ecclesiastical and civil jurisdiction. Their robes of purple, +chariotz of state, and sumptuous entertainments, attracted the +admiration of the people; and they received, from the consecrated +lands, and the public revenue, an ample stipend, which liberally +supported the splendor of the priesthood, and all the expenses of +the religious worship of the state. As the service of the altar +was not incompatible with the command of armies, the Romans, +after their consulships and triumphs, aspired to the place of +pontiff, or of augur; the seats of Cicero ^5 and Pompey were +filled, in the fourth century, by the most illustrious members of +the senate; and the dignity of their birth reflected additional +splendor on their sacerdotal character. The fifteen priests, who +composed the college of pontiffs, enjoyed a more distinguished +rank as the companions of their sovereign; and the Christian +emperors condescended to accept the robe and ensigns, which were +appropriated to the office of supreme pontiff. But when Gratian +ascended the throne, more scrupulous or more enlightened, he +sternly rejected those profane symbols; ^6 applied to the service +of the state, or of the church, the revenues of the priests and +vestals; abolished their honors and immunities; and dissolved the +ancient fabric of Roman superstition, which was supported by the +opinions and habits of eleven hundred years. Paganism was still +the constitutional religion of the senate. The hall, or temple, +in which they assembled, was adorned by the statue and altar of +Victory; ^7 a majestic female standing on a globe, with flowing +garments, expanded wings, and a crown of laurel in her +outstretched hand. ^8 The senators were sworn on the altar of the +goddess to observe the laws of the emperor and of the empire: and +a solemn offering of wine and incense was the ordinary prelude of +their public deliberations. The removal of this ancient monument +was the only injury which Constantius had offered to the +superstition of the Romans. The altar of Victory was again +restored by Julian, tolerated by Valentinian, and once more +banished from the senate by the zeal of Gratian. ^10 But the +emperor yet spared the statues of the gods which were exposed to +the public veneration: four hundred and twenty-four temples, or +chapels, still remained to satisfy the devotion of the people; +and in every quarter of Rome the delicacy of the Christians was +offended by the fumes of idolatrous sacrifice. ^11 +[Footnote 3: See the outlines of the Roman hierarchy in Cicero, +(de Legibus, ii. 7, 8,) Livy, (i. 20,) Dionysius +Halicarnassensis, (l. ii. p. 119 - 129, edit. Hudson,) Beaufort, +(Republique Romaine, tom. i. p. 1 - 90,) and Moyle, (vol. i. p. +10 - 55.) The last is the work of an English whig, as well as of +a Roman antiquary.] + +[Footnote 4: These mystic, and perhaps imaginary, symbols have +given birth to various fables and conjectures. It seems +probable, that the Palladium was a small statue (three cubits and +a half high) of Minerva, with a lance and distaff; that it was +usually enclosed in a seria, or barrel; and that a similar barrel +was placed by its side to disconcert curiosity, or sacrilege. +See Mezeriac (Comment. sur les Epitres d'Ovide, tom i. p. 60 - +66) and Lipsius, (tom. iii. p. 610 de Vesta, &c. c 10.)] + +[Footnote 5: Cicero frankly (ad Atticum, l. ii. Epist. 5) or +indirectly (ad Familiar. l. xv. Epist. 4) confesses that the +Augurate is the supreme object of his wishes. Pliny is proud to +tread in the footsteps of Cicero, (l. iv. Epist. 8,) and the +chain of tradition might be continued from history and marbles.] +[Footnote 6: Zosimus, l. iv. p. 249, 250. I have suppressed the +foolish pun about Pontifex and Maximus.] + +[Footnote 7: This statue was transported from Tarentum to Rome, +placed in the Curia Julia by Caesar, and decorated by Augustus +with the spoils of Egypt.] + +[Footnote 8: Prudentius (l. ii. in initio) has drawn a very +awkward portrait of Victory; but the curious reader will obtain +more satisfaction from Montfaucon's Antiquities, (tom. i. p. +341.)] + +[Footnote 9: See Suetonius (in August. c. 35) and the Exordium of +Pliny's Panegyric.] + +[Footnote 10: These facts are mutually allowed by the two +advocates, Symmachus and Ambrose.] + +[Footnote 11: The Notitia Urbis, more recent than Constantine, +does not find one Christian church worthy to be named among the +edifices of the city. Ambrose (tom. ii. Epist. xvii. p. 825) +deplores the public scandals of Rome, which continually offended +the eyes, the ears, and the nostrils of the faithful.] + + But the Christians formed the least numerous party in the +senate of Rome: ^12 and it was only by their absence, that they +could express their dissent from the legal, though profane, acts +of a Pagan majority. In that assembly, the dying embers of +freedom were, for a moment, revived and inflamed by the breath of +fanaticism. Four respectable deputations were successively voted +to the Imperial court, ^13 to represent the grievances of the +priesthood and the senate, and to solicit the restoration of the +altar of Victory. The conduct of this important business was +intrusted to the eloquent Symmachus, ^14 a wealthy and noble +senator, who united the sacred characters of pontiff and augur +with the civil dignities of proconsul of Africa and praefect of +the city. The breast of Symmachus was animated by the warmest +zeal for the cause of expiring Paganism; and his religious +antagonists lamented the abuse of his genius, and the inefficacy +of his moral virtues. ^15 The orator, whose petition is extant to +the emperor Valentinian, was conscious of the difficulty and +danger of the office which he had assumed. He cautiously avoids +every topic which might appear to reflect on the religion of his +sovereign; humbly declares, that prayers and entreaties are his +only arms; and artfully draws his arguments from the schools of +rhetoric, rather than from those of philosophy. Symmachus +endeavors to seduce the imagination of a young prince, by +displaying the attributes of the goddess of victory; he +insinuates, that the confiscation of the revenues, which were +consecrated to the service of the gods, was a measure unworthy of +his liberal and disinterested character; and he maintains, that +the Roman sacrifices would be deprived of their force and energy, +if they were no longer celebrated at the expense, as well as in +the name, of the republic. Even scepticism is made to supply an +apology for superstition. The great and incomprehensible secret +of the universe eludes the inquiry of man. Where reason cannot +instruct, custom may be permitted to guide; and every nation +seems to consult the dictates of prudence, by a faithful +attachment to those rites and opinions, which have received the +sanction of ages. If those ages have been crowned with glory and +prosperity, if the devout people have frequently obtained the +blessings which they have solicited at the altars of the gods, it +must appear still more advisable to persist in the same salutary +practice; and not to risk the unknown perils that may attend any +rash innovations. The test of antiquity and success was applied +with singular advantage to the religion of Numa; and Rome +herself, the celestial genius that presided over the fates of the +city, is introduced by the orator to plead her own cause before +the tribunal of the emperors. "Most excellent princes," says the +venerable matron, "fathers of your country! pity and respect my +age, which has hitherto flowed in an uninterrupted course of +piety. Since I do not repent, permit me to continue in the +practice of my ancient rites. Since I am born free, allow me to +enjoy my domestic institutions. This religion has reduced the +world under my laws. These rites have repelled Hannibal from the +city, and the Gauls from the Capitol. Were my gray hairs +reserved for such intolerable disgrace? I am ignorant of the new +system that I am required to adopt; but I am well assured, that +the correction of old age is always an ungrateful and ignominious +office." ^16 The fears of the people supplied what the discretion +of the orator had suppressed; and the calamities, which +afflicted, or threatened, the declining empire, were unanimously +imputed, by the Pagans, to the new religion of Christ and of +Constantine. + +[Footnote 12: Ambrose repeatedly affirms, in contradiction to +common sense (Moyle's Works, vol. ii. p. 147,) that the +Christians had a majority in the senate.] + +[Footnote 13: The first (A.D. 382) to Gratian, who refused them +audience; the second (A.D. 384) to Valentinian, when the field +was disputed by Symmachus and Ambrose; the third (A.D. 388) to +Theodosius; and the fourth (A.D. 392) to Valentinian. Lardner +(Heathen Testimonies, vol. iv. p. 372 - 399) fairly represents +the whole transaction.] + +[Footnote 14: Symmachus, who was invested with all the civil and +sacerdotal honors, represented the emperor under the two +characters of Pontifex Maximus, and Princeps Senatus. See the +proud inscription at the head of his works. + + Note: Mr. Beugnot has made it doubtful whether Symmachus was +more than Pontifex Major. Destruction du Paganisme, vol. i. p. +459. - M.] +[Footnote 15: As if any one, says Prudentius (in Symmach. i. 639) +should dig in the mud with an instrument of gold and ivory. Even +saints, and polemic saints, treat this adversary with respect and +civility.] +[Footnote 16: See the fifty-fourth Epistle of the tenth book of +Symmachus. In the form and disposition of his ten books of +Epistles, he imitated the younger Pliny; whose rich and florid +style he was supposed, by his friends, to equal or excel, +(Macrob. Saturnal. l. v. c. i.) But the luxcriancy of Symmachus +consists of barren leaves, without fruits, and even without +flowers. Few facts, and few sentiments, can be extracted from +his verbose correspondence.] + + But the hopes of Symmachus were repeatedly baffled by the +firm and dexterous opposition of the archbishop of Milan, who +fortified the emperors against the fallacious eloquence of the +advocate of Rome. In this controversy, Ambrose condescends to +speak the language of a philosopher, and to ask, with some +contempt, why it should be thought necessary to introduce an +imaginary and invisible power, as the cause of those victories, +which were sufficiently explained by the valor and discipline of +the legions. He justly derides the absurd reverence for +antiquity, which could only tend to discourage the improvements +of art, and to replunge the human race into their original +barbarism. From thence, gradually rising to a more lofty and +theological tone, he pronounces, that Christianity alone is the +doctrine of truth and salvation; and that every mode of +Polytheism conducts its deluded votaries, through the paths of +error, to the abyss of eternal perdition. ^17 Arguments like +these, when they were suggested by a favorite bishop, had power +to prevent the restoration of the altar of Victory; but the same +arguments fell, with much more energy and effect, from the mouth +of a conqueror; and the gods of antiquity were dragged in triumph +at the chariot-wheels of Theodosius. ^18 In a full meeting of the +senate, the emperor proposed, according to the forms of the +republic, the important question, Whether the worship of Jupiter, +or that of Christ, should be the religion of the Romans. ^* The +liberty of suffrages, which he affected to allow, was destroyed +by the hopes and fears that his presence inspired; and the +arbitrary exile of Symmachus was a recent admonition, that it +might be dangerous to oppose the wishes of the monarch. On a +regular division of the senate, Jupiter was condemned and +degraded by the sense of a very large majority; and it is rather +surprising, that any members should be found bold enough to +declare, by their speeches and votes, that they were still +attached to the interest of an abdicated deity. ^19 The hasty +conversion of the senate must be attributed either to +supernatural or to sordid motives; and many of these reluctant +proselytes betrayed, on every favorable occasion, their secret +disposition to throw aside the mask of odious dissimulation. But +they were gradually fixed in the new religion, as the cause of +the ancient became more hopeless; they yielded to the authority +of the emperor, to the fashion of the times, and to the +entreaties of their wives and children, ^20 who were instigated +and governed by the clergy of Rome and the monks of the East. +The edifying example of the Anician family was soon imitated by +the rest of the nobility: the Bassi, the Paullini, the Gracchi, +embraced the Christian religion; and "the luminaries of the +world, the venerable assembly of Catos (such are the high-flown +expressions of Prudentius) were impatient to strip themselves of +their pontifical garment; to cast the skin of the old serpent; to +assume the snowy robes of baptismal innocence, and to humble the +pride of the consular fasces before tombs of the martyrs." ^21 +The citizens, who subsisted by their own industry, and the +populace, who were supported by the public liberality, filled the +churches of the Lateran, and Vatican, with an incessant throng of +devout proselytes. The decrees of the senate, which proscribed +the worship of idols, were ratified by the general consent of the +Romans; ^22 the splendor of the Capitol was defaced, and the +solitary temples were abandoned to ruin and contempt. ^23 Rome +submitted to the yoke of the Gospel; and the vanquished provinces +had not yet lost their reverence for the name and authority of +Rome. ^* + +[Footnote 17: See Ambrose, (tom. ii. Epist. xvii. xviii. p. 825 - +833.) The former of these epistles is a short caution; the latter +is a formal reply of the petition or libel of Symmachus. The +same ideas are more copiously expressed in the poetry, if it may +deserve that name, of Prudentius; who composed his two books +against Symmachus (A.D. 404) while that senator was still alive. +It is whimsical enough that Montesquieu (Considerations, &c. c. +xix. tom. iii. p. 487) should overlook the two professed +antagonists of Symmachus, and amuse himself with descanting on +the more remote and indirect confutations of Orosius, St. +Augustin, and Salvian.] +[Footnote 18: See Prudentius (in Symmach. l. i. 545, &c.) The +Christian agrees with the Pagan Zosimus (l. iv. p. 283) in +placing this visit of Theodosius after the second civil war, +gemini bis victor caede Tyranni, (l. i. 410.) But the time and +circumstances are better suited to his first triumph.] + +[Footnote *: M. Beugnot (in his Histoire de la Destruction du +Paganisme en Occident, i. p. 483 - 488) questions, altogether, +the truth of this statement. It is very remarkable that Zosimus +and Prudentius concur in asserting the fact of the question being +solemnly deliberated by the senate, though with directly opposite +results. Zosimus declares that the majority of the assembly +adhered to the ancient religion of Rome; Gibbon has adopted the +authority of Prudentius, who, as a Latin writer, though a poet, +deserves more credit than the Greek historian. Both concur in +placing this scene after the second triumph of Theodosius; but it +has been almost demonstrated (and Gibbon - see the preceding note +- seems to have acknowledged this) by Pagi and Tillemont, that +Theodosius did not visit Rome after the defeat of Eugenius. M. +Beugnot urges, with much force, the improbability that the +Christian emperor would submit such a question to the senate, +whose authority was nearly obsolete, except on one occasion, +which was almost hailed as an epoch in the restoration of her +ancient privileges. The silence of Ambrose and of Jerom on an +event so striking, and redounding so much to the honor of +Christianity, is of considerable weight. M. Beugnot would +ascribe the whole scene to the poetic imagination of Prudentius; +but I must observe, that, however Prudentius is sometimes +elevated by the grandeur of his subject to vivid and eloquent +language, this flight of invention would be so much bolder and +more vigorous than usual with this poet, that I cannot but +suppose there must have been some foundation for the story, +though it may have been exaggerated by the poet, or +misrepresented by the historian. - M] + +[Footnote 19: Prudentius, after proving that the sense of the +senate is declared by a legal majority, proceeds to say, (609, +&c.) - + Adspice quam pleno subsellia nostra Senatu + Decernant infame Jovis pulvinar, et omne + Idolum longe purgata ex urbe fugandum, + Qua vocat egregii sententia Principis, illuc + Libera, cum pedibus, tum corde, frequentia transit. + +Zosimus ascribes to the conscript feathers a heathenish courage, +which few of them are found to possess.] + +[Footnote 20: Jerom specifies the pontiff Albinus, who was +surrounded with such a believing family of children and +grandchildren, as would have been sufficient to convert even +Jupiter himself; an extraordinary proselyted (tom. i. ad Laetam, +p. 54.)] + +[Footnote 21: Exultare Patres videas, pulcherrima mundi + Lumina; Conciliumque senum gestire Catonum + Candidiore toga niveum pietatis amictum + Sumere; et exuvias deponere pontificales. + +The fancy of Prudentius is warmed and elevated by victory] +[Footnote 22: Prudentius, after he has described the conversion +of the senate and people, asks, with some truth and confidence, + + Et dubitamus adhuc Romam, tibi, Christe, dicatam + In leges transisse tuas?] + +[Footnote 23: Jerom exults in the desolation of the Capitol, and +the other temples of Rome, (tom. i. p. 54, tom. ii. p. 95.)] +[Footnote *: M. Beugnot is more correct in his general estimate +of the measures enforced by Theodosius for the abolition of +Paganism. He seized (according to Zosimus) the funds bestowed by +the public for the expense of sacrifices. The public sacrifices +ceased, not because they were positively prohibited, but because +the public treasury would no longer bear the expense. The public +and the private sacrifices in the provinces, which were not under +the same regulations with those of the capital, continued to take +place. In Rome itself, many pagan ceremonies, which were without +sacrifice, remained in full force. The gods, therefore, were +invoked, the temples were frequented, the pontificates inscribed, +according to ancient usage, among the family titles of honor; and +it cannot be asserted that idolatry was completely destroyed by +Theodosius. See Beugnot, p. 491. - M.] + +Chapter XXVIII: Destruction Of Paganism. + + +Part II. + + The filial piety of the emperors themselves engaged them to +proceed, with some caution and tenderness, in the reformation of +the eternal city. Those absolute monarchs acted with less regard +to the prejudices of the provincials. The pious labor which had +been suspended near twenty years since the death of Constantius, +^24 was vigorously resumed, and finally accomplished, by the zeal +of Theodosius. Whilst that warlike prince yet struggled with the +Goths, not for the glory, but for the safety, of the republic, he +ventured to offend a considerable party of his subjects, by some +acts which might perhaps secure the protection of Heaven, but +which must seem rash and unseasonable in the eye of human +prudence. The success of his first experiments against the +Pagans encouraged the pious emperor to reiterate and enforce his +edicts of proscription: the same laws which had been originally +published in the provinces of the East, were applied, after the +defeat of Maximus, to the whole extent of the Western empire; and +every victory of the orthodox Theodosius contributed to the +triumph of the Christian and Catholic faith. ^25 He attacked +superstition in her most vital part, by prohibiting the use of +sacrifices, which he declared to be criminal as well as infamous; +and if the terms of his edicts more strictly condemned the +impious curiosity which examined the entrails of the victim, ^26 +every subsequent explanation tended to involve in the same guilt +the general practice of immolation, which essentially constituted +the religion of the Pagans. As the temples had been erected for +the purpose of sacrifice, it was the duty of a benevolent prince +to remove from his subjects the dangerous temptation of offending +against the laws which he had enacted. A special commission was +granted to Cynegius, the Praetorian praefect of the East, and +afterwards to the counts Jovius and Gaudentius, two officers of +distinguished rank in the West; by which they were directed to +shut the temples, to seize or destroy the instruments of +idolatry, to abolish the privileges of the priests, and to +confiscate the consecrated property for the benefit of the +emperor, of the church, or of the army. ^27 Here the desolation +might have stopped: and the naked edifices, which were no longer +employed in the service of idolatry, might have been protected +from the destructive rage of fanaticism. Many of those temples +were the most splendid and beautiful monuments of Grecian +architecture; and the emperor himself was interested not to +deface the splendor of his own cities, or to diminish the value +of his own possessions. Those stately edifices might be suffered +to remain, as so many lasting trophies of the victory of Christ. +In the decline of the arts they might be usefully converted into +magazines, manufactures, or places of public assembly: and +perhaps, when the walls of the temple had been sufficiently +purified by holy rites, the worship of the true Deity might be +allowed to expiate the ancient guilt of idolatry. But as long as +they subsisted, the Pagans fondly cherished the secret hope, that +an auspicious revolution, a second Julian, might again restore +the altars of the gods: and the earnestness with which they +addressed their unavailing prayers to the throne, ^28 increased +the zeal of the Christian reformers to extirpate, without mercy, +the root of superstition. The laws of the emperors exhibit some +symptoms of a milder disposition: ^29 but their cold and languid +efforts were insufficient to stem the torrent of enthusiasm and +rapine, which was conducted, or rather impelled, by the spiritual +rulers of the church. In Gaul, the holy Martin, bishop of Tours, +^30 marched at the head of his faithful monks to destroy the +idols, the temples, and the consecrated trees of his extensive +diocese; and, in the execution of this arduous task, the prudent +reader will judge whether Martin was supported by the aid of +miraculous powers, or of carnal weapons. In Syria, the divine +and excellent Marcellus, ^31 as he is styled by Theodoret, a +bishop animated with apostolic fervor, resolved to level with the +ground the stately temples within the diocese of Apamea. His +attack was resisted by the skill and solidity with which the +temple of Jupiter had been constructed. The building was seated +on an eminence: on each of the four sides, the lofty roof was +supported by fifteen massy columns, sixteen feet in +circumference; and the large stone, of which they were composed, +were firmly cemented with lead and iron. The force of the +strongest and sharpest tools had been tried without effect. It +was found necessary to undermine the foundations of the columns, +which fell down as soon as the temporary wooden props had been +consumed with fire; and the difficulties of the enterprise are +described under the allegory of a black daemon, who retarded, +though he could not defeat, the operations of the Christian +engineers. Elated with victory, Marcellus took the field in +person against the powers of darkness; a numerous troop of +soldiers and gladiators marched under the episcopal banner, and +he successively attacked the villages and country temples of the +diocese of Apamea. Whenever any resistance or danger was +apprehended, the champion of the faith, whose lameness would not +allow him either to fight or fly, placed himself at a convenient +distance, beyond the reach of darts. But this prudence was the +occasion of his death: he was surprised and slain by a body of +exasperated rustics; and the synod of the province pronounced, +without hesitation, that the holy Marcellus had sacrificed his +life in the cause of God. In the support of this cause, the +monks, who rushed with tumultuous fury from the desert, +distinguished themselves by their zeal and diligence. They +deserved the enmity of the Pagans; and some of them might deserve +the reproaches of avarice and intemperance; of avarice, which +they gratified with holy plunder, and of intemperance, which they +indulged at the expense of the people, who foolishly admired +their tattered garments, loud psalmody, and artificial paleness. +^32 A small number of temples was protected by the fears, the +venality, the taste, or the prudence, of the civil and +ecclesiastical governors. The temple of the Celestial Venus at +Carthage, whose sacred precincts formed a circumference of two +miles, was judiciously converted into a Christian church; ^33 and +a similar consecration has preserved inviolate the majestic dome +of the Pantheon at Rome. ^34 But in almost every province of the +Roman world, an army of fanatics, without authority, and without +discipline, invaded the peaceful inhabitants; and the ruin of the +fairest structures of antiquity still displays the ravages of +those Barbarians, who alone had time and inclination to execute +such laborious destruction. + +[Footnote 24: Libanius (Orat. pro Templis, p. 10, Genev. 1634, +published by James Godefroy, and now extremely scarce) accuses +Valentinian and Valens of prohibiting sacrifices. Some partial +order may have been issued by the Eastern emperor; but the idea +of any general law is contradicted by the silence of the Code, +and the evidence of ecclesiastical history. + Note: See in Reiske's edition of Libanius, tom. ii. p. 155. +Sacrific was prohibited by Valens, but not the offering of +incense. - M.] +[Footnote 25: See his laws in the Theodosian Code, l. xvi. tit. +x. leg. 7 - 11.] + +[Footnote 26: Homer's sacrifices are not accompanied with any +inquisition of entrails, (see Feithius, Antiquitat. Homer. l. i. +c. 10, 16.) The Tuscans, who produced the first Haruspices, +subdued both the Greeks and the Romans, (Cicero de Divinatione, +ii. 23.)] + +[Footnote 27: Zosimus, l. iv. p. 245, 249. Theodoret. l. v. c. +21. Idatius in Chron. Prosper. Aquitan. l. iii. c. 38, apud +Baronium, Annal. Eccles. A.D. 389, No. 52. Libanius (pro +Templis, p. 10) labors to prove that the commands of Theodosius +were not direct and positive. + + Note: Libanius appears to be the best authority for the +East, where, under Theodosius, the work of devastation was +carried on with very different degrees of violence, according to +the temper of the local authorities and of the clergy; and more +especially the neighborhood of the more fanatican monks. Neander +well observes, that the prohibition of sacrifice would be easily +misinterpreted into an authority for the destruction of the +buildings in which sacrifices were performed. (Geschichte der +Christlichen religion ii. p. 156.) An abuse of this kind led to +this remarkable oration of Libanius. Neander, however, justly +doubts whether this bold vindication or at least exculpation, of +Paganism was ever delivered before, or even placed in the hands +of the Christian emperor. - M.] + +[Footnote 28: Cod. Theodos, l. xvi. tit. x. leg. 8, 18. There is +room to believe, that this temple of Edessa, which Theodosius +wished to save for civil uses, was soon afterwards a heap of +ruins, (Libanius pro Templis, p. 26, 27, and Godefroy's notes, p. +59.)] + +[Footnote 29: See this curious oration of Libanius pro Templis, +pronounced, or rather composed, about the year 390. I have +consulted, with advantage, Dr. Lardner's version and remarks, +(Heathen Testimonies, vol. iv. p. 135 - 163.)] + +[Footnote 30: See the Life of Martin by Sulpicius Severus, c. 9 - +14. The saint once mistook (as Don Quixote might have done) a +harmless funeral for an idolatrous procession, and imprudently +committed a miracle.] +[Footnote 31: Compare Sozomen, (l. vii. c. 15) with Theodoret, +(l. v. c. 21.) Between them, they relate the crusade and death of +Marcellus.] +[Footnote 32: Libanius, pro Templis, p. 10 - 13. He rails at +these black- garbed men, the Christian monks, who eat more than +elephants. Poor elephants! they are temperate animals.] + +[Footnote 33: Prosper. Aquitan. l. iii. c. 38, apud Baronium; +Annal. Eccles. A.D. 389, No. 58, &c. The temple had been shut +some time, and the access to it was overgrown with brambles.] +[Footnote 34: Donatus, Roma Antiqua et Nova, l. iv. c. 4, p. 468. + +This consecration was performed by Pope Boniface IV. I am +ignorant of the favorable circumstances which had preserved the +Pantheon above two hundred years after the reign of Theodosius.] + In this wide and various prospect of devastation, the +spectator may distinguish the ruins of the temple of Serapis, at +Alexandria. ^35 Serapis does not appear to have been one of the +native gods, or monsters, who sprung from the fruitful soil of +superstitious Egypt. ^36 The first of the Ptolemies had been +commanded, by a dream, to import the mysterious stranger from the +coast of Pontus, where he had been long adored by the inhabitants +of Sinope; but his attributes and his reign were so imperfectly +understood, that it became a subject of dispute, whether he +represented the bright orb of day, or the gloomy monarch of the +subterraneous regions. ^37 The Egyptians, who were obstinately +devoted to the religion of their fathers, refused to admit this +foreign deity within the walls of their cities. ^38 But the +obsequious priests, who were seduced by the liberality of the +Ptolemies, submitted, without resistance, to the power of the god +of Pontus: an honorable and domestic genealogy was provided; and +this fortunate usurper was introduced into the throne and bed of +Osiris, ^39 the husband of Isis, and the celestial monarch of +Egypt. Alexandria, which claimed his peculiar protection, +gloried in the name of the city of Serapis. His temple, ^40 +which rivalled the pride and magnificence of the Capitol, was +erected on the spacious summit of an artificial mount, raised one +hundred steps above the level of the adjacent parts of the city; +and the interior cavity was strongly supported by arches, and +distributed into vaults and subterraneous apartments. The +consecrated buildings were surrounded by a quadrangular portico; +the stately halls, and exquisite statues, displayed the triumph +of the arts; and the treasures of ancient learning were preserved +in the famous Alexandrian library, which had arisen with new +splendor from its ashes. ^41 After the edicts of Theodosius had +severely prohibited the sacrifices of the Pagans, they were still +tolerated in the city and temple of Serapis; and this singular +indulgence was imprudently ascribed to the superstitious terrors +of the Christians themselves; as if they had feared to abolish +those ancient rites, which could alone secure the inundations of +the Nile, the harvests of Egypt, and the subsistence of +Constantinople. ^42 + +[Footnote 35: Sophronius composed a recent and separate history, +(Jerom, in Script. Eccles. tom. i. p. 303,) which has furnished +materials to Socrates, (l. v. c. 16.) Theodoret, (l. v. c. 22,) +and Rufinus, (l. ii. c. 22.) Yet the last, who had been at +Alexandria before and after the event, may deserve the credit of +an original witness.] + +[Footnote 36: Gerard Vossius (Opera, tom. v. p. 80, and de +Idoloaltria, l. i. c. 29) strives to support the strange notion +of the Fathers; that the patriarch Joseph was adored in Egypt, as +the bull Apis, and the god Serapis. + + Note: Consult du Dieu Serapis et son Origine, par J D. +Guigniaut, (the translator of Creuzer's Symbolique,) Paris, 1828; +and in the fifth volume of Bournouf's translation of Tacitus. - +M.] + +[Footnote 37: Origo dei nondum nostris celebrata. Aegyptiorum +antistites sic memorant, &c., Tacit. Hist. iv. 83. The Greeks, +who had travelled into Egypt, were alike ignorant of this new +deity.] + +[Footnote 38: Macrobius, Saturnal, l. i. c. 7. Such a living +fact decisively proves his foreign extraction.] + +[Footnote 39: At Rome, Isis and Serapis were united in the same +temple. The precedency which the queen assumed, may seem to +betray her unequal alliance with the stranger of Pontus. But the +superiority of the female sex was established in Egypt as a civil +and religious institution, (Diodor. Sicul. tom. i. l. i. p. 31, +edit. Wesseling,) and the same order is observed in Plutarch's +Treatise of Isis and Osiris; whom he identifies with Serapis.] +[Footnote 40: Ammianus, (xxii. 16.) The Expositio totius Mundi, +(p. 8, in Hudson's Geograph. Minor. tom. iii.,) and Rufinus, (l. +ii. c. 22,) celebrate the Serapeum, as one of the wonders of the +world.] +[Footnote 41: See Memoires de l'Acad. des Inscriptions, tom. ix. +p. 397 - 416. The old library of the Ptolemies was totally +consumed in Caesar's Alexandrian war. Marc Antony gave the whole +collection of Pergamus (200,000 volumes) to Cleopatra, as the +foundation of the new library of Alexandria.] + +[Footnote 42: Libanius (pro Templis, p. 21) indiscreetly provokes +his Christian masters by this insulting remark.] + + At that time ^43 the archiepiscopal throne of Alexandria was +filled by Theophilus, ^44 the perpetual enemy of peace and +virtue; a bold, bad man, whose hands were alternately polluted +with gold and with blood. His pious indignation was excited by +the honors of Serapis; and the insults which he offered to an +ancient temple of Bacchus, ^* convinced the Pagans that he +meditated a more important and dangerous enterprise. In the +tumultuous capital of Egypt, the slightest provocation was +sufficient to inflame a civil war. The votaries of Serapis, +whose strength and numbers were much inferior to those of their +antagonists, rose in arms at the instigation of the philosopher +Olympius, ^45 who exhorted them to die in the defence of the +altars of the gods. These Pagan fanatics fortified themselves in +the temple, or rather fortress, of Serapis; repelled the +besiegers by daring sallies, and a resolute defence; and, by the +inhuman cruelties which they exercised on their Christian +prisoners, obtained the last consolation of despair. The efforts +of the prudent magistrate were usefully exerted for the +establishment of a truce, till the answer of Theodosius should +determine the fate of Serapis. The two parties assembled, +without arms, in the principal square; and the Imperial rescript +was publicly read. But when a sentence of destruction against +the idols of Alexandria was pronounced, the Christians set up a +shout of joy and exultation, whilst the unfortunate Pagans, whose +fury had given way to consternation, retired with hasty and +silent steps, and eluded, by their flight or obscurity, the +resentment of their enemies. Theophilus proceeded to demolish +the temple of Serapis, without any other difficulties, than those +which he found in the weight and solidity of the materials: but +these obstacles proved so insuperable, that he was obliged to +leave the foundations; and to content himself with reducing the +edifice itself to a heap of rubbish, a part of which was soon +afterwards cleared away, to make room for a church, erected in +honor of the Christian martyrs. The valuable library of +Alexandria was pillaged or destroyed; and near twenty years +afterwards, the appearance of the empty shelves excited the +regret and indignation of every spectator, whose mind was not +totally darkened by religious prejudice. ^46 The compositions of +ancient genius, so many of which have irretrievably perished, +might surely have been excepted from the wreck of idolatry, for +the amusement and instruction of succeeding ages; and either the +zeal or the avarice of the archbishop, ^47 might have been +satiated with the rich spoils, which were the reward of his +victory. While the images and vases of gold and silver were +carefully melted, and those of a less valuable metal were +contemptuously broken, and cast into the streets, Theophilus +labored to expose the frauds and vices of the ministers of the +idols; their dexterity in the management of the loadstone; their +secret methods of introducing a human actor into a hollow statue; +^* and their scandalous abuse of the confidence of devout +husbands and unsuspecting females. ^48 Charges like these may +seem to deserve some degree of credit, as they are not repugnant +to the crafty and interested spirit of superstition. But the +same spirit is equally prone to the base practice of insulting +and calumniating a fallen enemy; and our belief is naturally +checked by the reflection, that it is much less difficult to +invent a fictitious story, than to support a practical fraud. +The colossal statue of Serapis ^49 was involved in the ruin of +his temple and religion. A great number of plates of different +metals, artificially joined together, composed the majestic +figure of the deity, who touched on either side the walls of the +sanctuary. The aspect of Serapis, his sitting posture, and the +sceptre, which he bore in his left hand, were extremely similar +to the ordinary representations of Jupiter. He was distinguished +from Jupiter by the basket, or bushel, which was placed on his +head; and by the emblematic monster which he held in his right +hand; the head and body of a serpent branching into three tails, +which were again terminated by the triple heads of a dog, a lion, +and a wolf. It was confidently affirmed, that if any impious +hand should dare to violate the majesty of the god, the heavens +and the earth would instantly return to their original chaos. An +intrepid soldier, animated by zeal, and armed with a weighty +battle-axe, ascended the ladder; and even the Christian multitude +expected, with some anxiety, the event of the combat. ^50 He +aimed a vigorous stroke against the cheek of Serapis; the cheek +fell to the ground; the thunder was still silent, and both the +heavens and the earth continued to preserve their accustomed +order and tranquillity. The victorious soldier repeated his +blows: the huge idol was overthrown, and broken in pieces; and +the limbs of Serapis were ignominiously dragged through the +streets of Alexandria. His mangled carcass was burnt in the +Amphitheatre, amidst the shouts of the populace; and many persons +attributed their conversion to this discovery of the impotence of +their tutelar deity. The popular modes of religion, that propose +any visible and material objects of worship, have the advantage +of adapting and familiarizing themselves to the senses of +mankind: but this advantage is counterbalanced by the various and +inevitable accidents to which the faith of the idolater is +exposed. It is scarcely possible, that, in every disposition of +mind, he should preserve his implicit reverence for the idols, or +the relics, which the naked eye, and the profane hand, are unable +to distinguish from the most common productions of art or nature; +and if, in the hour of danger, their secret and miraculous virtue +does not operate for their own preservation, he scorns the vain +apologies of his priests, and justly derides the object, and the +folly, of his superstitious attachment. ^51 After the fall of +Serapis, some hopes were still entertained by the Pagans, that +the Nile would refuse his annual supply to the impious masters of +Egypt; and the extraordinary delay of the inundation seemed to +announce the displeasure of the river-god. But this delay was +soon compensated by the rapid swell of the waters. They suddenly +rose to such an unusual height, as to comfort the discontented +party with the pleasing expectation of a deluge; till the +peaceful river again subsided to the well-known and fertilizing +level of sixteen cubits, or about thirty English feet. ^52 +[Footnote 43: We may choose between the date of Marcellinus (A.D. +389) or that of Prosper, ( A.D. 391.) Tillemont (Hist. des Emp. +tom. v. p. 310, 756) prefers the former, and Pagi the latter.] +[Footnote 44: Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. xi. p. 441 - 500. The +ambiguous situation of Theophilus - a saint, as the friend of +Jerom a devil, as the enemy of Chrysostom - produces a sort of +impartiality; yet, upon the whole, the balance is justly inclined +against him.] + +[Footnote *: No doubt a temple of Osiris. St. Martin, iv 398 - +M.] +[Footnote 45: Lardner (Heathen Testimonies, vol. iv. p. 411) has +alleged beautiful passage from Suidas, or rather from Damascius, +which show the devout and virtuous Olympius, not in the light of +a warrior, but of a prophet.] + +[Footnote 46: Nos vidimus armaria librorum, quibus direptis, +exinanita ea a nostris hominibus, nostris temporibus memorant. +Orosius, l. vi. c. 15, p. 421, edit. Havercamp. Though a bigot, +and a controversial writer. Orosius seems to blush.] + +[Footnote 47: Eunapius, in the Lives of Antoninus and Aedesius, +execrates the sacrilegious rapine of Theophilus. Tillemont (Mem. +Eccles. tom. xiii. p. 453) quotes an epistle of Isidore of +Pelusium, which reproaches the primate with the idolatrous +worship of gold, the auri sacra fames.] +[Footnote *: An English traveller, Mr. Wilkinson, has discovered +the secret of the vocal Memnon. There was a cavity in which a +person was concealed, and struck a stone, which gave a ringing +sound like brass. The Arabs, who stood below when Mr. Wilkinson +performed the miracle, described sound just as the author of the +epigram. - M.] + +[Footnote 48: Rufinus names the priest of Saturn, who, in the +character of the god, familiarly conversed with many pious ladies +of quality, till he betrayed himself, in a moment of transport, +when he could not disguise the tone of his voice. The authentic +and impartial narrative of Aeschines, (see Bayle, Dictionnaire +Critique, Scamandre,) and the adventure of Mudus, (Joseph. +Antiquitat. Judaic. l. xviii. c. 3, p. 877 edit. Havercamp,) may +prove that such amorous frauds have been practised with success.] + +[Footnote 49: See the images of Serapis, in Montfaucon, (tom. ii. +p. 297:) but the description of Macrobius (Saturnal. l. i. c. 20) +is much more picturesque and satisfactory.] + +[Footnote 50: Sed fortes tremuere manus, motique verenda + Majestate loci, si robora sacra ferirent + In sua credebant redituras membra secures. + +(Lucan. iii. 429.) "Is it true," (said Augustus to a veteran of +Italy, at whose house he supped) "that the man who gave the first +blow to the golden statue of Anaitis, was instantly deprived of +his eyes, and of his life?" - "I was that man, (replied the +clear-sighted veteran,) and you now sup on one of the legs of the +goddess." (Plin. Hist. Natur. xxxiii. 24)] +[Footnote 51: The history of the reformation affords frequent +examples of the sudden change from superstition to contempt.] +[Footnote 52: Sozomen, l. vii. c. 20. I have supplied the +measure. The same standard, of the inundation, and consequently +of the cubit, has uniformly subsisted since the time of +Herodotus. See Freret, in the Mem. de l'Academie des +Inscriptions, tom. xvi. p. 344 - 353. Greaves's Miscellaneous +Works, vol. i. p. 233. The Egyptian cubit is about twenty- two +inches of the English measure. + + Note: Compare Wilkinson's Thebes and Egypt, p. 313. - M.] + + The temples of the Roman empire were deserted, or destroyed; +but the ingenious superstition of the Pagans still attempted to +elude the laws of Theodosius, by which all sacrifices had been +severely prohibited. The inhabitants of the country, whose +conduct was less opposed to the eye of malicious curiosity, +disguised their religious, under the appearance of convivial, +meetings. On the days of solemn festivals, they assembled in +great numbers under the spreading shade of some consecrated +trees; sheep and oxen were slaughtered and roasted; and this +rural entertainment was sanctified by the use of incense, and by +the hymns which were sung in honor of the gods. But it was +alleged, that, as no part of the animal was made a +burnt-offering, as no altar was provided to receive the blood, +and as the previous oblation of salt cakes, and the concluding +ceremony of libations, were carefully omitted, these festal +meetings did not involve the guests in the guilt, or penalty, of +an illegal sacrifice. ^53 Whatever might be the truth of the +facts, or the merit of the distinction, ^54 these vain pretences +were swept away by the last edict of Theodosius, which inflicted +a deadly wound on the superstition of the Pagans. ^55 ^* This +prohibitory law is expressed in the most absolute and +comprehensive terms. "It is our will and pleasure," says the +emperor, "that none of our subjects, whether magistrates or +private citizens, however exalted or however humble may be their +rank and condition, shall presume, in any city or in any place, +to worship an inanimate idol, by the sacrifice of a guiltless +victim." The act of sacrificing, and the practice of divination +by the entrails of the victim, are declared (without any regard +to the object of the inquiry) a crime of high treason against the +state, which can be expiated only by the death of the guilty. +The rites of Pagan superstition, which might seem less bloody and +atrocious, are abolished, as highly injurious to the truth and +honor of religion; luminaries, garlands, frankincense, and +libations of wine, are specially enumerated and condemned; and +the harmless claims of the domestic genius, of the household +gods, are included in this rigorous proscription. The use of any +of these profane and illegal ceremonies, subjects the offender to +the forfeiture of the house or estate, where they have been +performed; and if he has artfully chosen the property of another +for the scene of his impiety, he is compelled to discharge, +without delay, a heavy fine of twenty-five pounds of gold, or +more than one thousand pounds sterling. A fine, not less +considerable, is imposed on the connivance of the secret enemies +of religion, who shall neglect the duty of their respective +stations, either to reveal, or to punish, the guilt of idolatry. +Such was the persecuting spirit of the laws of Theodosius, which +were repeatedly enforced by his sons and grandsons, with the loud +and unanimous applause of the Christian world. ^56 + +[Footnote 53: Libanius (pro Templis, p. 15, 16, 17) pleads their +cause with gentle and insinuating rhetoric. From the earliest +age, such feasts had enlivened the country: and those of Bacchus +(Georgic. ii. 380) had produced the theatre of Athens. See +Godefroy, ad loc. Liban. and Codex Theodos. tom. vi. p. 284.] +[Footnote 54: Honorius tolerated these rustic festivals, (A.D. +399.) "Absque ullo sacrificio, atque ulla superstitione +damnabili." But nine years afterwards he found it necessary to +reiterate and enforce the same proviso, (Codex Theodos. l. xvi. +tit. x. leg. 17, 19.)] + +[Footnote 55: Cod. Theodos. l. xvi. tit. x. leg. 12. Jortin +(Remarks on Eccles. History, vol. iv. p. 134) censures, with +becoming asperity, the style and sentiments of this intolerant +law.] + +[Footnote *: Paganism maintained its ground for a considerable +time in the rural districts. Endelechius, a poet who lived at +the beginning of the fifth century, speaks of the cross as + Signum quod perhibent esse crucis Dei, + Magnis qui colitur solus inurbibus. + + In the middle of the same century, Maximus, bishop of Turin, +writes against the heathen deities as if their worship was still +in full vigor in the neighborhood of his city. Augustine +complains of the encouragement of the Pagan rites by heathen +landowners; and Zeno of Verona, still later, reproves the apathy +of the Christian proprietors in conniving at this abuse. +(Compare Neander, ii. p. 169.) M. Beugnot shows that this was the +case throughout the north and centre of Italy and in Sicily. But +neither of these authors has adverted to one fact, which must +have tended greatly to retard the progress of Christianity in +these quarters. It was still chiefly a slave population which +cultivated the soil; and however, in the towns, the better class +of Christians might be eager to communicate "the blessed liberty +of the gospel" to this class of mankind; however their condition +could not but be silently ameliorated by the humanizing influence +of Christianity; yet, on the whole, no doubt the servile class +would be the least fitted to receive the gospel; and its general +propagation among them would be embarrassed by many peculiar +difficulties. The rural population was probably not entirely +converted before the general establishment of the monastic +institutions. Compare Quarterly Review of Beugnot. vol lvii. p. +52 - M.] + +[Footnote 56: Such a charge should not be lightly made; but it +may surely be justified by the authority of St. Augustin, who +thus addresses the Donatists: "Quis nostrum, quis vestrum non +laudat leges ab Imperatoribus datas adversus sacrificia +Paganorum? Et certe longe ibi poera severior constituta est; +illius quippe impietatis capitale supplicium est." Epist. xciii. +No. 10, quoted by Le Clerc, (Bibliotheque Choisie, tom. viii. p. +277,) who adds some judicious reflections on the intolerance of +the victorious Christians. + Note: Yet Augustine, with laudable inconsistency, +disapproved of the forcible demolition of the temples. "Let us +first extirpate the idolatry of the hearts of the heathen, and +they will either themselves invite us or anticipate us in the +execution of this good work," tom. v. p. 62. Compare Neander, +ii. 169, and, in p. 155, a beautiful passage from Chrysostom +against all violent means of propagating Christianity. - M.] +Chapter XXVIII: Destruction Of Paganism. + +Part III. + + In the cruel reigns of Decius and Dioclesian, Christianity +had been proscribed, as a revolt from the ancient and hereditary +religion of the empire; and the unjust suspicions which were +entertained of a dark and dangerous faction, were, in some +measure, countenanced by the inseparable union and rapid +conquests of the Catholic church. But the same excuses of fear +and ignorance cannot be applied to the Christian emperors who +violated the precepts of humanity and of the Gospel. The +experience of ages had betrayed the weakness, as well as folly, +of Paganism; the light of reason and of faith had already +exposed, to the greatest part of mankind, the vanity of idols; +and the declining sect, which still adhered to their worship, +might have been permitted to enjoy, in peace and obscurity, the +religious costumes of their ancestors. Had the Pagans been +animated by the undaunted zeal which possessed the minds of the +primitive believers, the triumph of the Church must have been +stained with blood; and the martyrs of Jupiter and Apollo might +have embraced the glorious opportunity of devoting their lives +and fortunes at the foot of their altars. But such obstinate +zeal was not congenial to the loose and careless temper of +Polytheism. The violent and repeated strokes of the orthodox +princes were broken by the soft and yielding substance against +which they were directed; and the ready obedience of the Pagans +protected them from the pains and penalties of the Theodosian +Code. ^57 Instead of asserting, that the authority of the gods +was superior to that of the emperor, they desisted, with a +plaintive murmur, from the use of those sacred rites which their +sovereign had condemned. If they were sometimes tempted by a +sally of passion, or by the hopes of concealment, to indulge +their favorite superstition, their humble repentance disarmed the +severity of the Christian magistrate, and they seldom refused to +atone for their rashness, by submitting, with some secret +reluctance, to the yoke of the Gospel. The churches were filled +with the increasing multitude of these unworthy proselytes, who +had conformed, from temporal motives, to the reigning religion; +and whilst they devoutly imitated the postures, and recited the +prayers, of the faithful, they satisfied their conscience by the +silent and sincere invocation of the gods of antiquity. ^58 If +the Pagans wanted patience to suffer they wanted spirit to +resist; and the scattered myriads, who deplored the ruin of the +temples, yielded, without a contest, to the fortune of their +adversaries. The disorderly opposition ^59 of the peasants of +Syria, and the populace of Alexandria, to the rage of private +fanaticism, was silenced by the name and authority of the +emperor. The Pagans of the West, without contributing to the +elevation of Eugenius, disgraced, by their partial attachment, +the cause and character of the usurper. The clergy vehemently +exclaimed, that he aggravated the crime of rebellion by the guilt +of apostasy; that, by his permission, the altar of victory was +again restored; and that the idolatrous symbols of Jupiter and +Hercules were displayed in the field, against the invincible +standard of the cross. But the vain hopes of the Pagans were +soon annihilated by the defeat of Eugenius; and they were left +exposed to the resentment of the conqueror, who labored to +deserve the favor of Heaven by the extirpation of idolatry. ^60 +[Footnote 57: Orosius, l. vii. c. 28, p. 537. Augustin (Enarrat. +in Psalm cxl apud Lardner, Heathen Testimonies, vol. iv. p. 458) +insults their cowardice. "Quis eorum comprehensus est in +sacrificio (cum his legibus sta prohiberentur) et non negavit?"] +[Footnote 58: Libanius (pro Templis, p. 17, 18) mentions, without +censure the occasional conformity, and as it were theatrical +play, of these hypocrites.] + +[Footnote 59: Libanius concludes his apology (p. 32) by declaring +to the emperor, that unless he expressly warrants the destruction +of the temples, the proprietors will defend themselves and the +laws.] + +[Footnote 60: Paulinus, in Vit. Ambros. c. 26. Augustin de +Civitat. Dei, l. v. c. 26. Theodoret, l. v. c. 24.] + + A nation of slaves is always prepared to applaud the +clemency of their master, who, in the abuse of absolute power, +does not proceed to the last extremes of injustice and +oppression. Theodosius might undoubtedly have proposed to his +Pagan subjects the alternative of baptism or of death; and the +eloquent Libanius has praised the moderation of a prince, who +never enacted, by any positive law, that all his subjects should +immediately embrace and practise the religion of their sovereign. +^61 The profession of Christianity was not made an essential +qualification for the enjoyment of the civil rights of society, +nor were any peculiar hardships imposed on the sectaries, who +credulously received the fables of Ovid, and obstinately rejected +the miracles of the Gospel. The palace, the schools, the army, +and the senate, were filled with declared and devout Pagans; they +obtained, without distinction, the civil and military honors of +the empire. ^* Theodosius distinguished his liberal regard for +virtue and genius by the consular dignity, which he bestowed on +Symmachus; ^62 and by the personal friendship which he expressed +to Libanius; ^63 and the two eloquent apologists of Paganism were +never required either to change or to dissemble their religious +opinions. The Pagans were indulged in the most licentious +freedom of speech and writing; the historical and philosophic +remains of Eunapius, Zosimus, ^64 and the fanatic teachers of the +school of Plato, betray the most furious animosity, and contain +the sharpest invectives, against the sentiments and conduct of +their victorious adversaries. If these audacious libels were +publicly known, we must applaud the good sense of the Christian +princes, who viewed, with a smile of contempt, the last struggles +of superstition and despair. ^65 But the Imperial laws, which +prohibited the sacrifices and ceremonies of Paganism, were +rigidly executed; and every hour contributed to destroy the +influence of a religion, which was supported by custom, rather +than by argument. The devotion or the poet, or the philosopher, +may be secretly nourished by prayer, meditation, and study; but +the exercise of public worship appears to be the only solid +foundation of the religious sentiments of the people, which +derive their force from imitation and habit. The interruption of +that public exercise may consummate, in the period of a few +years, the important work of a national revolution. The memory +of theological opinions cannot long be preserved, without the +artificial helps of priests, of temples, and of books. ^66 The +ignorant vulgar, whose minds are still agitated by the blind +hopes and terrors of superstition, will be soon persuaded by +their superiors to direct their vows to the reigning deities of +the age; and will insensibly imbibe an ardent zeal for the +support and propagation of the new doctrine, which spiritual +hunger at first compelled them to accept. The generation that +arose in the world after the promulgation of the Imperial laws, +was attracted within the pale of the Catholic church: and so +rapid, yet so gentle, was the fall of Paganism, that only +twenty-eight years after the death of Theodosius, the faint and +minute vestiges were no longer visible to the eye of the +legislator. ^67 +[Footnote 61: Libanius suggests the form of a persecuting edict, +which Theodosius might enact, (pro Templis, p. 32;) a rash joke, +and a dangerous experiment. Some princes would have taken his +advice.] + +[Footnote *: The most remarkable instance of this, at a much +later period, occurs in the person of Merobaudes, a general and a +poet, who flourished in the first half of the fifth century. A +statue in honor of Merobaudes was placed in the Forum of Trajan, +of which the inscription is still extant. Fragments of his poems +have been recovered by the industry and sagacity of Niebuhr. In +one passage, Merobaudes, in the genuine heathen spirit, +attributes the ruin of the empire to the abolition of Paganism, +and almost renews the old accusation of Atheism against +Christianity. He impersonates some deity, probably Discord, who +summons Bellona to take arms for the destruction of Rome; and in +a strain of fierce irony recommends to her other fatal measures, +to extirpate the gods of Rome: - + + Roma, ipsique tremant furialia murmura reges. + Jam superos terris atque hospita numina pelle: + Romanos populare Deos, et nullus in aris + Vestoe exoratoe fotus strue palleat ignis. + Ilis instructa dolis palatia celsa subibo; + Majorum mores, et pectora prisca fugabo + Funditus; atque simul, nullo discrimine rerum, + Spernantur fortes, nec sic reverentia justis. + Attica neglecto pereat facundia Phoebo: + Indignis contingat honos, et pondera rerum; + Non virtus sed casus agat; tristique cupido; + Pectoribus saevi demens furor aestuet aevi; + Omniaque hoec sine mente Jovis, sine numine sumimo. + +Merobaudes in Niebuhr's edit. of the Byzantines, p. 14. - M.] +[Footnote 62: Denique pro meritis terrestribus aequa rependens + + Munera, sacricolis summos impertit honores. + + Dux bonus, et certare sinit cum laude suorum, +Nec pago implicitos per debita culmina mundi Ire +viros prohibet. + Ipse magistratum tibi consulis, ipse tribunal + + Contulit. + + Prudent. in Symmach. i. 617, &c. + + Note: I have inserted some lines omitted by Gibbon. - M.] +[Footnote 63: Libanius (pro Templis, p. 32) is proud that +Theodosius should thus distinguish a man, who even in his +presence would swear by Jupiter. Yet this presence seems to be no +more than a figure of rhetoric.] +[Footnote 64: Zosimus, who styles himself Count and Ex-advocate +of the Treasury, reviles, with partial and indecent bigotry, the +Christian princes, and even the father of his sovereign. His +work must have been privately circulated, since it escaped the +invectives of the ecclesiastical historians prior to Evagrius, +(l. iii. c. 40 - 42,) who lived towards the end of the sixth +century. + + Note: Heyne in his Disquisitio in Zosimum Ejusque Fidem. +places Zosimum towards the close of the fifth century. Zosim. +Heynii, p. xvii. - M.] +[Footnote 65: Yet the Pagans of Africa complained, that the times +would not allow them to answer with freedom the City of God; nor +does St. Augustin (v. 26) deny the charge.] + +[Footnote 66: The Moors of Spain, who secretly preserved the +Mahometan religion above a century, under the tyranny of the +Inquisition, possessed the Koran, with the peculiar use of the +Arabic tongue. See the curious and honest story of their +expulsion in Geddes, (Miscellanies, vol. i. p. 1 - 198.)] + +[Footnote 67: Paganos qui supersunt, quanquam jam nullos esse +credamus, &c. Cod. Theodos. l. xvi. tit. x. leg. 22, A.D. 423. +The younger Theodosius was afterwards satisfied, that his +judgment had been somewhat premature. + Note: The statement of Gibbon is much too strongly worded. +M. Beugnot has traced the vestiges of Paganism in the West, after +this period, in monuments and inscriptions with curious industry. + +Compare likewise note, p. 112, on the more tardy progress of +Christianity in the rural districts. - M.] + The ruin of the Pagan religion is described by the sophists +as a dreadful and amazing prodigy, which covered the earth with +darkness, and restored the ancient dominion of chaos and of +night. They relate, in solemn and pathetic strains, that the +temples were converted into sepulchres, and that the holy places, +which had been adorned by the statues of the gods, were basely +polluted by the relics of Christian martyrs. "The monks" (a race +of filthy animals, to whom Eunapius is tempted to refuse the name +of men) "are the authors of the new worship, which, in the place +of those deities who are conceived by the understanding, has +substituted the meanest and most contemptible slaves. The heads, +salted and pickled, of those infamous malefactors, who for the +multitude of their crimes have suffered a just and ignominious +death; their bodies still marked by the impression of the lash, +and the scars of those tortures which were inflicted by the +sentence of the magistrate; such" (continues Eunapius) 'are the +gods which the earth produces in our days; such are the martyrs, +the supreme arbitrators of our prayers and petitions to the +Deity, whose tombs are now consecrated as the objects of the +veneration of the people." ^68 Without approving the malice, it +is natural enough to share the surprise of the sophist, the +spectator of a revolution, which raised those obscure victims of +the laws of Rome to the rank of celestial and invisible +protectors of the Roman empire. The grateful respect of the +Christians for the martyrs of the faith, was exalted, by time and +victory, into religious adoration; and the most illustrious of +the saints and prophets were deservedly associated to the honors +of the martyrs. One hundred and fifty years after the glorious +deaths of St. Peter and St. Paul, the Vatican and the Ostian road +were distinguished by the tombs, or rather by the trophies, of +those spiritual heroes. ^69 In the age which followed the +conversion of Constantine, the emperors, the consuls, and the +generals of armies, devoutly visited the sepulchres of a +tentmaker and a fisherman; ^70 and their venerable bones were +deposited under the altars of Christ, on which the bishops of the +royal city continually offered the unbloody sacrifice. ^71 The +new capital of the Eastern world, unable to produce any ancient +and domestic trophies, was enriched by the spoils of dependent +provinces. The bodies of St. Andrew, St. Luke, and St. Timothy, +had reposed near three hundred years in the obscure graves, from +whence they were transported, in solemn pomp, to the church of +the apostles, which the magnificence of Constantine had founded +on the banks of the Thracian Bosphorus. ^72 About fifty years +afterwards, the same banks were honored by the presence of +Samuel, the judge and prophet of the people of Israel. His +ashes, deposited in a golden vase, and covered with a silken +veil, were delivered by the bishops into each other's hands. The +relics of Samuel were received by the people with the same joy +and reverence which they would have shown to the living prophet; +the highways, from Palestine to the gates of Constantinople, were +filled with an uninterrupted procession; and the emperor Arcadius +himself, at the head of the most illustrious members of the +clergy and senate, advanced to meet his extraordinary guest, who +had always deserved and claimed the homage of kings. ^73 The +example of Rome and Constantinople confirmed the faith and +discipline of the Catholic world. The honors of the saints and +martyrs, after a feeble and ineffectual murmur of profane reason, +^74 were universally established; and in the age of Ambrose and +Jerom, something was still deemed wanting to the sanctity of a +Christian church, till it had been consecrated by some portion of +holy relics, which fixed and inflamed the devotion of the +faithful. + +[Footnote 68: See Eunapius, in the Life of the sophist Aedesius; +in that of Eustathius he foretells the ruin of Paganism.] + +[Footnote 69: Caius, (apud Euseb. Hist. Eccles. l. ii. c. 25,) a +Roman presbyter, who lived in the time of Zephyrinus, (A.D. 202 - +219,) is an early witness of this superstitious practice.] +[Footnote 70: Chrysostom. Quod Christus sit Deus. Tom. i. nov. +edit. No. 9. I am indebted for this quotation to Benedict the +XIVth's pastoral letter on the Jubilee of the year 1759. See the +curious and entertaining letters of M. Chais, tom. iii.] + +[Footnote 71: Male facit ergo Romanus episcopus? qui, super +mortuorum hominum, Petri & Pauli, secundum nos, ossa veneranda +... offeri Domino sacrificia, et tumulos eorum, Christi +arbitratur altaria. Jerom. tom. ii. advers. Vigilant. p. 183.] +[Footnote 72: Jerom (tom. ii. p. 122) bears witness to these +translations, which are neglected by the ecclesiastical +historians. The passion of St. Andrew at Patrae is described in +an epistle from the clergy of Achaia, which Baronius (Annal. +Eccles. A.D. 60, No. 34) wishes to believe, and Tillemont is +forced to reject. St. Andrew was adopted as the spiritual +founder of Constantinople, (Mem. Eccles. tom. i. p. 317 - 323, +588 - 594.)] +[Footnote 73: Jerom (tom. ii. p. 122) pompously describes the +translation of Samuel, which is noticed in all the chronicles of +the times.] +[Footnote 74: The presbyter Vigilantius, the Protestant of his +age, firmly, though ineffectually, withstood the superstition of +monks, relics, saints, fasts, &c., for which Jerom compares him +to the Hydra, Cerberus, the Centaurs, &c., and considers him only +as the organ of the Daemon, (tom. ii. p. 120 - 126.) Whoever will +peruse the controversy of St. Jerom and Vigilantius, and St. +Augustin's account of the miracles of St. Stephen, may speedily +gain some idea of the spirit of the Fathers.] + + In the long period of twelve hundred years, which elapsed +between the reign of Constantine and the reformation of Luther, +the worship of saints and relics corrupted the pure and perfect +simplicity of the Christian model: and some symptoms of +degeneracy may be observed even in the first generations which +adopted and cherished this pernicious innovation. + + I. The satisfactory experience, that the relics of saints +were more valuable than gold or precious stones, ^75 stimulated +the clergy to multiply the treasures of the church. Without much +regard for truth or probability, they invented names for +skeletons, and actions for names. The fame of the apostles, and +of the holy men who had imitated their virtues, was darkened by +religious fiction. To the invincible band of genuine and +primitive martyrs, they added myriads of imaginary heroes, who +had never existed, except in the fancy of crafty or credulous +legendaries; and there is reason to suspect, that Tours might not +be the only diocese in which the bones of a malefactor were +adored, instead of those of a saint. ^76 A superstitious +practice, which tended to increase the temptations of fraud, and +credulity, insensibly extinguished the light of history, and of +reason, in the Christian world. +[Footnote 75: M. de Beausobre (Hist. du Manicheisme, tom. ii. p. +648) has applied a worldly sense to the pious observation of the +clergy of Smyrna, who carefully preserved the relics of St. +Polycarp the martyr.] +[Footnote 76: Martin of Tours (see his Life, c. 8, by Sulpicius +Severus) extorted this confession from the mouth of the dead man. + +The error is allowed to be natural; the discovery is supposed to +be miraculous. Which of the two was likely to happen most +frequently?] + + II. But the progress of superstition would have been much +less rapid and victorious, if the faith of the people had not +been assisted by the seasonable aid of visions and miracles, to +ascertain the authenticity and virtue of the most suspicious +relics. In the reign of the younger Theodosius, Lucian, ^77 a +presbyter of Jerusalem, and the ecclesiastical minister of the +village of Caphargamala, about twenty miles from the city, +related a very singular dream, which, to remove his doubts, had +been repeated on three successive Saturdays. A venerable figure +stood before him, in the silence of the night, with a long beard, +a white robe, and a gold rod; announced himself by the name of +Gamaliel, and revealed to the astonished presbyter, that his own +corpse, with the bodies of his son Abibas, his friend Nicodemus, +and the illustrious Stephen, the first martyr of the Christian +faith, were secretly buried in the adjacent field. He added, +with some impatience, that it was time to release himself and his +companions from their obscure prison; that their appearance would +be salutary to a distressed world; and that they had made choice +of Lucian to inform the bishop of Jerusalem of their situation +and their wishes. The doubts and difficulties which still +retarded this important discovery were successively removed by +new visions; and the ground was opened by the bishop, in the +presence of an innumerable multitude. The coffins of Gamaliel, +of his son, and of his friend, were found in regular order; but +when the fourth coffin, which contained the remains of Stephen, +was shown to the light, the earth trembled, and an odor, such as +that of paradise, was smelt, which instantly cured the various +diseases of seventy-three of the assistants. The companions of +Stephen were left in their peaceful residence of Caphargamala: +but the relics of the first martyr were transported, in solemn +procession, to a church constructed in their honor on Mount Sion; +and the minute particles of those relics, a drop of blood, ^78 or +the scrapings of a bone, were acknowledged, in almost every +province of the Roman world, to possess a divine and miraculous +virtue. The grave and learned Augustin, ^79 whose understanding +scarcely admits the excuse of credulity, has attested the +innumerable prodigies which were performed in Africa by the +relics of St. Stephen; and this marvellous narrative is inserted +in the elaborate work of the City of God, which the bishop of +Hippo designed as a solid and immortal proof of the truth of +Christianity. Augustin solemnly declares, that he has selected +those miracles only which were publicly certified by the persons +who were either the objects, or the spectators, of the power of +the martyr. Many prodigies were omitted, or forgotten; and Hippo +had been less favorably treated than the other cities of the +province. And yet the bishop enumerates above seventy miracles, +of which three were resurrections from the dead, in the space of +two years, and within the limits of his own diocese. ^80 If we +enlarge our view to all the dioceses, and all the saints, of the +Christian world, it will not be easy to calculate the fables, and +the errors, which issued from this inexhaustible source. But we +may surely be allowed to observe, that a miracle, in that age of +superstition and credulity, lost its name and its merit, since it +could scarcely be considered as a deviation from the ordinary and +established laws of nature. + +[Footnote 77: Lucian composed in Greek his original narrative, +which has been translated by Avitus, and published by Baronius, +(Annal. Eccles. A.D. 415, No. 7 - 16.) The Benedictine editors of +St. Augustin have given (at the end of the work de Civitate Dei) +two several copies, with many various readings. It is the +character of falsehood to be loose and inconsistent. The most +incredible parts of the legend are smoothed and softened by +Tillemont, (Mem. Eccles. tom. ii. p. 9, &c.)] + +[Footnote 78: A phial of St. Stephen's blood was annually +liquefied at Naples, till he was superseded by St. Jamarius, +(Ruinart. Hist. Persecut. Vandal p. 529.)] + +[Footnote 79: Augustin composed the two-and-twenty books de +Civitate Dei in the space of thirteen years, A.D. 413 - 426. +(Tillemont, (Mem. Eccles. tom. xiv. p. 608, &c.) His learning is +too often borrowed, and his arguments are too often his own; but +the whole work claims the merit of a magnificent design, +vigorously, and not unskilfully, executed.] + +[Footnote 80: See Augustin de Civitat. Dei, l. xxii. c. 22, and +the Appendix, which contains two books of St. Stephen's miracles, +by Evodius, bishop of Uzalis. Freculphus (apud Basnage, Hist. +des Juifs, tom. vii. p. 249) has preserved a Gallic or a Spanish +proverb, "Whoever pretends to have read all the miracles of St. +Stephen, he lies."] + + III. The innumerable miracles, of which the tombs of the +martyrs were the perpetual theatre, revealed to the pious +believer the actual state and constitution of the invisible +world; and his religious speculations appeared to be founded on +the firm basis of fact and experience. Whatever might be the +condition of vulgar souls, in the long interval between the +dissolution and the resurrection of their bodies, it was evident +that the superior spirits of the saints and martyrs did not +consume that portion of their existence in silent and inglorious +sleep. ^81 It was evident (without presuming to determine the +place of their habitation, or the nature of their felicity) that +they enjoyed the lively and active consciousness of their +happiness, their virtue, and their powers; and that they had +already secured the possession of their eternal reward. The +enlargement of their intellectual faculties surpassed the measure +of the human imagination; since it was proved by experience, that +they were capable of hearing and understanding the various +petitions of their numerous votaries; who, in the same moment of +time, but in the most distant parts of the world, invoked the +name and assistance of Stephen or of Martin. ^82 The confidence +of their petitioners was founded on the persuasion, that the +saints, who reigned with Christ, cast an eye of pity upon earth; +that they were warmly interested in the prosperity of the +Catholic Church; and that the individuals, who imitated the +example of their faith and piety, were the peculiar and favorite +objects of their most tender regard. Sometimes, indeed, their +friendship might be influenced by considerations of a less +exalted kind: they viewed with partial affection the places which +had been consecrated by their birth, their residence, their +death, their burial, or the possession of their relics. The +meaner passions of pride, avarice, and revenge, may be deemed +unworthy of a celestial breast; yet the saints themselves +condescended to testify their grateful approbation of the +liberality of their votaries; and the sharpest bolts of +punishment were hurled against those impious wretches, who +violated their magnificent shrines, or disbelieved their +supernatural power. ^83 Atrocious, indeed, must have been the +guilt, and strange would have been the scepticism, of those men, +if they had obstinately resisted the proofs of a divine agency, +which the elements, the whole range of the animal creation, and +even the subtle and invisible operations of the human mind, were +compelled to obey. ^84 The immediate, and almost instantaneous, +effects that were supposed to follow the prayer, or the offence, +satisfied the Christians of the ample measure of favor and +authority which the saints enjoyed in the presence of the Supreme +God; and it seemed almost superfluous to inquire whether they +were continually obliged to intercede before the throne of grace; +or whether they might not be permitted to exercise, according to +the dictates of their benevolence and justice, the delegated +powers of their subordinate ministry. The imagination, which had +been raised by a painful effort to the contemplation and worship +of the Universal Cause, eagerly embraced such inferior objects of +adoration as were more proportioned to its gross conceptions and +imperfect faculties. The sublime and simple theology of the +primitive Christians was gradually corrupted; and the Monarchy of +heaven, already clouded by metaphysical subtleties, was degraded +by the introduction of a popular mythology, which tended to +restore the reign of polytheism. ^85 + +[Footnote 81: Burnet (de Statu Mortuorum, p. 56 - 84) collects +the opinions of the Fathers, as far as they assert the sleep, or +repose, of human souls till the day of judgment. He afterwards +exposes (p. 91, &c.) the inconveniences which must arise, if they +possessed a more active and sensible existence.] +[Footnote 82: Vigilantius placed the souls of the prophets and +martyrs, either in the bosom of Abraham, (in loco refrigerii,) or +else under the altar of God. Nec posse suis tumulis et ubi +voluerunt adesse praesentes. But Jerom (tom. ii. p. 122) sternly +refutes this blasphemy. Tu Deo leges pones? Tu apostolis +vincula injicies, ut usque ad diem judicii teneantur custodia, +nec sint cum Domino suo; de quibus scriptum est, Sequuntur Agnum +quocunque vadit. Si Agnus ubique, ergo, et hi, qui cum Agno +sunt, ubique esse credendi sunt. Et cum diabolus et daemones +tote vagentur in orbe, &c.] + +[Footnote 83: Fleury Discours sur l'Hist. Ecclesiastique, iii p. +80.] +[Footnote 84: At Minorca, the relics of St. Stephen converted, in +eight days, 540 Jews; with the help, indeed, of some wholesome +severities, such as burning the synagogue, driving the obstinate +infidels to starve among the rocks, &c. See the original letter +of Severus, bishop of Minorca (ad calcem St. Augustin. de Civ. +Dei,) and the judicious remarks of Basnage, (tom. viii. p. 245 - +251.)] + +[Footnote 85: Mr. Hume (Essays, vol. ii. p. 434) observes, like a +philosopher, the natural flux and reflux of polytheism and +theism.] + IV. As the objects of religion were gradually reduced to +the standard of the imagination, the rites and ceremonies were +introduced that seemed most powerfully to affect the senses of +the vulgar. If, in the beginning of the fifth century, ^86 +Tertullian, or Lactantius, ^87 had been suddenly raised from the +dead, to assist at the festival of some popular saint, or martyr, +^88 they would have gazed with astonishment, and indignation, on +the profane spectacle, which had succeeded to the pure and +spiritual worship of a Christian congregation. As soon as the +doors of the church were thrown open, they must have been +offended by the smoke of incense, the perfume of flowers, and the +glare of lamps and tapers, which diffused, at noonday, a gaudy, +superfluous, and, in their opinion, a sacrilegious light. If they +approached the balustrade of the altar, they made their way +through the prostrate crowd, consisting, for the most part, of +strangers and pilgrims, who resorted to the city on the vigil of +the feast; and who already felt the strong intoxication of +fanaticism, and, perhaps, of wine. Their devout kisses were +imprinted on the walls and pavement of the sacred edifice; and +their fervent prayers were directed, whatever might be the +language of their church, to the bones, the blood, or the ashes +of the saint, which were usually concealed, by a linen or silken +veil, from the eyes of the vulgar. The Christians frequented the +tombs of the martyrs, in the hope of obtaining, from their +powerful intercession, every sort of spiritual, but more +especially of temporal, blessings. They implored the +preservation of their health, or the cure of their infirmities; +the fruitfulness of their barren wives, or the safety and +happiness of their children. Whenever they undertook any distant +or dangerous journey, they requested, that the holy martyrs would +be their guides and protectors on the road; and if they returned +without having experienced any misfortune, they again hastened to +the tombs of the martyrs, to celebrate, with grateful +thanksgivings, their obligations to the memory and relics of +those heavenly patrons. The walls were hung round with symbols +of the favors which they had received; eyes, and hands, and feet, +of gold and silver: and edifying pictures, which could not long +escape the abuse of indiscreet or idolatrous devotion, +represented the image, the attributes, and the miracles of the +tutelar saint. The same uniform original spirit of superstition +might suggest, in the most distant ages and countries, the same +methods of deceiving the credulity, and of affecting the senses +of mankind: ^89 but it must ingenuously be confessed, that the +ministers of the Catholic church imitated the profane model, +which they were impatient to destroy. The most respectable +bishops had persuaded themselves that the ignorant rustics would +more cheerfully renounce the superstitions of Paganism, if they +found some resemblance, some compensation, in the bosom of +Christianity. The religion of Constantine achieved, in less than +a century, the final conquest of the Roman empire: but the +victors themselves were insensibly subdued by the arts of their +vanquished rivals. ^90 ^* +[Footnote 86: D'Aubigne (see his own Memoires, p. 156 - 160) +frankly offered, with the consent of the Huguenot ministers, to +allow the first 400 years as the rule of faith. The Cardinal du +Perron haggled for forty years more, which were indiscreetly +given. Yet neither party would have found their account in this +foolish bargain.] + +[Footnote 87: The worship practised and inculcated by Tertullian, +Lactantius Arnobius, &c., is so extremely pure and spiritual, +that their declamations against the Pagan sometimes glance +against the Jewish, ceremonies.] + +[Footnote 88: Faustus the Manichaean accuses the Catholics of +idolatry. Vertitis idola in martyres .... quos votis similibus +colitis. M. de Beausobre, (Hist. Critique du Manicheisme, tom. +ii. p. 629 - 700,) a Protestant, but a philosopher, has +represented, with candor and learning, the introduction of +Christian idolatry in the fourth and fifth centuries.] +[Footnote 89: The resemblance of superstition, which could not be +imitated, might be traced from Japan to Mexico. Warburton has +seized this idea, which he distorts, by rendering it too general +and absolute, (Divine Legation, vol. iv. p. 126, &c.)] + +[Footnote 90: The imitation of Paganism is the subject of Dr. +Middleton's agreeable letter from Rome. Warburton's +animadversions obliged him to connect (vol. iii. p. 120 - 132,) +the history of the two religions, and to prove the antiquity of +the Christian copy.] + +[Footnote *: But there was always this important difference +between Christian and heathen Polytheism. In Paganism this was +the whole religion; in the darkest ages of Christianity, some, +however obscure and vague, Christian notions of future +retribution, of the life after death, lurked at the bottom, and +operated, to a certain extent, on the thoughts and feelings, +sometimes on the actions. - M.] + +Chapter XXIX: Division Of Roman Empire Between Sons Of +Theodosius. + +Part I. + + Final Division Of The Roman Empire Between The Sons Of +Theodosius. - Reign Of Arcadius And Honorius - Administration Of +Rufinus And Stilicho. - Revolt And Defeat Of Gildo In Africa. + The genius of Rome expired with Theodosius; the last of the +successors of Augustus and Constantine, who appeared in the field +at the head of their armies, and whose authority was universally +acknowledged throughout the whole extent of the empire. The +memory of his virtues still continued, however, to protect the +feeble and inexperienced youth of his two sons. After the death +of their father, Arcadius and Honorius were saluted, by the +unanimous consent of mankind, as the lawful emperors of the East, +and of the West; and the oath of fidelity was eagerly taken by +every order of the state; the senates of old and new Rome, the +clergy, the magistrates, the soldiers, and the people. Arcadius, +who was then about eighteen years of age, was born in Spain, in +the humble habitation of a private family. But he received a +princely education in the palace of Constantinople; and his +inglorious life was spent in that peaceful and splendid seat of +royalty, from whence he appeared to reign over the provinces of +Thrace, Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt, from the Lower Danube to +the confines of Persia and Aethiopia. His younger brother +Honorius, assumed, in the eleventh year of his age, the nominal +government of Italy, Africa, Gaul, Spain, and Britain; and the +troops, which guarded the frontiers of his kingdom, were opposed, +on one side, to the Caledonians, and on the other, to the Moors. +The great and martial praefecture of Illyricum was divided +between the two princes: the defence and possession of the +provinces of Noricum, Pannonia, and Dalmatia still belonged to +the Western empire; but the two large dioceses of Dacia and +Macedonia, which Gratian had intrusted to the valor of +Theodosius, were forever united to the empire of the East. The +boundary in Europe was not very different from the line which now +separates the Germans and the Turks; and the respective +advantages of territory, riches, populousness, and military +strength, were fairly balanced and compensated, in this final and +permanent division of the Roman empire. The hereditary sceptre +of the sons of Theodosius appeared to be the gift of nature, and +of their father; the generals and ministers had been accustomed +to adore the majesty of the royal infants; and the army and +people were not admonished of their rights, and of their power, +by the dangerous example of a recent election. The gradual +discovery of the weakness of Arcadius and Honorius, and the +repeated calamities of their reign, were not sufficient to +obliterate the deep and early impressions of loyalty. The +subjects of Rome, who still reverenced the persons, or rather the +names, of their sovereigns, beheld, with equal abhorrence, the +rebels who opposed, and the ministers who abused, the authority +of the throne. + + Theodosius had tarnished the glory of his reign by the +elevation of Rufinus; an odious favorite, who, in an age of civil +and religious faction, has deserved, from every party, the +imputation of every crime. The strong impulse of ambition and +avarice ^1 had urged Rufinus to abandon his native country, an +obscure corner of Gaul, ^2 to advance his fortune in the capital +of the East: the talent of bold and ready elocution, ^3 qualified +him to succeed in the lucrative profession of the law; and his +success in that profession was a regular step to the most +honorable and important employments of the state. He was raised, +by just degrees, to the station of master of the offices. In the +exercise of his various functions, so essentially connected with +the whole system of civil government, he acquired the confidence +of a monarch, who soon discovered his diligence and capacity in +business, and who long remained ignorant of the pride, the +malice, and the covetousness of his disposition. These vices +were concealed beneath the mask of profound dissimulation; ^4 his +passions were subservient only to the passions of his master; yet +in the horrid massacre of Thessalonica, the cruel Rufinus +inflamed the fury, without imitating the repentance, of +Theodosius. The minister, who viewed with proud indifference the +rest of mankind, never forgave the appearance of an injury; and +his personal enemies had forfeited, in his opinion, the merit of +all public services. Promotus, the master-general of the +infantry, had saved the empire from the invasion of the +Ostrogoths; but he indignantly supported the preeminence of a +rival, whose character and profession he despised; and in the +midst of a public council, the impatient soldier was provoked to +chastise with a blow the indecent pride of the favorite. This +act of violence was represented to the emperor as an insult, +which it was incumbent on his dignity to resent. The disgrace +and exile of Promotus were signified by a peremptory order, to +repair, without delay, to a military station on the banks of the +Danube; and the death of that general (though he was slain in a +skirmish with the Barbarians) was imputed to the perfidious arts +of Rufinus. ^5 The sacrifice of a hero gratified his revenge; the +honors of the consulship elated his vanity; but his power was +still imperfect and precarious, as long as the important posts of +praefect of the East, and of praefect of Constantinople, were +filled by Tatian, ^6 and his son Proculus; whose united authority +balanced, for some time, the ambition and favor of the master of +the offices. The two praefects were accused of rapine and +corruption in the administration of the laws and finances. For +the trial of these illustrious offenders, the emperor constituted +a special commission: several judges were named to share the +guilt and reproach of injustice; but the right of pronouncing +sentence was reserved to the president alone, and that president +was Rufinus himself. The father, stripped of the praefecture of +the East, was thrown into a dungeon; but the son, conscious that +few ministers can be found innocent, where an enemy is their +judge, had secretly escaped; and Rufinus must have been satisfied +with the least obnoxious victim, if despotism had not +condescended to employ the basest and most ungenerous artifice. +The prosecution was conducted with an appearance of equity and +moderation, which flattered Tatian with the hope of a favorable +event: his confidence was fortified by the solemn assurances, and +perfidious oaths, of the president, who presumed to interpose the +sacred name of Theodosius himself; and the unhappy father was at +last persuaded to recall, by a private letter, the fugitive +Proculus. He was instantly seized, examined, condemned, and +beheaded, in one of the suburbs of Constantinople, with a +precipitation which disappointed the clemency of the emperor. +Without respecting the misfortunes of a consular senator, the +cruel judges of Tatian compelled him to behold the execution of +his son: the fatal cord was fastened round his own neck; but in +the moment when he expected. and perhaps desired, the relief of +a speedy death, he was permitted to consume the miserable remnant +of his old age in poverty and exile. ^7 The punishment of the two +praefects might, perhaps, be excused by the exceptionable parts +of their own conduct; the enmity of Rufinus might be palliated by +the jealous and unsociable nature of ambition. But he indulged a +spirit of revenge equally repugnant to prudence and to justice, +when he degraded their native country of Lycia from the rank of +Roman provinces; stigmatized a guiltless people with a mark of +ignominy; and declared, that the countrymen of Tatian and +Proculus should forever remain incapable of holding any +employment of honor or advantage under the Imperial government. +^8 The new praefect of the East (for Rufinus instantly succeeded +to the vacant honors of his adversary) was not diverted, however, +by the most criminal pursuits, from the performance of the +religious duties, which in that age were considered as the most +essential to salvation. In the suburb of Chalcedon, surnamed the +Oak, he had built a magnificent villa; to which he devoutly added +a stately church, consecrated to the apostles St. Peter and St. +Paul, and continually sanctified by the prayers and penance of a +regular society of monks. A numerous, and almost general, synod +of the bishops of the Eastern empire, was summoned to celebrate, +at the same time, the dedication of the church, and the baptism +of the founder. This double ceremony was performed with +extraordinary pomp; and when Rufinus was purified, in the holy +font, from all the sins that he had hitherto committed, a +venerable hermit of Egypt rashly proposed himself as the sponsor +of a proud and ambitious statesman. ^9 +[Footnote 1: Alecto, envious of the public felicity, convenes an +infernal synod Megaera recommends her pupil Rufinus, and excites +him to deeds of mischief, &c. But there is as much difference +between Claudian's fury and that of Virgil, as between the +characters of Turnus and Rufinus.] +[Footnote 2: It is evident, (Tillemont, Hist. des Emp. tom. v. p. +770,) though De Marca is ashamed of his countryman, that Rufinus +was born at Elusa, the metropolis of Novempopulania, now a small +village of Gassony, (D'Anville, Notice de l'Ancienne Gaule, p. +289.)] + +[Footnote 3: Philostorgius, l. xi c. 3, with Godefroy's Dissert. +p. 440.] +[Footnote 4: A passage of Suidas is expressive of his profound +dissimulation.] +[Footnote 5: Zosimus, l. iv. p. 272, 273.] + +[Footnote 6: Zosimus, who describes the fall of Tatian and his +son, (l. iv. p. 273, 274,) asserts their innocence; and even his +testimony may outweigh the charges of their enemies, (Cod. Theod. +tom. iv. p. 489,) who accuse them of oppressing the Curiae. The +connection of Tatian with the Arians, while he was praefect of +Egypt, (A.D. 373,) inclines Tillemont to believe that he was +guilty of every crime, (Hist. des Emp. tom. v. p. 360. Mem. +Eccles. tom vi. p. 589.)] + +[Footnote 7: - Juvenum rorantia colla + Ante patrum vultus stricta cecidere securi. + + Ibat grandaevus nato moriente superstes + Post trabeas exsul. + + In Rufin. i. 248. + +The facts of Zosimus explain the allusions of Claudian; but his +classic interpreters were ignorant of the fourth century. The +fatal cord, I found, with the help of Tillemont, in a sermon of +St. Asterius of Amasea.] +[Footnote 8: This odious law is recited and repealed by Arcadius, +(A.D. 296,) on the Theodosian Code, l. ix. tit. xxxviii. leg. 9. +The sense as it is explained by Claudian, (in Rufin. i. 234,) and +Godefroy, (tom. iii. p. 279,) is perfectly clear. + + - Exscindere cives + Funditus; et nomen gentis delere laborat. + +The scruples of Pagi and Tillemont can arise only from their zeal +for the glory of Theodosius.] + +[Footnote 9: Ammonius .... Rufinum propriis manibus suscepit +sacro fonte mundatum. See Rosweyde's Vitae Patrum, p. 947. +Sozomen (l. viii. c. 17) mentions the church and monastery; and +Tillemont (Mem. Eccles. tom. ix. p. 593) records this synod, in +which St. Gregory of Nyssa performed a conspicuous part.] + + The character of Theodosius imposed on his minister the task +of hypocrisy, which disguised, and sometimes restrained, the +abuse of power; and Rufinus was apprehensive of disturbing the +indolent slumber of a prince still capable of exerting the +abilities and the virtue, which had raised him to the throne. ^10 +But the absence, and, soon afterwards, the death, of the emperor, +confirmed the absolute authority of Rufinus over the person and +dominions of Arcadius; a feeble youth, whom the imperious +praefect considered as his pupil, rather than his sovereign. +Regardless of the public opinion, he indulged his passions +without remorse, and without resistance; and his malignant and +rapacious spirit rejected every passion that might have +contributed to his own glory, or the happiness of the people. +His avarice, ^11 which seems to have prevailed, in his corrupt +mind, over every other sentiment, attracted the wealth of the +East, by the various arts of partial and general extortion; +oppressive taxes, scandalous bribery, immoderate fines, unjust +confiscations, forced or fictitious testaments, by which the +tyrant despoiled of their lawful inheritance the children of +strangers, or enemies; and the public sale of justice, as well as +of favor, which he instituted in the palace of Constantinople. +The ambitious candidate eagerly solicited, at the expense of the +fairest part of his patrimony, the honors and emoluments of some +provincial government; the lives and fortunes of the unhappy +people were abandoned to the most liberal purchaser; and the +public discontent was sometimes appeased by the sacrifice of an +unpopular criminal, whose punishment was profitable only to the +praefect of the East, his accomplice and his judge. If avarice +were not the blindest of the human passions, the motives of +Rufinus might excite our curiosity; and we might be tempted to +inquire with what view he violated every principle of humanity +and justice, to accumulate those immense treasures, which he +could not spend without folly, nor possess without danger. +Perhaps he vainly imagined, that he labored for the interest of +an only daughter, on whom he intended to bestow his royal pupil, +and the august rank of Empress of the East. Perhaps he deceived +himself by the opinion, that his avarice was the instrument of +his ambition. He aspired to place his fortune on a secure and +independent basis, which should no longer depend on the caprice +of the young emperor; yet he neglected to conciliate the hearts +of the soldiers and people, by the liberal distribution of those +riches, which he had acquired with so much toil, and with so much +guilt. The extreme parsimony of Rufinus left him only the +reproach and envy of ill-gotten wealth; his dependants served him +without attachment; the universal hatred of mankind was repressed +only by the influence of servile fear. The fate of Lucian +proclaimed to the East, that the praefect, whose industry was +much abated in the despatch of ordinary business, was active and +indefatigable in the pursuit of revenge. Lucian, the son of the +praefect Florentius, the oppressor of Gaul, and the enemy of +Julian, had employed a considerable part of his inheritance, the +fruit of rapine and corruption, to purchase the friendship of +Rufinus, and the high office of Count of the East. But the new +magistrate imprudently departed from the maxims of the court, and +of the times; disgraced his benefactor by the contrast of a +virtuous and temperate administration; and presumed to refuse an +act of injustice, which might have tended to the profit of the +emperor's uncle. Arcadius was easily persuaded to resent the +supposed insult; and the praefect of the East resolved to execute +in person the cruel vengeance, which he meditated against this +ungrateful delegate of his power. He performed with incessant +speed the journey of seven or eight hundred miles, from +Constantinople to Antioch, entered the capital of Syria at the +dead of night, and spread universal consternation among a people +ignorant of his design, but not ignorant of his character. The +Count of the fifteen provinces of the East was dragged, like the +vilest malefactor, before the arbitrary tribunal of Rufinus. +Notwithstanding the clearest evidence of his integrity, which was +not impeached even by the voice of an accuser, Lucian was +condemned, almost with out a trial, to suffer a cruel and +ignominious punishment. The ministers of the tyrant, by the +orders, and in the presence, of their master, beat him on the +neck with leather thongs armed at the extremities with lead; and +when he fainted under the violence of the pain, he was removed in +a close litter, to conceal his dying agonies from the eyes of the +indignant city. No sooner had Rufinus perpetrated this inhuman +act, the sole object of his expedition, than he returned, amidst +the deep and silent curses of a trembling people, from Antioch to +Constantinople; and his diligence was accelerated by the hope of +accomplishing, without delay, the nuptials of his daughter with +the emperor of the East. ^12 + +[Footnote 10: Montesquieu (Esprit des Loix, l. xii. c. 12) +praises one of the laws of Theodosius addressed to the praefect +Rufinus, (l. ix. tit. iv. leg. unic.,) to discourage the +prosecution of treasonable, or sacrilegious, words. A tyrannical +statute always proves the existence of tyranny; but a laudable +edict may only contain the specious professions, or ineffectual +wishes, of the prince, or his ministers. This, I am afraid, is a +just, though mortifying, canon of criticism.] + +[Footnote 11: - fluctibus auri + Expleri sitis ista nequit - + + - - - - - - - + + Congestae cumulantur opes; orbisque ruinas + Accipit una domus. + +This character (Claudian, in. Rufin. i. 184 - 220) is confirmed +by Jerom, a disinterested witness, (dedecus insatiabilis +avaritiae, tom. i. ad Heliodor. p. 26,) by Zosimus, (l. v. p. +286,) and by Suidas, who copied the history of Eunapius.] + +Footnote 12: - Caetera segnis; + Ad facinus velox; penitus regione remotas + Impiger ire vias. + +This allusion of Claudian (in Rufin. i. 241) is again explained +by the circumstantial narrative of Zosimus, (l. v. p. 288, 289.)] + + But Rufinus soon experienced, that a prudent minister should +constantly secure his royal captive by the strong, though +invisible chain of habit; and that the merit, and much more +easily the favor, of the absent, are obliterated in a short time +from the mind of a weak and capricious sovereign. While the +praefect satiated his revenge at Antioch, a secret conspiracy of +the favorite eunuchs, directed by the great chamberlain +Eutropius, undermined his power in the palace of Constantinople. +They discovered that Arcadius was not inclined to love the +daughter of Rufinus, who had been chosen, without his consent, +for his bride; and they contrived to substitute in her place the +fair Eudoxia, the daughter of Bauto, ^13 a general of the Franks +in the service of Rome; and who was educated, since the death of +her father, in the family of the sons of Promotus. The young +emperor, whose chastity had been strictly guarded by the pious +care of his tutor Arsenius, ^14 eagerly listened to the artful +and flattering descriptions of the charms of Eudoxia: he gazed +with impatient ardor on her picture, and he understood the +necessity of concealing his amorous designs from the knowledge of +a minister who was so deeply interested to oppose the +consummation of his happiness. Soon after the return of Rufinus, +the approaching ceremony of the royal nuptials was announced to +the people of Constantinople, who prepared to celebrate, with +false and hollow acclamations, the fortune of his daughter. A +splendid train of eunuchs and officers issued, in hymeneal pomp, +from the gates of the palace; bearing aloft the diadem, the +robes, and the inestimable ornaments, of the future empress. The +solemn procession passed through the streets of the city, which +were adorned with garlands, and filled with spectators; but when +it reached the house of the sons of Promotus, the principal +eunuch respectfully entered the mansion, invested the fair +Eudoxia with the Imperial robes, and conducted her in triumph to +the palace and bed of Arcadius. ^15 The secrecy and success with +which this conspiracy against Rufinus had been conducted, +imprinted a mark of indelible ridicule on the character of a +minister, who had suffered himself to be deceived, in a post +where the arts of deceit and dissimulation constitute the most +distinguished merit. He considered, with a mixture of +indignation and fear, the victory of an aspiring eunuch, who had +secretly captivated the favor of his sovereign; and the disgrace +of his daughter, whose interest was inseparably connected with +his own, wounded the tenderness, or, at least, the pride of +Rufinus. At the moment when he flattered himself that he should +become the father of a line of kings, a foreign maid, who had +been educated in the house of his implacable enemies, was +introduced into the Imperial bed; and Eudoxia soon displayed a +superiority of sense and spirit, to improve the ascendant which +her beauty must acquire over the mind of a fond and youthful +husband. The emperor would soon be instructed to hate, to fear, +and to destroy the powerful subject, whom he had injured; and the +consciousness of guilt deprived Rufinus of every hope, either of +safety or comfort, in the retirement of a private life. But he +still possessed the most effectual means of defending his +dignity, and perhaps of oppressing his enemies. The praefect +still exercised an uncontrolled authority over the civil and +military government of the East; and his treasures, if he could +resolve to use them, might be employed to procure proper +instruments for the execution of the blackest designs, that +pride, ambition, and revenge could suggest to a desperate +statesman. The character of Rufinus seemed to justify the +accusations that he conspired against the person of his +sovereign, to seat himself on the vacant throne; and that he had +secretly invited the Huns and the Goths to invade the provinces +of the empire, and to increase the public confusion. The subtle +praefect, whose life had been spent in the intrigues of the +palace, opposed, with equal arms, the artful measures of the +eunuch Eutropius; but the timid soul of Rufinus was astonished by +the hostile approach of a more formidable rival, of the great +Stilicho, the general, or rather the master, of the empire of the +West. ^16 + +[Footnote 13: Zosimus (l. iv. p. 243) praises the valor, +prudence, and integrity of Bauto the Frank. See Tillemont, Hist. +des Empereurs, tom. v. p. 771.] + +[Footnote 14: Arsenius escaped from the palace of Constantinople, +and passed fifty-five years in rigid penance in the monasteries +of Egypt. See Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. xiv. p. 676 - 702; +and Fleury, Hist Eccles. tom. v. p. 1, &c.; but the latter, for +want of authentic materials, has given too much credit to the +legend of Metaphrastes.] + +[Footnote 15: This story (Zosimus, l. v. p. 290) proves that the +hymeneal rites of antiquity were still practised, without +idolatry, by the Christians of the East; and the bride was +forcibly conducted from the house of her parents to that of her +husband. Our form of marriage requires, with less delicacy, the +express and public consent of a virgin.] +[Footnote 16: Zosimus, (l. v. p. 290,) Orosius, (l. vii. c. 37,) +and the Chronicle of Marcellinus. Claudian (in Rufin. ii. 7 - +100) paints, in lively colors, the distress and guilt of the +praefect.] + + The celestial gift, which Achilles obtained, and Alexander +envied, of a poet worthy to celebrate the actions of heroes has +been enjoyed by Stilicho, in a much higher degree than might have +been expected from the declining state of genius, and of art. +The muse of Claudian, ^17 devoted to his service, was always +prepared to stigmatize his adversaries, Rufinus, or Eutropius, +with eternal infamy; or to paint, in the most splendid colors, +the victories and virtues of a powerful benefactor. In the +review of a period indifferently supplied with authentic +materials, we cannot refuse to illustrate the annals of Honorius, +from the invectives, or the panegyrics, of a contemporary writer; +but as Claudian appears to have indulged the most ample privilege +of a poet and a courtier, some criticism will be requisite to +translate the language of fiction or exaggeration, into the truth +and simplicity of historic prose. His silence concerning the +family of Stilicho may be admitted as a proof, that his patron +was neither able, nor desirous, to boast of a long series of +illustrious progenitors; and the slight mention of his father, an +officer of Barbarian cavalry in the service of Valens, seems to +countenance the assertion, that the general, who so long +commanded the armies of Rome, was descended from the savage and +perfidious race of the Vandals. ^18 If Stilicho had not possessed +the external advantages of strength and stature, the most +flattering bard, in the presence of so many thousand spectators, +would have hesitated to affirm, that he surpassed the measure of +the demi-gods of antiquity; and that whenever he moved, with +lofty steps, through the streets of the capital, the astonished +crowd made room for the stranger, who displayed, in a private +condition, the awful majesty of a hero. From his earliest youth +he embraced the profession of arms; his prudence and valor were +soon distinguished in the field; the horsemen and archers of the +East admired his superior dexterity; and in each degree of his +military promotions, the public judgment always prevented and +approved the choice of the sovereign. He was named, by +Theodosius, to ratify a solemn treaty with the monarch of Persia; +he supported, during that important embassy, the dignity of the +Roman name; and after he return to Constantinople, his merit was +rewarded by an intimate and honorable alliance with the Imperial +family. Theodosius had been prompted, by a pious motive of +fraternal affection, to adopt, for his own, the daughter of his +brother Honorius; the beauty and accomplishments of Serena ^19 +were universally admired by the obsequious court; and Stilicho +obtained the preference over a crowd of rivals, who ambitiously +disputed the hand of the princess, and the favor of her adopted +father. ^20 The assurance that the husband of Serena would be +faithful to the throne, which he was permitted to approach, +engaged the emperor to exalt the fortunes, and to employ the +abilities, of the sagacious and intrepid Stilicho. He rose, +through the successive steps of master of the horse, and count of +the domestics, to the supreme rank of master-general of all the +cavalry and infantry of the Roman, or at least of the Western, +empire; ^21 and his enemies confessed, that he invariably +disdained to barter for gold the rewards of merit, or to defraud +the soldiers of the pay and gratifications which they deserved or +claimed, from the liberality of the state. ^22 The valor and +conduct which he afterwards displayed, in the defence of Italy, +against the arms of Alaric and Radagaisus, may justify the fame +of his early achievements and in an age less attentive to the +laws of honor, or of pride, the Roman generals might yield the +preeminence of rank, to the ascendant of superior genius. ^23 He +lamented, and revenged, the murder of Promotus, his rival and his +friend; and the massacre of many thousands of the flying +Bastarnae is represented by the poet as a bloody sacrifice, which +the Roman Achilles offered to the manes of another Patroclus. +The virtues and victories of Stilicho deserved the hatred of +Rufinus: and the arts of calumny might have been successful if +the tender and vigilant Serena had not protected her husband +against his domestic foes, whilst he vanquished in the field the +enemies of the empire. ^24 Theodosius continued to support an +unworthy minister, to whose diligence he delegated the government +of the palace, and of the East; but when he marched against the +tyrant Eugenius, he associated his faithful general to the labors +and glories of the civil war; and in the last moments of his +life, the dying monarch recommended to Stilicho the care of his +sons, and of the republic. ^25 The ambition and the abilities of +Stilicho were not unequal to the important trust; and he claimed +the guardianship of the two empires, during the minority of +Arcadius and Honorius. ^26 The first measure of his +administration, or rather of his reign, displayed to the nations +the vigor and activity of a spirit worthy to command. He passed +the Alps in the depth of winter; descended the stream of the +Rhine, from the fortress of Basil to the marshes of Batavia; +reviewed the state of the garrisons; repressed the enterprises of +the Germans; and, after establishing along the banks a firm and +honorable peace, returned, with incredible speed, to the palace +of Milan. ^27 The person and court of Honorius were subject to +the master-general of the West; and the armies and provinces of +Europe obeyed, without hesitation, a regular authority, which was +exercised in the name of their young sovereign. Two rivals only +remained to dispute the claims, and to provoke the vengeance, of +Stilicho. Within the limits of Africa, Gildo, the Moor, +maintained a proud and dangerous independence; and the minister +of Constantinople asserted his equal reign over the emperor, and +the empire, of the East. +[Footnote 17: Stilicho, directly or indirectly, is the perpetual +theme of Claudian. The youth and private life of the hero are +vaguely expressed in the poem on his first consulship, 35 - 140.] + +[Footnote 18: Vandalorum, imbellis, avarae, perfidae, et dolosae, +gentis, genere editus. Orosius, l. vii. c. 38. Jerom (tom. i. +ad Gerontiam, p. 93) call him a Semi-Barbarian.] + +[Footnote 19: Claudian, in an imperfect poem, has drawn a fair, +perhaps a flattering, portrait of Serena. That favorite niece of +Theodosius was born, as well as here sister Thermantia, in Spain; +from whence, in their earliest youth, they were honorably +conducted to the palace of Constantinople.] + +[Footnote 20: Some doubt may be entertained, whether this +adoption was legal or only metaphorical, (see Ducange, Fam. +Byzant. p. 75.) An old inscription gives Stilicho the singular +title of Pro-gener Divi Theodosius] +[Footnote 21: Claudian (Laus Serenae, 190, 193) expresses, in +poetic language "the dilectus equorum," and the "gemino mox idem +culmine duxit agmina." The inscription adds, "count of the +domestics," an important command, which Stilicho, in the height +of his grandeur, might prudently retain.] + +[Footnote 22: The beautiful lines of Claudian (in i. Cons. +Stilich. ii. 113) displays his genius; but the integrity of +Stilicho (in the military administration) is much more firmly +established by the unwilling evidence of Zosimus, (l. v. p. +345.)] + +[Footnote 23: - Si bellica moles + Ingrueret, quamvis annis et jure minori, + + Cedere grandaevos equitum peditumque magistros + + Adspiceres. Claudian, Laus Seren. p. 196, &c. A +modern general would deem their submission either heroic +patriotism or abject servility.] + +[Footnote 24: Compare the poem on the first consulship (i. 95 - +115) with the Laus Serenoe (227 - 237, where it unfortunately +breaks off.) We may perceive the deep, inveterate malice of +Rufinus.] + +[Footnote 25: - Quem fratribus ipse + Discedens, clypeum defensoremque dedisti. +Yet the nomination (iv. Cons. Hon. 432) was private, (iii. Cons. +Hon. 142,) cunctos discedere ... jubet; and may therefore be +suspected. Zosimus and Suidas apply to Stilicho and Rufinus the +same equal title of guardians, or procurators.] + +[Footnote 26: The Roman law distinguishes two sorts of minority, +which expired at the age of fourteen, and of twenty-five. The +one was subject to the tutor, or guardian, of the person; the +other, to the curator, or trustee, of the estate, (Heineccius, +Antiquitat. Rom. ad Jurisprudent. pertinent. l. i. tit. xxii. +xxiii. p. 218 - 232.) But these legal ideas were never accurately +transferred into the constitution of an elective monarchy.] +[Footnote 27: See Claudian, (i. Cons. Stilich. i. 188 - 242;) but +he must allow more than fifteen days for the journey and return +between Milan and Leyden.] + +Chapter XXIX: Division Of Roman Empire Between Sons Of +Theodosius. + +Part II. + + The impartiality which Stilicho affected, as the common +guardian of the royal brothers, engaged him to regulate the equal +division of the arms, the jewels, and the magnificent wardrobe +and furniture of the deceased emperor. ^28 But the most important +object of the inheritance consisted of the numerous legions, +cohorts, and squadrons, of Romans, or Barbarians, whom the event +of the civil war had united under the standard of Theodosius. +The various multitudes of Europe and Asia, exasperated by recent +animosities, were overawed by the authority of a single man; and +the rigid discipline of Stilicho protected the lands of the +citizens from the rapine of the licentious soldier. ^29 Anxious, +however, and impatient, to relieve Italy from the presence of +this formidable host, which could be useful only on the frontiers +of the empire, he listened to the just requisition of the +minister of Arcadius, declared his intention of reconducting in +person the troops of the East, and dexterously employed the rumor +of a Gothic tumult to conceal his private designs of ambition and +revenge. ^30 The guilty soul of Rufinus was alarmed by the +approach of a warrior and a rival, whose enmity he deserved; he +computed, with increasing terror, the narrow space of his life +and greatness; and, as the last hope of safety, he interposed the +authority of the emperor Arcadius. Stilicho, who appears to have +directed his march along the sea-coast of the Adriatic, was not +far distant from the city of Thessalonica, when he received a +peremptory message, to recall the troops of the East, and to +declare, that his nearer approach would be considered, by the +Byzantine court, as an act of hostility. The prompt and +unexpected obedience of the general of the West, convinced the +vulgar of his loyalty and moderation; and, as he had already +engaged the affection of the Eastern troops, he recommended to +their zeal the execution of his bloody design, which might be +accomplished in his absence, with less danger, perhaps, and with +less reproach. Stilicho left the command of the troops of the +East to Gainas, the Goth, on whose fidelity he firmly relied, +with an assurance, at least, that the hardy Barbarians would +never be diverted from his purpose by any consideration of fear +or remorse. The soldiers were easily persuaded to punish the +enemy of Stilicho and of Rome; and such was the general hatred +which Rufinus had excited, that the fatal secret, communicated to +thousands, was faithfully preserved during the long march from +Thessalonica to the gates of Constantinople. As soon as they had +resolved his death, they condescended to flatter his pride; the +ambitious praefect was seduced to believe, that those powerful +auxiliaries might be tempted to place the diadem on his head; and +the treasures which he distributed, with a tardy and reluctant +hand, were accepted by the indignant multitude as an insult, +rather than as a gift. At the distance of a mile from the +capital, in the field of Mars, before the palace of Hebdomon, the +troops halted: and the emperor, as well as his minister, +advanced, according to ancient custom, respectfully to salute the +power which supported their throne. As Rufinus passed along the +ranks, and disguised, with studied courtesy, his innate +haughtiness, the wings insensibly wheeled from the right and +left, and enclosed the devoted victim within the circle of their +arms. Before he could reflect on the danger of his situation, +Gainas gave the signal of death; a daring and forward soldier +plunged his sword into the breast of the guilty praefect, and +Rufinus fell, groaned, and expired, at the feet of the affrighted +emperor. If the agonies of a moment could expiate the crimes of +a whole life, or if the outrages inflicted on a breathless corpse +could be the object of pity, our humanity might perhaps be +affected by the horrid circumstances which accompanied the murder +of Rufinus. His mangled body was abandoned to the brutal fury of +the populace of either sex, who hastened in crowds, from every +quarter of the city, to trample on the remains of the haughty +minister, at whose frown they had so lately trembled. His right +hand was cut off, and carried through the streets of +Constantinople, in cruel mockery, to extort contributions for the +avaricious tyrant, whose head was publicly exposed, borne aloft +on the point of a long lance. ^31 According to the savage maxims +of the Greek republics, his innocent family would have shared the +punishment of his crimes. The wife and daughter of Rufinus were +indebted for their safety to the influence of religion. Her +sanctuary protected them from the raging madness of the people; +and they were permitted to spend the remainder of their lives in +the exercise of Christian devotions, in the peaceful retirement +of Jerusalem. ^32 + +[Footnote 28: I. Cons. Stilich. ii. 88 - 94. Not only the robes +and diadems of the deceased emperor, but even the helmets, +sword-hilts, belts, rasses, &c., were enriched with pearls, +emeralds, and diamonds.] + +[Footnote 29: - Tantoque remoto + Principe, mutatas orbis non sensit habenas. This +high commendation (i. Cons. Stil. i. 149) may be justified by the +fears of the dying emperor, (de Bell. Gildon. 292 - 301;) and the +peace and good order which were enjoyed after his death, (i. +Cons. Stil i. 150 - 168.)] +[Footnote 30: Stilicho's march, and the death of Rufinus, are +described by Claudian, (in Rufin. l. ii. 101 - 453,) Zosimus, l. +v. p. 296, 297,) Sozomen (l. viii. c. 1,) Socrates, (l. vi. c. +1,) Philostorgius, (l. xi c. 3, with Godefory, p. 441,) and the +Chronicle of Marcellinus.] + +[Footnote 31: The dissection of Rufinus, which Claudian performs +with the savage coolness of an anatomist, (in Rufin. ii. 405 - +415,) is likewise specified by Zosimus and Jerom, (tom. i. p. +26.)] + +[Footnote 32: The Pagan Zosimus mentions their sanctuary and +pilgrimage. The sister of Rufinus, Sylvania, who passed her life +at Jerusalem, is famous in monastic history. 1. The studious +virgin had diligently, and even repeatedly, perused the +commentators on the Bible, Origen, Gregory, Basil, &c., to the +amount of five millions of lines. 2. At the age of threescore, +she could boast, that she had never washed her hands, face, or +any part of her whole body, except the tips of her fingers to +receive the communion. See the Vitae Patrum, p. 779, 977.] + The servile poet of Stilicho applauds, with ferocious joy, +this horrid deed, which, in the execution, perhaps, of justice, +violated every law of nature and society, profaned the majesty of +the prince, and renewed the dangerous examples of military +license. The contemplation of the universal order and harmony +had satisfied Claudian of the existence of the Deity; but the +prosperous impunity of vice appeared to contradict his moral +attributes; and the fate of Rufinus was the only event which +could dispel the religious doubts of the poet. ^33 Such an act +might vindicate the honor of Providence, but it did not much +contribute to the happiness of the people. In less than three +months they were informed of the maxims of the new +administration, by a singular edict, which established the +exclusive right of the treasury over the spoils of Rufinus; and +silenced, under heavy penalties, the presumptuous claims of the +subjects of the Eastern empire, who had been injured by his +rapacious tyranny. ^34 Even Stilicho did not derive from the +murder of his rival the fruit which he had proposed; and though +he gratified his revenge, his ambition was disappointed. Under +the name of a favorite, the weakness of Arcadius required a +master, but he naturally preferred the obsequious arts of the +eunuch Eutropius, who had obtained his domestic confidence: and +the emperor contemplated, with terror and aversion, the stern +genius of a foreign warrior. Till they were divided by the +jealousy of power, the sword of Gainas, and the charms of +Eudoxia, supported the favor of the great chamberlain of the +palace: the perfidious Goth, who was appointed master-general of +the East, betrayed, without scruple, the interest of his +benefactor; and the same troops, who had so lately massacred the +enemy of Stilicho, were engaged to support, against him, the +independence of the throne of Constantinople. The favorites of +Arcadius fomented a secret and irreconcilable war against a +formidable hero, who aspired to govern, and to defend, the two +empires of Rome, and the two sons of Theodosius. They +incessantly labored, by dark and treacherous machinations, to +deprive him of the esteem of the prince, the respect of the +people, and the friendship of the Barbarians. The life of +Stilicho was repeatedly attempted by the dagger of hired +assassins; and a decree was obtained from the senate of +Constantinople, to declare him an enemy of the republic, and to +confiscate his ample possessions in the provinces of the East. +At a time when the only hope of delaying the ruin of the Roman +name depended on the firm union, and reciprocal aid, of all the +nations to whom it had been gradually communicated, the subjects +of Arcadius and Honorius were instructed, by their respective +masters, to view each other in a foreign, and even hostile, +light; to rejoice in their mutual calamities, and to embrace, as +their faithful allies, the Barbarians, whom they excited to +invade the territories of their countrymen. ^35 The natives of +Italy affected to despise the servile and effeminate Greeks of +Byzantium, who presumed to imitate the dress, and to usurp the +dignity, of Roman senators; ^36 and the Greeks had not yet forgot +the sentiments of hatred and contempt, which their polished +ancestors had so long entertained for the rude inhabitants of the +West. The distinction of two governments, which soon produced +the separation of two nations, will justify my design of +suspending the series of the Byzantine history, to prosecute, +without interruption, the disgraceful, but memorable, reign of +Honorius. + +[Footnote 33: See the beautiful exordium of his invective against +Rufinus, which is curiously discussed by the sceptic Bayle, +Dictionnaire Critique, Rufin. Not. E.] + +[Footnote 34: See the Theodosian Code, l. ix. tit. xlii. leg. 14, +15. The new ministers attempted, with inconsistent avarice, to +seize the spoils of their predecessor, and to provide for their +own future security.] +[Footnote 35: See Claudian, (i. Cons. Stilich, l. i. 275, 292, +296, l. ii. 83,) and Zosimus, (l. v. p. 302.)] + +[Footnote 36: Claudian turns the consulship of the eunuch +Eutropius into a national reflection, (l. ii. 134): - + + - Plaudentem cerne senatum, + Et Byzantinos proceres Graiosque Quirites: + O patribus plebes, O digni consule patres. + +It is curious to observe the first symptoms of jealousy and +schism between old and new Rome, between the Greeks and Latins.] + + The prudent Stilicho, instead of persisting to force the +inclinations of a prince, and people, who rejected his +government, wisely abandoned Arcadius to his unworthy favorites; +and his reluctance to involve the two empires in a civil war +displayed the moderation of a minister, who had so often +signalized his military spirit and abilities. But if Stilicho +had any longer endured the revolt of Africa, he would have +betrayed the security of the capital, and the majesty of the +Western emperor, to the capricious insolence of a Moorish rebel. +Gildo, ^37 the brother of the tyrant Firmus, had preserved and +obtained, as the reward of his apparent fidelity, the immense +patrimony which was forfeited by treason: long and meritorious +service, in the armies of Rome, raised him to the dignity of a +military count; the narrow policy of the court of Theodosius had +adopted the mischievous expedient of supporting a legal +government by the interest of a powerful family; and the brother +of Firmus was invested with the command of Africa. His ambition +soon usurped the administration of justice, and of the finances, +without account, and without control; and he maintained, during a +reign of twelve years, the possession of an office, from which it +was impossible to remove him, without the danger of a civil war. +During those twelve years, the provinces of Africa groaned under +the dominion of a tyrant, who seemed to unite the unfeeling +temper of a stranger with the partial resentments of domestic +faction. The forms of law were often superseded by the use of +poison; and if the trembling guests, who were invited to the +table of Gildo, presumed to express fears, the insolent suspicion +served only to excite his fury, and he loudly summoned the +ministers of death. Gildo alternately indulged the passions of +avarice and lust; ^38 and if his days were terrible to the rich, +his nights were not less dreadful to husbands and parents. The +fairest of their wives and daughters were prostituted to the +embraces of the tyrant; and afterwards abandoned to a ferocious +troop of Barbarians and assassins, the black, or swarthy, natives +of the desert; whom Gildo considered as the only of his throne. +In the civil war between Theodosius and Eugenius, the count, or +rather the sovereign, of Africa, maintained a haughty and +suspicious neutrality; refused to assist either of the contending +parties with troops or vessels, expected the declaration of +fortune, and reserved for the conqueror the vain professions of +his allegiance. Such professions would not have satisfied the +master of the Roman world; but the death of Theodosius, and the +weakness and discord of his sons, confirmed the power of the +Moor; who condescended, as a proof of his moderation, to abstain +from the use of the diadem, and to supply Rome with the customary +tribute, or rather subsidy, of corn. In every division of the +empire, the five provinces of Africa were invariably assigned to +the West; and Gildo had to govern that extensive country in the +name of Honorius, but his knowledge of the character and designs +of Stilicho soon engaged him to address his homage to a more +distant and feeble sovereign. The ministers of Arcadius embraced +the cause of a perfidious rebel; and the delusive hope of adding +the numerous cities of Africa to the empire of the East, tempted +them to assert a claim, which they were incapable of supporting, +either by reason or by arms. ^39 + +[Footnote 37: Claudian may have exaggerated the vices of Gildo; +but his Moorish extraction, his notorious actions, and the +complaints of St. Augustin, may justify the poet's invectives. +Baronius (Annal. Eccles. A.D. 398, No. 35 - 56) has treated the +African rebellion with skill and learning.] + + +[Footnote 38: Instat terribilis vivis, morientibus haeres, +Virginibus raptor, thalamis obscoenus adulter. + Nulla quies: oritur praeda cessante libido, + Divitibusque dies, et nox metuenda maritis. + - Mauris clarissima quaeque + Fastidita datur. + + De Bello Gildonico, 165, 189. + +Baronius condemns, still more severely, the licentiousness of +Gildo; as his wife, his daughter, and his sister, were examples +of perfect chastity. The adulteries of the African soldiers are +checked by one of the Imperial laws.] + +[Footnote 39: Inque tuam sortem numerosas transtulit urbes. +Claudian (de Bell. Gildonico, 230 - 324) has touched, with +political delicacy, the intrigues of the Byzantine court, which +are likewise mentioned by Zosimus, (l. v. p. 302.)] + + When Stilicho had given a firm and decisive answer to the +pretensions of the Byzantine court, he solemnly accused the +tyrant of Africa before the tribunal, which had formerly judged +the kings and nations of the earth; and the image of the republic +was revived, after a long interval, under the reign of Honorius. +The emperor transmitted an accurate and ample detail of the +complaints of the provincials, and the crimes of Gildo, to the +Roman senate; and the members of that venerable assembly were +required to pronounce the condemnation of the rebel. Their +unanimous suffrage declared him the enemy of the republic; and +the decree of the senate added a sacred and legitimate sanction +to the Roman arms. ^40 A people, who still remembered that their +ancestors had been the masters of the world, would have +applauded, with conscious pride, the representation of ancient +freedom; if they had not since been accustomed to prefer the +solid assurance of bread to the unsubstantial visions of liberty +and greatness. The subsistence of Rome depended on the harvests +of Africa; and it was evident, that a declaration of war would be +the signal of famine. The praefect Symmachus, who presided in +the deliberations of the senate, admonished the minister of his +just apprehension, that as soon as the revengeful Moor should +prohibit the exportation of corn, the and perhaps the safety, of +the capital would be threatened by the hungry rage of a turbulent +multitude. ^41 The prudence of Stilicho conceived and executed, +without delay, the most effectual measure for the relief of the +Roman people. A large and seasonable supply of corn, collected +in the inland provinces of Gaul, was embarked on the rapid stream +of the Rhone, and transported, by an easy navigation, from the +Rhone to the Tyber. During the whole term of the African war, +the granaries of Rome were continually filled, her dignity was +vindicated from the humiliating dependence, and the minds of an +immense people were quieted by the calm confidence of peace and +plenty. ^42 + +[Footnote 40: Symmachus (l. iv. epist. 4) expresses the judicial +forms of the senate; and Claudian (i. Cons. Stilich. l. i. 325, +&c.) seems to feel the spirit of a Roman.] + +[Footnote 41: Claudian finely displays these complaints of +Symmachus, in a speech of the goddess of Rome, before the throne +of Jupiter, (de Bell Gildon. 28 - 128.)] + +[Footnote 42: See Claudian (in Eutrop. l. i 401, &c. i. Cons. +Stil. l. i. 306, &c. i. Cons. Stilich. 91, &c.)] + + The cause of Rome, and the conduct of the African war, were +intrusted by Stilicho to a general, active and ardent to avenge +his private injuries on the head of the tyrant. The spirit of +discord which prevailed in the house of Nabal, had excited a +deadly quarrel between two of his sons, Gildo and Mascezel. ^43 +The usurper pursued, with implacable rage, the life of his +younger brother, whose courage and abilities he feared; and +Mascezel, oppressed by superior power, refuge in the court of +Milan, where he soon received the cruel intelligence that his two +innocent and helpless children had been murdered by their inhuman +uncle. The affliction of the father was suspended only by the +desire of revenge. The vigilant Stilicho already prepared to +collect the naval and military force of the Western empire; and +he had resolved, if the tyrant should be able to wage an equal +and doubtful war, to march against him in person. But as Italy +required his presence, and as it might be dangerous to weaken the +of the frontier, he judged it more advisable, that Mascezel +should attempt this arduous adventure at the head of a chosen +body of Gallic veterans, who had lately served exhorted to +convince the world that they could subvert, as well as defend the +throne of a usurper, consisted of the Jovian, the Herculian, and +the Augustan legions; of the Nervian auxiliaries; of the soldiers +who displayed in their banners the symbol of a lion, and of the +troops which were distinguished by the auspicious names of +Fortunate, and Invincible. Yet such was the smallness of their +establishments, or the difficulty of recruiting, that these seven +bands, ^44 of high dignity and reputation in the service of Rome, +amounted to no more than five thousand effective men. ^45 The +fleet of galleys and transports sailed in tempestuous weather +from the port of Pisa, in Tuscany, and steered their course to +the little island of Capraria; which had borrowed that name from +the wild goats, its original inhabitants, whose place was +occupied by a new colony of a strange and savage appearance. +"The whole island (says an ingenious traveller of those times) is +filled, or rather defiled, by men who fly from the light. They +call themselves Monks, or solitaries, because they choose to live +alone, without any witnesses of their actions. They fear the +gifts of fortune, from the apprehension of losing them; and, lest +they should be miserable, they embrace a life of voluntary +wretchedness. How absurd is their choice! how perverse their +understanding! to dread the evils, without being able to support +the blessings, of the human condition. Either this melancholy +madness is the effect of disease, or exercise on their own bodies +the tortures which are inflicted on fugitive slaves by the hand +of justice." ^46 Such was the contempt of a profane magistrate +for the monks as the chosen servants of God. ^47 Some of them +were persuaded, by his entreaties, to embark on board the fleet; +and it is observed, to the praise of the Roman general, that his +days and nights were employed in prayer, fasting, and the +occupation of singing psalms. The devout leader, who, with such +a reenforcement, appeared confident of victory, avoided the +dangerous rocks of Corsica, coasted along the eastern side of +Sardinia, and secured his ships against the violence of the south +wind, by casting anchor in the and capacious harbor of Cagliari, +at the distance of one hundred and forty miles from the African +shores. ^48 + +[Footnote 43: He was of a mature age; since he had formerly (A.D. +373) served against his brother Firmus (Ammian. xxix. 5.) +Claudian, who understood the court of Milan, dwells on the +injuries, rather than the merits, of Mascezel, (de Bell. Gild. +389 - 414.) The Moorish war was not worthy of Honorius, or +Stilicho, &c.] + +[Footnote 44: Claudian, Bell. Gild. 415 - 423. The change of +discipline allowed him to use indifferently the names of Legio +Cohors, Manipulus. See Notitia Imperii, S. 38, 40.] + +[Footnote 45: Orosius (l. vii. c. 36, p. 565) qualifies this +account with an expression of doubt, (ut aiunt;) and it scarcely +coincides with Zosimus, (l. v. p. 303.) Yet Claudian, after some +declamation about Cadmus, soldiers, frankly owns that Stilicho +sent a small army lest the rebels should fly, ne timeare times, +(i. Cons. Stilich. l. i. 314 &c.)] + +[Footnote 46: Claud. Rutil. Numatian. Itinerar. i. 439 - 448. He +afterwards (515 - 526) mentions a religious madman on the Isle of +Gorgona. For such profane remarks, Rutilius and his accomplices +are styled, by his commentator, Barthius, rabiosi canes diaboli. +Tillemont (Mem. Eccles com. xii. p. 471) more calmly observes, +that the unbelieving poet praises where he means to censure.] +[Footnote 47: Orosius, l. vii. c. 36, p. 564. Augustin commends +two of these savage saints of the Isle of Goats, (epist. lxxxi. +apud Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. xiii. p. 317, and Baronius, +Annal Eccles. A.D. 398 No. 51.)] +[Footnote 48: Here the first book of the Gildonic war is +terminated. The rest of Claudian's poem has been lost; and we +are ignorant how or where the army made good their landing in +Afica.] + + Gildo was prepared to resist the invasion with all the +forces of Africa. By the liberality of his gifts and promises, he +endeavored to secure the doubtful allegiance of the Roman +soldiers, whilst he attracted to his standard the distant tribes +of Gaetulia and Aethiopia. He proudly reviewed an army of +seventy thousand men, and boasted, with the rash presumption +which is the forerunner of disgrace, that his numerous cavalry +would trample under their horses' feet the troops of Mascezel, +and involve, in a cloud of burning sand, the natives of the cold +regions of Gaul and Germany. ^49 But the Moor, who commanded the +legions of Honorius, was too well acquainted with the manners of +his countrymen, to entertain any serious apprehension of a naked +and disorderly host of Barbarians; whose left arm, instead of a +shield, was protected only by mantle; who were totally disarmed +as soon as they had darted their javelin from their right hand; +and whose horses had never He fixed his camp of five thousand +veterans in the face of a superior enemy, and, after the delay of +three days, gave the signal of a general engagement. ^50 As +Mascezel advanced before the front with fair offers of peace and +pardon, he encountered one of the foremost standard-bearers of +the Africans, and, on his refusal to yield, struck him on the arm +with his sword. The arm, and the standard, sunk under the weight +of the blow; and the imaginary act of submission was hastily +repeated by all the standards of the line. At this the +disaffected cohorts proclaimed the name of their lawful +sovereign; the Barbarians, astonished by the defection of their +Roman allies, dispersed, according to their custom, in tumultuary +flight; and Mascezel obtained the of an easy, and almost +bloodless, victory. ^51 The tyrant escaped from the field of +battle to the sea-shore; and threw himself into a small vessel, +with the hope of reaching in safety some friendly port of the +empire of the East; but the obstinacy of the wind drove him back +into the harbor of Tabraca, ^52 which had acknowledged, with the +rest of the province, the dominion of Honorius, and the authority +of his lieutenant. The inhabitants, as a proof of their +repentance and loyalty, seized and confined the person of Gildo +in a dungeon; and his own despair saved him from the intolerable +torture of supporting the presence of an injured and victorious +brother. ^53 The captives and the spoils of Africa were laid at +the feet of the emperor; but more sincere, in the midst of +prosperity, still affected to consult the laws of the republic; +and referred to the senate and people of Rome the judgment of the +most illustrious criminals. ^54 Their trial was public and +solemn; but the judges, in the exercise of this obsolete and +precarious jurisdiction, were impatient to punish the African +magistrates, who had intercepted the subsistence of the Roman +people. The rich and guilty province was oppressed by the +Imperial ministers, who had a visible interest to multiply the +number of the accomplices of Gildo; and if an edict of Honorius +seems to check the malicious industry of informers, a subsequent +edict, at the distance of ten years, continues and renews the +prosecution of the which had been committed in the time of the +general rebellion. ^55 The adherents of the tyrant who escaped +the first fury of the soldiers, and the judges, might derive some +consolation from the tragic fate of his brother, who could never +obtain his pardon for the extraordinary services which he had +performed. After he had finished an important war in the space +of a single winter, Mascezel was received at the court of Milan +with loud applause, affected gratitude, and secret jealousy; ^56 +and his death, which, perhaps, was the effect of passage of a +bridge, the Moorish prince, who accompanied the master-general of +the West, was suddenly thrown from his horse into the river; the +officious haste of the attendants was on the countenance of +Stilicho; and while they delayed the necessary assistance, the +unfortunate Mascezel was irrecoverably drowned. ^57 + +[Footnote 49: Orosius must be responsible for the account. The +presumption of Gildo and his various train of Barbarians is +celebrated by Claudian, Cons. Stil. l. i. 345 - 355.] + +[Footnote 50: St. Ambrose, who had been dead about a year, +revealed, in a vision, the time and place of the victory. +Mascezel afterwards related his dream to Paulinus, the original +biographer of the saint, from whom it might easily pass to +Orosius.] + +[Footnote 51: Zosimus (l. v. p. 303) supposes an obstinate +combat; but the narrative of Orosius appears to conceal a real +fact, under the disguise of a miracle.] + +[Footnote 52: Tabraca lay between the two Hippos, (Cellarius, +tom. ii. p. 112; D'Anville, tom. iii. p. 84.) Orosius has +distinctly named the field of battle, but our ignorance cannot +define the precise situation.] + + +[Footnote 53: The death of Gildo is expressed by Claudian (i. +Cons. Stil. 357) and his best interpreters, Zosimus and Orosius.] + +[Footnote 54: Claudian (ii. Cons. Stilich. 99 - 119) describes +their trial (tremuit quos Africa nuper, cernunt rostra reos,) and +applauds the restoration of the ancient constitution. It is here +that he introduces the famous sentence, so familiar to the +friends of despotism: + + - Nunquam libertas gratior exstat, + Quam sub rege pio. + +But the freedom which depends on royal piety, scarcely deserves +appellation] + +[Footnote 55: See the Theodosian Code, l. ix. tit. xxxix. leg. 3, +tit. xl. leg. 19.] + +[Footnote 56: Stilicho, who claimed an equal share in all the +victories of Theodosius and his son, particularly asserts, that +Africa was recovered by the wisdom of his counsels, (see an +inscription produced by Baronius.)] +[Footnote 57: I have softened the narrative of Zosimus, which, in +its crude simplicity, is almost incredible, (l. v. p. 303.) +Orosius damns the victorious general (p. 538) for violating the +right of sanctuary.] + The joy of the African triumph was happily connected with +the nuptials of the emperor Honorius, and of his cousin Maria, +the daughter of Stilicho: and this equal and honorable alliance +seemed to invest the powerful minister with the authority of a +parent over his submissive pupil. The muse of Claudian was not +silent on this propitious day; ^58 he sung, in various and lively +strains, the happiness of the royal pair; and the glory of the +hero, who confirmed their union, and supported their throne. The +ancient fables of Greece, which had almost ceased to be the +object of religious faith, were saved from oblivion by the genius +of poetry. The picture of the Cyprian grove, the seat of harmony +and love; the triumphant progress of Venus over her native seas, +and the mild influence which her presence diffused in the palace +of Milan, express to every age the natural sentiments of the +heart, in the just and pleasing language of allegorical fiction. +But the amorous impatience which Claudian attributes to the young +prince, ^59 must excite the smiles of the court; and his +beauteous spouse (if she deserved the praise of beauty) had not +much to fear or to hope from the passions of her lover. Honorius +was only in the fourteenth year of his age; Serena, the mother of +his bride, deferred, by art of persuasion, the consummation of +the royal nuptials; Maria died a virgin, after she had been ten +years a wife; and the chastity of the emperor was secured by the +coldness, perhaps, the debility,of his constitution. ^60 His +subjects, who attentively studied the character of their young +sovereign, discovered that Honorius was without passions, and +consequently without talents; and that his feeble and languid +disposition was alike incapable of discharging the duties of his +rank, or of enjoying the pleasures of his age. In his early +youth he made some progress in the exercises of riding and +drawing the bow: but he soon relinquished these fatiguing +occupations, and the amusement of feeding poultry became the +serious and daily care of the monarch of the West, ^61 who +resigned the reins of empire to the firm and skilful hand of his +guardian Stilicho. The experience of history will countenance +the suspicion that a prince who was born in the purple, received +a worse education than the meanest peasant of his dominions; and +that the ambitious minister suffered him to attain the age of +manhood, without attempting to excite his courage, or to +enlighten his under standing. ^62 The predecessors of Honorius +were accustomed to animate by their example, or at least by their +presence, the valor of the legions; and the dates of their laws +attest the perpetual activity of their motions through the +provinces of the Roman world. But the son of Theodosius passed +the slumber of his life, a captive in his palace, a stranger in +his country, and the patient, almost the indifferent, spectator +of the ruin of the Western empire, which was repeatedly attacked, +and finally subverted, by the arms of the Barbarians. In the +eventful history of a reign of twenty-eight years, it will seldom +be necessary to mention the name of the emperor Honorius. +[Footnote 58: Claudian,as the poet laureate, composed a serious +and elaborate epithalamium of 340 lines; besides some gay +Fescennines, which were sung, in a more licentious tone, on the +wedding night.] +[Footnote 59: - Calet obvius ire + Jam princeps, tardumque cupit discedere solem. + + Nobilis haud aliter sonipes. + +(De Nuptiis Honor. et Mariae, and more freely in the Fescennines +112 - 116) + Dices, O quoties,hoc mihi dulcius + Quam flavos decics vincere Sarmatas. + + ...... + + Tum victor madido prosilias toro, + Nocturni referens vulnera proelii. + +[Footnote 60: See Zosimus, l. v. p. 333.] + +[Footnote 61: Procopius de Bell. Gothico, l. i. c. 2. I have +borrowed the general practice of Honorius, without adopting the +singular, and indeed improbable tale, which is related by the +Greek historian.] +[Footnote 62: The lessons of Theodosius, or rather Claudian, (iv. +Cons. Honor 214 - 418,) might compose a fine institution for the +future prince of a great and free nation. It was far above +Honorius, and his degenerate subjects.] + +Chapter XXX: Revolt Of The Goths. + +Part I. + + Revolt Of The Goths. - They Plunder Greece. - Two Great +Invasions Of Italy By Alaric And Radagaisus. - They Are Repulsed +By Stilicho. - The Germans Overrun Gaul. - Usurpation Of +Constantine In The West. - Disgrace And Death Of Stilicho. + If the subjects of Rome could be ignorant of their +obligations to the great Theodosius, they were too soon +convinced, how painfully the spirit and abilities of their +deceased emperor had supported the frail and mouldering edifice +of the republic. He died in the month of January; and before the +end of the winter of the same year, the Gothic nation was in +arms. ^1 The Barbarian auxiliaries erected their independent +standard; and boldly avowed the hostile designs, which they had +long cherished in their ferocious minds. Their countrymen, who +had been condemned, by the conditions of the last treaty, to a +life of tranquility and labor, deserted their farms at the first +sound of the trumpet; and eagerly resumed the weapons which they +had reluctantly laid down. The barriers of the Danube were +thrown open; the savage warriors of Scythia issued from their +forests; and the uncommon severity of the winter allowed the poet +to remark, "that they rolled their ponderous wagons over the +broad and icy back of the indignant river." ^2 The unhappy +natives of the provinces to the south of the Danube submitted to +the calamities, which, in the course of twenty years, were almost +grown familiar to their imagination; and the various troops of +Barbarians, who gloried in the Gothic name, were irregularly +spread from woody shores of Dalmatia, to the walls of +Constantinople. ^3 The interruption, or at least the diminution, +of the subsidy, which the Goths had received from the prudent +liberality of Theodosius, was the specious pretence of their +revolt: the affront was imbittered by their contempt for the +unwarlike sons of Theodosius; and their resentment was inflamed +by the weakness, or treachery, of the minister of Arcadius. The +frequent visits of Rufinus to the camp of the Barbarians whose +arms and apparel he affected to imitate, were considered as a +sufficient evidence of his guilty correspondence, and the public +enemy, from a motive either of gratitude or of policy, was +attentive, amidst the general devastation, to spare the private +estates of the unpopular praefect. The Goths, instead of being +impelled by the blind and headstrong passions of their chiefs, +were now directed by the bold and artful genius of Alaric. That +renowned leader was descended from the noble race of the Balti; +^4 which yielded only to the royal dignity of the Amali: he had +solicited the command of the Roman armies; and the Imperial court +provoked him to demonstrate the folly of their refusal, and the +importance of their loss. Whatever hopes might be entertained of +the conquest of Constantinople, the judicious general soon +abandoned an impracticable enterprise. In the midst of a divided +court and a discontented people, the emperor Arcadius was +terrified by the aspect of the Gothic arms; but the want of +wisdom and valor was supplied by the strength of the city; and +the fortifications, both of the sea and land, might securely +brave the impotent and random darts of the Barbarians. Alaric +disdained to trample any longer on the prostrate and ruined +countries of Thrace and Dacia, and he resolved to seek a +plentiful harvest of fame and riches in a province which had +hitherto escaped the ravages of war. ^5 + +[Footnote 1: The revolt of the Goths, and the blockade of +Constantinople, are distinctly mentioned by Claudian, (in Rufin. +l. ii. 7 - 100,) Zosimus, (l. v. 292,) and Jornandes, (de Rebus +Geticis, c. 29.)] +[Footnote 2: - Alii per toga ferocis + Danubii solidata ruunt; expertaque remis + Frangunt stagna rotis. + +Claudian and Ovid often amuse their fancy by interchanging the +metaphors and properties of liquid water, and solid ice. Much +false wit has been expended in this easy exercise.] + +[Footnote 3: Jerom, tom. i. p. 26. He endeavors to comfort his +friend Heliodorus, bishop of Altinum, for the loss of his nephew, +Nepotian, by a curious recapitulation of all the public and +private misfortunes of the times. See Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. +tom. xii. p. 200, &c.] +[Footnote 4: Baltha or bold: origo mirifica, says Jornandes, (c. +29.) This illustrious race long continued to flourish in France, +in the Gothic province of Septimania, or Languedoc; under the +corrupted appellation of Boax; and a branch of that family +afterwards settled in the kingdom of Naples (Grotius in Prolegom. +ad Hist. Gothic. p. 53.) The lords of Baux, near Arles, and of +seventy-nine subordinate places, were independent of the counts +of Provence, (Longuerue, Description de la France, tom. i. p. +357).] +[Footnote 5: Zosimus (l. v. p. 293 - 295) is our best guide for +the conquest of Greece: but the hints and allusion of Claudian +are so many rays of historic light.] + + The character of the civil and military officers, on whom +Rufinus had devolved the government of Greece, confirmed the +public suspicion, that he had betrayed the ancient seat of +freedom and learning to the Gothic invader. The proconsul +Antiochus was the unworthy son of a respectable father; and +Gerontius, who commanded the provincial troops, was much better +qualified to execute the oppressive orders of a tyrant, than to +defend, with courage and ability, a country most remarkably +fortified by the hand of nature. Alaric had traversed, without +resistance, the plains of Macedonia and Thessaly, as far as the +foot of Mount Oeta, a steep and woody range of hills, almost +impervious to his cavalry. They stretched from east to west, to +the edge of the sea-shore; and left, between the precipice and +the Malian Gulf, an interval of three hundred feet, which, in +some places, was contracted to a road capable of admitting only a +single carriage. ^6 In this narrow pass of Thermopylae, where +Leonidas and the three hundred Spartans had gloriously devoted +their lives, the Goths might have been stopped, or destroyed, by +a skilful general; and perhaps the view of that sacred spot might +have kindled some sparks of military ardor in the breasts of the +degenerate Greeks. The troops which had been posted to defend +the Straits of Thermopylae, retired, as they were directed, +without attempting to disturb the secure and rapid passage of +Alaric; ^7 and the fertile fields of Phocis and Boeotia were +instantly covered by a deluge of Barbarians who massacred the +males of an age to bear arms, and drove away the beautiful +females, with the spoil and cattle of the flaming villages. The +travellers, who visited Greece several years afterwards, could +easily discover the deep and bloody traces of the march of the +Goths; and Thebes was less indebted for her preservation to the +strength of her seven gates, than to the eager haste of Alaric, +who advanced to occupy the city of Athens, and the important +harbor of the Piraeus. The same impatience urged him to prevent +the delay and danger of a siege, by the offer of a capitulation; +and as soon as the Athenians heard the voice of the Gothic +herald, they were easily persuaded to deliver the greatest part +of their wealth, as the ransom of the city of Minerva and its +inhabitants. The treaty was ratified by solemn oaths, and +observed with mutual fidelity. The Gothic prince, with a small +and select train, was admitted within the walls; he indulged +himself in the refreshment of the bath, accepted a splendid +banquet, which was provided by the magistrate, and affected to +show that he was not ignorant of the manners of civilized +nations. ^8 But the whole territory of Attica, from the +promontory of Sunium to the town of Megara, was blasted by his +baleful presence; and, if we may use the comparison of a +contemporary philosopher, Athens itself resembled the bleeding +and empty skin of a slaughtered victim. The distance between +Megara and Corinth could not much exceed thirty miles; but the +bad road, an expressive name, which it still bears among the +Greeks, was, or might easily have been made, impassable for the +march of an enemy. The thick and gloomy woods of Mount Cithaeron +covered the inland country; the Scironian rocks approached the +water's edge, and hung over the narrow and winding path, which +was confined above six miles along the sea-shore. ^9 The passage +of those rocks, so infamous in every age, was terminated by the +Isthmus of Corinth; and a small a body of firm and intrepid +soldiers might have successfully defended a temporary +intrenchment of five or six miles from the Ionian to the Aegean +Sea. The confidence of the cities of Peloponnesus in their +natural rampart, had tempted them to neglect the care of their +antique walls; and the avarice of the Roman governors had +exhausted and betrayed the unhappy province. ^10 Corinth, Argos, +Sparta, yielded without resistance to the arms of the Goths; and +the most fortunate of the inhabitants were saved, by death, from +beholding the slavery of their families and the conflagration of +their cities. ^11 The vases and statues were distributed among +the Barbarians, with more regard to the value of the materials, +than to the elegance of the workmanship; the female captives +submitted to the laws of war; the enjoyment of beauty was the +reward of valor; and the Greeks could not reasonably complain of +an abuse which was justified by the example of the heroic times. +^12 The descendants of that extraordinary people, who had +considered valor and discipline as the walls of Sparta, no longer +remembered the generous reply of their ancestors to an invader +more formidable than Alaric. "If thou art a god, thou wilt not +hurt those who have never injured thee; if thou art a man, +advance: - and thou wilt find men equal to thyself." ^13 From +Thermopylae to Sparta, the leader of the Goths pursued his +victorious march without encountering any mortal antagonists: but +one of the advocates of expiring Paganism has confidently +asserted, that the walls of Athens were guarded by the goddess +Minerva, with her formidable Aegis, and by the angry phantom of +Achilles; ^14 and that the conqueror was dismayed by the presence +of the hostile deities of Greece. In an age of miracles, it +would perhaps be unjust to dispute the claim of the historian +Zosimus to the common benefit: yet it cannot be dissembled, that +the mind of Alaric was ill prepared to receive, either in +sleeping or waking visions, the impressions of Greek +superstition. The songs of Homer, and the fame of Achilles, had +probably never reached the ear of the illiterate Barbarian; and +the Christian faith, which he had devoutly embraced, taught him +to despise the imaginary deities of Rome and Athens. The +invasion of the Goths, instead of vindicating the honor, +contributed, at least accidentally, to extirpate the last remains +of Paganism: and the mysteries of Ceres, which had subsisted +eighteen hundred years, did not survive the destruction of +Eleusis, and the calamities of Greece. ^15 + +[Footnote 6: Compare Herodotus (l. vii. c. 176) and Livy, (xxxvi. +15.) The narrow entrance of Greece was probably enlarged by each +successive ravisher.] + +[Footnote 7: He passed, says Eunapius, (in Vit. Philosoph. p. 93, +edit. Commelin, 1596,) through the straits, of Thermopylae.] +[Footnote 8: In obedience to Jerom and Claudian, (in Rufin. l. +ii. 191,) I have mixed some darker colors in the mild +representation of Zosimus, who wished to soften the calamities of +Athens. + + Nec fera Cecropias traxissent vincula matres. + +Synesius (Epist. clvi. p. 272, edit. Petav.) observes, that +Athens, whose sufferings he imputes to the proconsul's avarice, +was at that time less famous for her schools of philosophy than +for her trade of honey.] +[Footnote 9: - Vallata mari Scironia rupes, + Et duo continuo connectens aequora muro + Isthmos. + + Claudian de Bel. Getico, 188. + + The Scironian rocks are described by Pausanias, (l. i. c. +44, p. 107, edit. Kuhn,) and our modern travellers, Wheeler (p. +436) and Chandler, (p. 298.) Hadrian made the road passable for +two carriages.] + +[Footnote 10: Claudian (in Rufin. l. ii. 186, and de Bello +Getico, 611, &c.) vaguely, though forcibly, delineates the scene +of rapine and destruction.] +[Footnote 11: These generous lines of Homer (Odyss. l. v. 306) +were transcribed by one of the captive youths of Corinth: and the +tears of Mummius may prove that the rude conqueror, though he was +ignorant of the value of an original picture, possessed the +purest source of good taste, a benevolent heart, (Plutarch, +Symposiac. l. ix. tom. ii. p. 737, edit. Wechel.)] +[Footnote 12: Homer perpetually describes the exemplary patience +of those female captives, who gave their charms, and even their +hearts, to the murderers of their fathers, brothers, &c. Such a +passion (of Eriphile for Achilles) is touched with admirable +delicacy by Racine.] + +[Footnote 13: Plutarch (in Pyrrho, tom. ii. p. 474, edit. Brian) +gives the genuine answer in the Laconic dialect. Pyrrhus +attacked Sparta with 25,000 foot, 2000 horse, and 24 elephants, +and the defence of that open town is a fine comment on the laws +of Lycurgus, even in the last stage of decay.] +[Footnote 14: Such, perhaps, as Homer (Iliad, xx. 164) had so +nobly painted him.] + +[Footnote 15: Eunapius (in Vit. Philosoph. p. 90 - 93) intimates +that a troop of monks betrayed Greece, and followed the Gothic +camp. + + Note: The expression is curious: Vit. Max. t. i. p. 53, +edit. Boissonade. - M.] + + The last hope of a people who could no longer depend on +their arms, their gods, or their sovereign, was placed in the +powerful assistance of the general of the West; and Stilicho, who +had not been permitted to repulse, advanced to chastise, the +invaders of Greece. ^16 A numerous fleet was equipped in the +ports of Italy; and the troops, after a short and prosperous +navigation over the Ionian Sea, were safely disembarked on the +isthmus, near the ruins of Corinth. The woody and mountainous +country of Arcadia, the fabulous residence of Pan and the Dryads, +became the scene of a long and doubtful conflict between the two +generals not unworthy of each other. The skill and perseverance +of the Roman at length prevailed; and the Goths, after sustaining +a considerable loss from disease and desertion, gradually +retreated to the lofty mountain of Pholoe, near the sources of +the Peneus, and on the frontiers of Elis; a sacred country, which +had formerly been exempted from the calamities of war. ^17 The +camp of the Barbarians was immediately besieged; the waters of +the river ^18 were diverted into another channel; and while they +labored under the intolerable pressure of thirst and hunger, a +strong line of circumvallation was formed to prevent their +escape. After these precautions, Stilicho, too confident of +victory, retired to enjoy his triumph, in the theatrical games, +and lascivious dances, of the Greeks; his soldiers, deserting +their standards, spread themselves over the country of their +allies, which they stripped of all that had been saved from the +rapacious hands of the enemy. Alaric appears to have seized the +favorable moment to execute one of those hardy enterprises, in +which the abilities of a general are displayed with more genuine +lustre, than in the tumult of a day of battle. To extricate +himself from the prison of Peloponnesus, it was necessary that he +should pierce the intrenchments which surrounded his camp; that +he should perform a difficult and dangerous march of thirty +miles, as far as the Gulf of Corinth; and that he should +transport his troops, his captives, and his spoil, over an arm of +the sea, which, in the narrow interval between Rhium and the +opposite shore, is at least half a mile in breadth. ^19 The +operations of Alaric must have been secret, prudent, and rapid; +since the Roman general was confounded by the intelligence, that +the Goths, who had eluded his efforts, were in full possession of +the important province of Epirus. This unfortunate delay allowed +Alaric sufficient time to conclude the treaty, which he secretly +negotiated, with the ministers of Constantinople. The +apprehension of a civil war compelled Stilicho to retire, at the +haughty mandate of his rivals, from the dominions of Arcadius; +and he respected, in the enemy of Rome, the honorable character +of the ally and servant of the emperor of the East. + +[Footnote 16: For Stilicho's Greek war, compare the honest +narrative of Zosimus (l. v. p. 295, 296) with the curious +circumstantial flattery of Claudian, (i. Cons. Stilich. l. i. 172 +- 186, iv. Cons. Hon. 459 - 487.) As the event was not glorious, +it is artfully thrown into the shade.] +[Footnote 17: The troops who marched through Elis delivered up +their arms. This security enriched the Eleans, who were lovers of +a rural life. Riches begat pride: they disdained their +privilege, and they suffered. Polybius advises them to retire +once more within their magic circle. See a learned and judicious +discourse on the Olympic games, which Mr. West has prefixed to +his translation of Pindar.] + +[Footnote 18: Claudian (in iv. Cons. Hon. 480) alludes to the +fact without naming the river; perhaps the Alpheus, (i. Cons. +Stil. l. i. 185.) + - Et Alpheus Geticis angustus acervis + Tardior ad Siculos etiamnum pergit amores. + +Yet I should prefer the Peneus, a shallow stream in a wide and +deep bed, which runs through Elis, and falls into the sea below +Cyllene. It had been joined with the Alpheus to cleanse the +Augean stable. (Cellarius, tom. i. p. 760. Chandler's Travels, +p. 286.)] + +[Footnote 19: Strabo, l. viii. p. 517. Plin. Hist. Natur. iv. 3. + +Wheeler, p. 308. Chandler, p. 275. They measured from different +points the distance between the two lands.] + + A Grecian philosopher, ^20 who visited Constantinople soon +after the death of Theodosius, published his liberal opinions +concerning the duties of kings, and the state of the Roman +republic. Synesius observes, and deplores, the fatal abuse, +which the imprudent bounty of the late emperor had introduced +into the military service. The citizens and subjects had +purchased an exemption from the indispensable duty of defending +their country; which was supported by the arms of Barbarian +mercenaries. The fugitives of Scythia were permitted to disgrace +the illustrious dignities of the empire; their ferocious youth, +who disdained the salutary restraint of laws, were more anxious +to acquire the riches, than to imitate the arts, of a people, the +object of their contempt and hatred; and the power of the Goths +was the stone of Tantalus, perpetually suspended over the peace +and safety of the devoted state. The measures which Synesius +recommends, are the dictates of a bold and generous patriot. He +exhorts the emperor to revive the courage of his subjects, by the +example of manly virtue; to banish luxury from the court and from +the camp; to substitute, in the place of the Barbarian +mercenaries, an army of men, interested in the defence of their +laws and of their property; to force, in such a moment of public +danger, the mechanic from his shop, and the philosopher from his +school; to rouse the indolent citizen from his dream of pleasure, +and to arm, for the protection of agriculture, the hands of the +laborious husbandman. At the head of such troops, who might +deserve the name, and would display the spirit, of Romans, he +animates the son of Theodosius to encounter a race of Barbarians, +who were destitute of any real courage; and never to lay down his +arms, till he had chased them far away into the solitudes of +Scythia; or had reduced them to the state of ignominious +servitude, which the Lacedaemonians formerly imposed on the +captive Helots. ^21 The court of Arcadius indulged the zeal, +applauded the eloquence, and neglected the advice, of Synesius. +Perhaps the philosopher who addresses the emperor of the East in +the language of reason and virtue, which he might have used to a +Spartan king, had not condescended to form a practicable scheme, +consistent with the temper, and circumstances, of a degenerate +age. Perhaps the pride of the ministers, whose business was +seldom interrupted by reflection, might reject, as wild and +visionary, every proposal, which exceeded the measure of their +capacity, and deviated from the forms and precedents of office. +While the oration of Synesius, and the downfall of the +Barbarians, were the topics of popular conversation, an edict was +published at Constantinople, which declared the promotion of +Alaric to the rank of master-general of the Eastern Illyricum. +The Roman provincials, and the allies, who had respected the +faith of treaties, were justly indignant, that the ruin of Greece +and Epirus should be so liberally rewarded. The Gothic conqueror +was received as a lawful magistrate, in the cities which he had +so lately besieged. The fathers, whose sons he had massacred, +the husbands, whose wives he had violated, were subject to his +authority; and the success of his rebellion encouraged the +ambition of every leader of the foreign mercenaries. The use to +which Alaric applied his new command, distinguishes the firm and +judicious character of his policy. He issued his orders to the +four magazines and manufactures of offensive and defensive arms, +Margus, Ratiaria, Naissus, and Thessalonica, to provide his +troops with an extraordinary supply of shields, helmets, swords, +and spears; the unhappy provincials were compelled to forge the +instruments of their own destruction; and the Barbarians removed +the only defect which had sometimes disappointed the efforts of +their courage. ^22 The birth of Alaric, the glory of his past +exploits, and the confidence in his future designs, insensibly +united the body of the nation under his victorious standard; and, +with the unanimous consent of the Barbarian chieftains, the +master-general of Illyricum was elevated, according to ancient +custom, on a shield, and solemnly proclaimed king of the +Visigoths. ^23 Armed with this double power, seated on the verge +of the two empires, he alternately sold his deceitful promises to +the courts of Arcadius and Honorius; ^24 till he declared and +executed his resolution of invading the dominions of the West. +The provinces of Europe which belonged to the Eastern emperor, +were already exhausted; those of Asia were inaccessible; and the +strength of Constantinople had resisted his attack. But he was +tempted by the fame, the beauty, the wealth of Italy, which he +had twice visited; and he secretly aspired to plant the Gothic +standard on the walls of Rome, and to enrich his army with the +accumulated spoils of three hundred triumphs. ^25 + +[Footnote 20: Synesius passed three years (A.D. 397 - 400) at +Constantinople, as deputy from Cyrene to the emperor Arcadius. +He presented him with a crown of gold, and pronounced before him +the instructive oration de Regno, (p. 1 - 32, edit. Petav. Paris, +1612.) The philosopher was made bishop of Ptolemais, A.D. 410, +and died about 430. See Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. xii. p. 490, +554, 683 - 685.] +[Footnote 21: Synesius de Regno, p. 21 - 26.] + +[Footnote 22: - qui foedera rumpit + Ditatur: qui servat, eget: vastator Achivae + + Gentis, et Epirum nuper populatus inultam, + + Praesidet Illyrico: jam, quos obsedit, amicos + + Ingreditur muros; illis responsa daturus, + + Quorum conjugibus potitur, natosque peremit. +Claudian in Eutrop. l. ii. 212. Alaric applauds his own policy +(de Bell Getic. 533 - 543) in the use which he had made of this +Illyrian jurisdiction.] + +[Footnote 23: Jornandes, c. 29, p. 651. The Gothic historian +adds, with unusual spirit, Cum suis deliberans suasit suo labore +quaerere regna, quam alienis per otium subjacere. + + - Discors odiisque anceps civilibus orbis, + Non sua vis tutata diu, dum foedera fallax + Ludit, et alternae perjuria venditat aulae. + + Claudian de Bell. Get. 565] + +[Footnote 25: Alpibus Italiae ruptis penetrabis ad Urbem. + + This authentic prediction was announced by Alaric, or at +least by Claudian, (de Bell. Getico, 547,) seven years before the +event. But as it was not accomplished within the term which has +been rashly fixed the interpreters escaped through an ambiguous +meaning.] + + The scarcity of facts, ^26 and the uncertainty of dates, ^27 +oppose our attempts to describe the circumstances of the first +invasion of Italy by the arms of Alaric. His march, perhaps from +Thessalonica, through the warlike and hostile country of +Pannonia, as far as the foot of the Julian Alps; his passage of +those mountains, which were strongly guarded by troops and +intrenchments; the siege of Aquileia, and the conquest of the +provinces of Istria and Venetia, appear to have employed a +considerable time. Unless his operations were extremely cautious +and slow, the length of the interval would suggest a probable +suspicion, that the Gothic king retreated towards the banks of +the Danube; and reenforced his army with fresh swarms of +Barbarians, before he again attempted to penetrate into the heart +of Italy. Since the public and important events escape the +diligence of the historian, he may amuse himself with +contemplating, for a moment, the influence of the arms of Alaric +on the fortunes of two obscure individuals, a presbyter of +Aquileia and a husbandman of Verona. The learned Rufinus, who was +summoned by his enemies to appear before a Roman synod, ^28 +wisely preferred the dangers of a besieged city; and the +Barbarians, who furiously shook the walls of Aquileia, might save +him from the cruel sentence of another heretic, who, at the +request of the same bishops, was severely whipped, and condemned +to perpetual exile on a desert island. ^29 The old man, ^30 who +had passed his simple and innocent life in the neighborhood of +Verona, was a stranger to the quarrels both of kings and of +bishops; his pleasures, his desires, his knowledge, were confined +within the little circle of his paternal farm; and a staff +supported his aged steps, on the same ground where he had sported +in his infancy. Yet even this humble and rustic felicity (which +Claudian describes with so much truth and feeling) was still +exposed to the undistinguishing rage of war. His trees, his old +contemporary trees, ^31 must blaze in the conflagration of the +whole country; a detachment of Gothic cavalry might sweep away +his cottage and his family; and the power of Alaric could destroy +this happiness, which he was not able either to taste or to +bestow. "Fame," says the poet, "encircling with terror her +gloomy wings, proclaimed the march of the Barbarian army, and +filled Italy with consternation:" the apprehensions of each +individual were increased in just proportion to the measure of +his fortune: and the most timid, who had already embarked their +valuable effects, meditated their escape to the Island of Sicily, +or the African coast. The public distress was aggravated by the +fears and reproaches of superstition. ^32 Every hour produced +some horrid tale of strange and portentous accidents; the Pagans +deplored the neglect of omens, and the interruption of +sacrifices; but the Christians still derived some comfort from +the powerful intercession of the saints and martyrs. ^33 +[Footnote 26: Our best materials are 970 verses of Claudian in +the poem on the Getic war, and the beginning of that which +celebrates the sixth consulship of Honorius. Zosimus is totally +silent; and we are reduced to such scraps, or rather crumbs, as +we can pick from Orosius and the Chronicles.] +[Footnote 27: Notwithstanding the gross errors of Jornandes, who +confounds the Italian wars of Alaric, (c. 29,) his date of the +consulship of Stilicho and Aurelian (A.D. 400) is firm and +respectable. It is certain from Claudian (Tillemont, Hist. des +Emp. tom. v. p. 804) that the battle of Polentia was fought A.D. +403; but we cannot easily fill the interval.] + +[Footnote 28: Tantum Romanae urbis judicium fugis, ut magis +obsidionem barbaricam, quam pacatoe urbis judicium velis +sustinere. Jerom, tom. ii. p. 239. Rufinus understood his own +danger; the peaceful city was inflamed by the beldam Marcella, +and the rest of Jerom's faction.] + +[Footnote 29: Jovinian, the enemy of fasts and of celibacy, who +was persecuted and insulted by the furious Jerom, (Jortin's +Remarks, vol. iv. p. 104, &c.) See the original edict of +banishment in the Theodosian Code, xvi. tit. v. leg. 43.] + +[Footnote 30: This epigram (de Sene Veronensi qui suburbium +nusquam egres sus est) is one of the earliest and most pleasing +compositions of Claudian. Cowley's imitation (Hurd's edition, +vol. ii. p. 241) has some natural and happy strokes: but it is +much inferior to the original portrait, which is evidently drawn +from the life.] + +[Footnote 31: Ingentem meminit parvo qui germine quercum + Aequaevumque videt consenuisse nemus. + A neighboring wood born with himself he sees, + + And loves his old contemporary trees. + +In this passage, Cowley is perhaps superior to his original; and +the English poet, who was a good botanist, has concealed the oaks +under a more general expression.] + +[Footnote 32: Claudian de Bell. Get. 199 - 266. He may seem +prolix: but fear and superstition occupied as large a space in +the minds of the Italians.] +[Footnote 33: From the passages of Paulinus, which Baronius has +produced, (Annal. Eccles. A.D. 403, No. 51,) it is manifest that +the general alarm had pervaded all Italy, as far as Nola in +Campania, where that famous penitent had fixed his abode.] +Chapter XXX: Revolt Of The Goths. + + +Part II. + + The emperor Honorius was distinguished, above his subjects, +by the preeminence of fear, as well as of rank. The pride and +luxury in which he was educated, had not allowed him to suspect, +that there existed on the earth any power presumptuous enough to +invade the repose of the successor of Augustus. The arts of +flattery concealed the impending danger, till Alaric approached +the palace of Milan. But when the sound of war had awakened the +young emperor, instead of flying to arms with the spirit, or even +the rashness, of his age, he eagerly listened to those timid +counsellors, who proposed to convey his sacred person, and his +faithful attendants, to some secure and distant station in the +provinces of Gaul. Stilicho alone ^34 had courage and authority +to resist his disgraceful measure, which would have abandoned +Rome and Italy to the Barbarians; but as the troops of the palace +had been lately detached to the Rhaetian frontier, and as the +resource of new levies was slow and precarious, the general of +the West could only promise, that if the court of Milan would +maintain their ground during his absence, he would soon return +with an army equal to the encounter of the Gothic king. Without +losing a moment, (while each moment was so important to the +public safety,) Stilicho hastily embarked on the Larian Lake, +ascended the mountains of ice and snow, amidst the severity of an +Alpine winter, and suddenly repressed, by his unexpected +presence, the enemy, who had disturbed the tranquillity of +Rhaetia. ^35 The Barbarians, perhaps some tribes of the Alemanni, +respected the firmness of a chief, who still assumed the language +of command; and the choice which he condescended to make, of a +select number of their bravest youth, was considered as a mark of +his esteem and favor. The cohorts, who were delivered from the +neighboring foe, diligently repaired to the Imperial standard; +and Stilicho issued his orders to the most remote troops of the +West, to advance, by rapid marches, to the defence of Honorius +and of Italy. The fortresses of the Rhine were abandoned; and +the safety of Gaul was protected only by the faith of the +Germans, and the ancient terror of the Roman name. Even the +legion, which had been stationed to guard the wall of Britain +against the Caledonians of the North, was hastily recalled; ^36 +and a numerous body of the cavalry of the Alani was persuaded to +engage in the service of the emperor, who anxiously expected the +return of his general. The prudence and vigor of Stilicho were +conspicuous on this occasion, which revealed, at the same time, +the weakness of the falling empire. The legions of Rome, which +had long since languished in the gradual decay of discipline and +courage, were exterminated by the Gothic and civil wars; and it +was found impossible, without exhausting and exposing the +provinces, to assemble an army for the defence of Italy. +[Footnote 34: Solus erat Stilicho, &c., is the exclusive +commendation which Claudian bestows, (del Bell. Get. 267,) +without condescending to except the emperor. How insignificant +must Honorius have appeared in his own court.] +[Footnote 35: The face of the country, and the hardiness of +Stilicho, are finely described, (de Bell. Get. 340 - 363.)] +[Footnote 36: Venit et extremis legio praetenta Britannis, + + Quae Scoto dat frena truci. + + De Bell. Get. 416. + +Yet the most rapid march from Edinburgh, or Newcastle, to Milan, +must have required a longer space of time than Claudian seems +willing to allow for the duration of the Gothic war.] + +Chapter XXX: Revolt Of The Goths. + + +Part III. + + When Stilicho seemed to abandon his sovereign in the +unguarded palace of Milan, he had probably calculated the term of +his absence, the distance of the enemy, and the obstacles that +might retard their march. He principally depended on the rivers +of Italy, the Adige, the Mincius, the Oglio, and the Addua, +which, in the winter or spring, by the fall of rains, or by the +melting of the snows, are commonly swelled into broad and +impetuous torrents. ^37 But the season happened to be remarkably +dry: and the Goths could traverse, without impediment, the wide +and stony beds, whose centre was faintly marked by the course of +a shallow stream. The bridge and passage of the Addua were +secured by a strong detachment of the Gothic army; and as Alaric +approached the walls, or rather the suburbs, of Milan, he enjoyed +the proud satisfaction of seeing the emperor of the Romans fly +before him. Honorius, accompanied by a feeble train of statesmen +and eunuchs, hastily retreated towards the Alps, with a design of +securing his person in the city of Arles, which had often been +the royal residence of his predecessors. ^* But Honorius ^38 had +scarcely passed the Po, before he was overtaken by the speed of +the Gothic cavalry; ^39 since the urgency of the danger compelled +him to seek a temporary shelter within the fortifications of +Asta, a town of Liguria or Piemont, situate on the banks of the +Tanarus. ^40 The siege of an obscure place, which contained so +rich a prize, and seemed incapable of a long resistance, was +instantly formed, and indefatigably pressed, by the king of the +Goths; and the bold declaration, which the emperor might +afterwards make, that his breast had never been susceptible of +fear, did not probably obtain much credit, even in his own court. +^41 In the last, and almost hopeless extremity, after the +Barbarians had already proposed the indignity of a capitulation, +the Imperial captive was suddenly relieved by the fame, the +approach, and at length the presence, of the hero, whom he had so +long expected. At the head of a chosen and intrepid vanguard, +Stilicho swam the stream of the Addua, to gain the time which he +must have lost in the attack of the bridge; the passage of the Po +was an enterprise of much less hazard and difficulty; and the +successful action, in which he cut his way through the Gothic +camp under the walls of Asta, revived the hopes, and vindicated +the honor, of Rome. Instead of grasping the fruit of his +victory, the Barbarian was gradually invested, on every side, by +the troops of the West, who successively issued through all the +passes of the Alps; his quarters were straitened; his convoys +were intercepted; and the vigilance of the Romans prepared to +form a chain of fortifications, and to besiege the lines of the +besiegers. A military council was assembled of the long-haired +chiefs of the Gothic nation; of aged warriors, whose bodies were +wrapped in furs, and whose stern countenances were marked with +honorable wounds. They weighed the glory of persisting in their +attempt against the advantage of securing their plunder; and they +recommended the prudent measure of a seasonable retreat. In this +important debate, Alaric displayed the spirit of the conqueror of +Rome; and after he had reminded his countrymen of their +achievements and of their designs, he concluded his animating +speech by the solemn and positive assurance that he was resolved +to find in Italy either a kingdom or a grave. ^42 + +[Footnote 37: Every traveller must recollect the face of +Lombardy, (see Fonvenelle, tom. v. p. 279,) which is often +tormented by the capricious and irregular abundance of waters. +The Austrians, before Genoa, were encamped in the dry bed of the +Polcevera. "Ne sarebbe" (says Muratori) "mai passato per mente a +que' buoni Alemanni, che quel picciolo torrente potesse, per cosi +dire, in un instante cangiarsi in un terribil gigante." (Annali +d'Italia, tom. xvi. p. 443, Milan, 1752, 8vo edit.)] + +[Footnote *: According to Le Beau and his commentator M. St. +Martin, Honorius did not attempt to fly. Settlements were +offered to the Goths in Lombardy, and they advanced from the Po +towards the Alps to take possession of them. But it was a +treacherous stratagem of Stilicho, who surprised them while they +were reposing on the faith of this treaty. Le Beau, v. x.] +[Footnote 38: Claudian does not clearly answer our question, +Where was Honorius himself? Yet the flight is marked by the +pursuit; and my idea of the Gothic was is justified by the +Italian critics, Sigonius (tom. P, ii. p. 369, de Imp. Occident. +l. x.) and Muratori, (Annali d'Italia. tom. iv. p. 45.)] +[Footnote 39: One of the roads may be traced in the Itineraries, +(p. 98, 288, 294, with Wesseling's Notes.) Asta lay some miles on +the right hand.] +[Footnote 40: Asta, or Asti, a Roman colony, is now the capital +of a pleasant country, which, in the sixteenth century, devolved +to the dukes of Savoy, (Leandro Alberti Descrizzione d'Italia, p. +382.)] + +[Footnote 41: Nec me timor impulit ullus. He might hold this +proud language the next year at Rome, five hundred miles from the +scene of danger (vi. Cons. Hon. 449.)] + +[Footnote 42: Hanc ego vel victor regno, vel morte tenebo + Victus, humum. + +The speeches (de Bell. Get. 479 - 549) of the Gothic Nestor, and +Achilles, are strong, characteristic, adapted to the +circumstances; and possibly not less genuine than those of Livy.] + + The loose discipline of the Barbarians always exposed them +to the danger of a surprise; but, instead of choosing the +dissolute hours of riot and intemperance, Stilicho resolved to +attack the Christian Goths, whilst they were devoutly employed in +celebrating the festival of Easter. ^43 The execution of the +stratagem, or, as it was termed by the clergy of the sacrilege, +was intrusted to Saul, a Barbarian and a Pagan, who had served, +however, with distinguished reputation among the veteran generals +of Theodosius. The camp of the Goths, which Alaric had pitched +in the neighborhood of Pollentia, ^44 was thrown into confusion +by the sudden and impetuous charge of the Imperial cavalry; but, +in a few moments, the undaunted genius of their leader gave them +an order, and a field of battle; and, as soon as they had +recovered from their astonishment, the pious confidence, that the +God of the Christians would assert their cause, added new +strength to their native valor. In this engagement, which was +long maintained with equal courage and success, the chief of the +Alani, whose diminutive and savage form concealed a magnanimous +soul approved his suspected loyalty, by the zeal with which he +fought, and fell, in the service of the republic; and the fame of +this gallant Barbarian has been imperfectly preserved in the +verses of Claudian, since the poet, who celebrates his virtue, +has omitted the mention of his name. His death was followed by +the flight and dismay of the squadrons which he commanded; and +the defeat of the wing of cavalry might have decided the victory +of Alaric, if Stilicho had not immediately led the Roman and +Barbarian infantry to the attack. The skill of the general, and +the bravery of the soldiers, surmounted every obstacle. In the +evening of the bloody day, the Goths retreated from the field of +battle; the intrenchments of their camp were forced, and the +scene of rapine and slaughter made some atonement for the +calamities which they had inflicted on the subjects of the +empire. ^45 The magnificent spoils of Corinth and Argos enriched +the veterans of the West; the captive wife of Alaric, who had +impatiently claimed his promise of Roman jewels and Patrician +handmaids, ^46 was reduced to implore the mercy of the insulting +foe; and many thousand prisoners, released from the Gothic +chains, dispersed through the provinces of Italy the praises of +their heroic deliverer. The triumph of Stilicho ^47 was compared +by the poet, and perhaps by the public, to that of Marius; who, +in the same part of Italy, had encountered and destroyed another +army of Northern Barbarians. The huge bones, and the empty +helmets, of the Cimbri and of the Goths, would easily be +confounded by succeeding generations; and posterity might erect a +common trophy to the memory of the two most illustrious generals, +who had vanquished, on the same memorable ground, the two most +formidable enemies of Rome. ^48 + +[Footnote 43: Orosius (l. vii. c. 37) is shocked at the impiety +of the Romans, who attacked, on Easter Sunday, such pious +Christians. Yet, at the same time, public prayers were offered +at the shrine of St. Thomas of Edessa, for the destruction of the +Arian robber. See Tillemont (Hist des Emp. tom. v. p. 529) who +quotes a homily, which has been erroneously ascribed to St. +Chrysostom.] + +[Footnote 44: The vestiges of Pollentia are twenty-five miles to +the south- east of Turin. Urbs, in the same neighborhood, was a +royal chase of the kings of Lombardy, and a small river, which +excused the prediction, "penetrabis ad urbem," (Cluver. Ital. +Antiq tom. i. p. 83 - 85.)] +[Footnote 45: Orosius wishes, in doubtful words, to insinuate the +defeat of the Romans. "Pugnantes vicimus, victores victi sumus." +Prosper (in Chron.) makes it an equal and bloody battle, but the +Gothic writers Cassiodorus (in Chron.) and Jornandes (de Reb. +Get. c. 29) claim a decisive victory.] +[Footnote 46: Demens Ausonidum gemmata monilia matrum, + Romanasque alta famulas cervice petebat. + + De Bell. Get. 627.] + +[Footnote 47: Claudian (de Bell. Get. 580 - 647) and Prudentius +(in Symmach. n. 694 - 719) celebrate, without ambiguity, the +Roman victory of Pollentia. They are poetical and party writers; +yet some credit is due to the most suspicious witnesses, who are +checked by the recent notoriety of facts.] + +[Footnote 48: Claudian's peroration is strong and elegant; but +the identity of the Cimbric and Gothic fields must be understood +(like Virgil's Philippi, Georgic i. 490) according to the loose +geography of a poet. Verselle and Pollentia are sixty miles from +each other; and the latitude is still greater, if the Cimbri were +defeated in the wide and barren plain of Verona, (Maffei, Verona +Illustrata, P. i. p. 54 - 62.)] + + The eloquence of Claudian ^49 has celebrated, with lavish +applause, the victory of Pollentia, one of the most glorious days +in the life of his patron; but his reluctant and partial muse +bestows more genuine praise on the character of the Gothic king. +His name is, indeed, branded with the reproachful epithets of +pirate and robber, to which the conquerors of every age are so +justly entitled; but the poet of Stilicho is compelled to +acknowledge that Alaric possessed the invincible temper of mind, +which rises superior to every misfortune, and derives new +resources from adversity. After the total defeat of his +infantry, he escaped, or rather withdrew, from the field of +battle, with the greatest part of his cavalry entire and +unbroken. Without wasting a moment to lament the irreparable +loss of so many brave companions, he left his victorious enemy to +bind in chains the captive images of a Gothic king; ^50 and +boldly resolved to break through the unguarded passes of the +Apennine, to spread desolation over the fruitful face of Tuscany, +and to conquer or die before the gates of Rome. The capital was +saved by the active and incessant diligence of Stilicho; but he +respected the despair of his enemy; and, instead of committing +the fate of the republic to the chance of another battle, he +proposed to purchase the absence of the Barbarians. The spirit +of Alaric would have rejected such terms, the permission of a +retreat, and the offer of a pension, with contempt and +indignation; but he exercised a limited and precarious authority +over the independent chieftains who had raised him, for their +service, above the rank of his equals; they were still less +disposed to follow an unsuccessful general, and many of them were +tempted to consult their interest by a private negotiation with +the minister of Honorius. The king submitted to the voice of his +people, ratified the treaty with the empire of the West, and +repassed the Po with the remains of the flourishing army which he +had led into Italy. A considerable part of the Roman forces +still continued to attend his motions; and Stilicho, who +maintained a secret correspondence with some of the Barbarian +chiefs, was punctually apprised of the designs that were formed +in the camp and council of Alaric. The king of the Goths, +ambitious to signalize his retreat by some splendid achievement, +had resolved to occupy the important city of Verona, which +commands the principal passage of the Rhaetian Alps; and, +directing his march through the territories of those German +tribes, whose alliance would restore his exhausted strength, to +invade, on the side of the Rhine, the wealthy and unsuspecting +provinces of Gaul. Ignorant of the treason which had already +betrayed his bold and judicious enterprise, he advanced towards +the passes of the mountains, already possessed by the Imperial +troops; where he was exposed, almost at the same instant, to a +general attack in the front, on his flanks, and in the rear. In +this bloody action, at a small distance from the walls of Verona, +the loss of the Goths was not less heavy than that which they had +sustained in the defeat of Pollentia; and their valiant king, who +escaped by the swiftness of his horse, must either have been +slain or made prisoner, if the hasty rashness of the Alani had +not disappointed the measures of the Roman general. Alaric +secured the remains of his army on the adjacent rocks; and +prepared himself, with undaunted resolution, to maintain a siege +against the superior numbers of the enemy, who invested him on +all sides. But he could not oppose the destructive progress of +hunger and disease; nor was it possible for him to check the +continual desertion of his impatient and capricious Barbarians. +In this extremity he still found resources in his own courage, or +in the moderation of his adversary; and the retreat of the Gothic +king was considered as the deliverance of Italy. ^51 Yet the +people, and even the clergy, incapable of forming any rational +judgment of the business of peace and war, presumed to arraign +the policy of Stilicho, who so often vanquished, so often +surrounded, and so often dismissed the implacable enemy of the +republic. The first momen of the public safety is devoted to +gratitude and joy; but the second is diligently occupied by envy +and calumny. ^52 + +[Footnote 49: Claudian and Prudentius must be strictly examined, +to reduce the figures, and extort the historic sense, of those +poets.] +[Footnote 50: Et gravant en airain ses freles avantages + De mes etats conquis enchainer les images. + +The practice of exposing in triumph the images of kings and +provinces was familiar to the Romans. The bust of Mithridates +himself was twelve feet high, of massy gold, (Freinshem. +Supplement. Livian. ciii. 47.)] +[Footnote 51: The Getic war, and the sixth consulship of +Honorius, obscurely connect the events of Alaric's retreat and +losses.] +[Footnote 52: Taceo de Alarico ... saepe visto, saepe concluso, +semperque dimisso. Orosius, l. vii. c. 37, p. 567. Claudian +(vi. Cons. Hon. 320) drops the curtain with a fine image.] + The citizens of Rome had been astonished by the approach of +Alaric; and the diligence with which they labored to restore the +walls of the capital, confessed their own fears, and the decline +of the empire. After the retreat of the Barbarians, Honorius was +directed to accept the dutiful invitation of the senate, and to +celebrate, in the Imperial city, the auspicious aera of the +Gothic victory, and of his sixth consulship. ^53 The suburbs and +the streets, from the Milvian bridge to the Palatine mount, were +filled by the Roman people, who, in the space of a hundred years, +had only thrice been honored with the presence of their +sovereigns. While their eyes were fixed on the chariot where +Stilicho was deservedly seated by the side of his royal pupil, +they applauded the pomp of a triumph, which was not stained, like +that of Constantine, or of Theodosius, with civil blood. The +procession passed under a lofty arch, which had been purposely +erected: but in less than seven years, the Gothic conquerors of +Rome might read, if they were able to read, the superb +inscription of that monument, which attested the total defeat and +destruction of their nation. ^54 The emperor resided several +months in the capital, and every part of his behavior was +regulated with care to conciliate the affection of the clergy, +the senate, and the people of Rome. The clergy was edified by +his frequent visits and liberal gifts to the shrines of the +apostles. The senate, who, in the triumphal procession, had been +excused from the humiliating ceremony of preceding on foot the +Imperial chariot, was treated with the decent reverence which +Stilicho always affected for that assembly. The people was +repeatedly gratified by the attention and courtesy of Honorius in +the public games, which were celebrated on that occasion with a +magnificence not unworthy of the spectator. As soon as the +appointed number of chariot- races was concluded, the decoration +of the Circus was suddenly changed; the hunting of wild beasts +afforded a various and splendid entertainment; and the chase was +succeeded by a military dance, which seems, in the lively +description of Claudian, to present the image of a modern +tournament. +[Footnote 53: The remainder of Claudian's poem on the sixth +consulship of Honorius, describes the journey, the triumph, and +the games, (330 - 660.)] +[Footnote 54: See the inscription in Mascou's History of the +Ancient Germans, viii. 12. The words are positive and +indiscreet: Getarum nationem in omne aevum domitam, &c.] + + In these games of Honorius, the inhuman combats of +gladiators ^55 polluted, for the last time, the amphitheater of +Rome. The first Christian emperor may claim the honor of the +first edict which condemned the art and amusement of shedding +human blood; ^56 but this benevolent law expressed the wishes of +the prince, without reforming an inveterate abuse, which degraded +a civilized nation below the condition of savage cannibals. +Several hundred, perhaps several thousand, victims were annually +slaughtered in the great cities of the empire; and the month of +December, more peculiarly devoted to the combats of gladiators, +still exhibited to the eyes of the Roman people a grateful +spectacle of blood and cruelty. Amidst the general joy of the +victory of Pollentia, a Christian poet exhorted the emperor to +extirpate, by his authority, the horrid custom which had so long +resisted the voice of humanity and religion. ^57 The pathetic +representations of Prudentius were less effectual than the +generous boldness of Telemachus, and Asiatic monk, whose death +was more useful to mankind than his life. ^58 The Romans were +provoked by the interruption of their pleasures; and the rash +monk, who had descended into the arena to separate the +gladiators, was overwhelmed under a shower of stones. But the +madness of the people soon subsided; they respected the memory of +Telemachus, who had deserved the honors of martyrdom; and they +submitted, without a murmur, to the laws of Honorius, which +abolished forever the human sacrifices of the amphitheater. ^* +The citizens, who adhered to the manners of their ancestors, +might perhaps insinuate that the last remains of a martial spirit +were preserved in this school of fortitude, which accustomed the +Romans to the sight of blood, and to the contempt of death; a +vain and cruel prejudice, so nobly confuted by the valor of +ancient Greece, and of modern Europe! ^59 + +[Footnote 55: On the curious, though horrid, subject of the +gladiators, consult the two books of the Saturnalia of Lipsius, +who, as an antiquarian, is inclined to excuse the practice of +antiquity, (tom. iii. p. 483 - 545.)] +[Footnote 56: Cod. Theodos. l. xv. tit. xii. leg. i. The +Commentary of Godefroy affords large materials (tom. v. p. 396) +for the history of gladiators.] + +[Footnote 57: See the peroration of Prudentius (in Symmach. l. +ii. 1121 - 1131) who had doubtless read the eloquent invective of +Lactantius, (Divin. Institut. l. vi. c. 20.) The Christian +apologists have not spared these bloody games, which were +introduced in the religious festivals of Paganism.] + +[Footnote 58: Theodoret, l. v. c. 26. I wish to believe the +story of St. Telemachus. Yet no church has been dedicated, no +altar has been erected, to the only monk who died a martyr in the +cause of humanity.] +[Footnote *: Muller, in his valuable Treatise, de Genio, moribus +et luxu aevi Theodosiani, is disposed to question the effect +produced by the heroic, or rather saintly, death of Telemachus. +No prohibitory law of Honorius is to be found in the Theodosian +Code, only the old and imperfect edict of Constantine. But +Muller has produced no evidence or allusion to gladiatorial shows +after this period. The combats with wild beasts certainly lasted +till the fall of the Western empire; but the gladiatorial combats +ceased either by common consent, or by Imperial edict. - M.] +[Footnote 59: Crudele gladiatorum spectaculum et inhumanum +nonnullis videri solet, et haud scio an ita sit, ut nunc fit. +Cicero Tusculan. ii. 17. He faintly censures the abuse, and +warmly defends the use, of these sports; oculis nulla poterat +esse fortior contra dolorem et mortem disciplina. Seneca (epist. +vii.) shows the feelings of a man.] + + The recent danger, to which the person of the emperor had +been exposed in the defenceless palace of Milan, urged him to +seek a retreat in some inaccessible fortress of Italy, where he +might securely remain, while the open country was covered by a +deluge of Barbarians. On the coast of the Adriatic, about ten or +twelve miles from the most southern of the seven mouths of the +Po, the Thessalians had founded the ancient colony of Ravenna, +^60 which they afterwards resigned to the natives of Umbria. +Augustus, who had observed the opportunity of the place, +prepared, at the distance of three miles from the old town, a +capacious harbor, for the reception of two hundred and fifty +ships of war. This naval establishment, which included the +arsenals and magazines, the barracks of the troops, and the +houses of the artificers, derived its origin and name from the +permanent station of the Roman fleet; the intermediate space was +soon filled with buildings and inhabitants, and the three +extensive and populous quarters of Ravenna gradually contributed +to form one of the most important cities of Italy. The principal +canal of Augustus poured a copious stream of the waters of the Po +through the midst of the city, to the entrance of the harbor; the +same waters were introduced into the profound ditches that +encompassed the walls; they were distributed by a thousand +subordinate canals, into every part of the city, which they +divided into a variety of small islands; the communication was +maintained only by the use of boats and bridges; and the houses +of Ravenna, whose appearance may be compared to that of Venice, +were raised on the foundation of wooden piles. The adjacent +country, to the distance of many miles, was a deep and impassable +morass; and the artificial causeway, which connected Ravenna with +the continent, might be easily guarded or destroyed, on the +approach of a hostile army These morasses were interspersed, +however, with vineyards: and though the soil was exhausted by +four or five crops, the town enjoyed a more plentiful supply of +wine than of fresh water. ^61 The air, instead of receiving the +sickly, and almost pestilential, exhalations of low and marshy +grounds, was distinguished, like the neighborhood of Alexandria, +as uncommonly pure and salubrious; and this singular advantage +was ascribed to the regular tides of the Adriatic, which swept +the canals, interrupted the unwholesome stagnation of the waters, +and floated, every day, the vessels of the adjacent country into +the heart of Ravenna. The gradual retreat of the sea has left +the modern city at the distance of four miles from the Adriatic; +and as early as the fifth or sixth century of the Christian aera, +the port of Augustus was converted into pleasant orchards; and a +lonely grove of pines covered the ground where the Roman fleet +once rode at anchor. ^62 Even this alteration contributed to +increase the natural strength of the place, and the shallowness +of the water was a sufficient barrier against the large ships of +the enemy. This advantageous situation was fortified by art and +labor; and in the twentieth year of his age, the emperor of the +West, anxious only for his personal safety, retired to the +perpetual confinement of the walls and morasses of Ravenna. The +example of Honorius was imitated by his feeble successors, the +Gothic kings, and afterwards the Exarchs, who occupied the throne +and palace of the emperors; and till the middle of the eight +century, Ravenna was considered as the seat of government, and +the capital of Italy. ^63 + +[Footnote 60: This account of Ravenna is drawn from Strabo, (l. +v. p. 327,) Pliny, (iii. 20,) Stephen of Byzantium, (sub voce, p. +651, edit. Berkel,) Claudian, (in vi. Cons. Honor. 494, &c.,) +Sidonius Apollinaris, (l. i. epist. 5, 8,) Jornandes, (de Reb. +Get. c. 29,) Procopius (de Bell, (lothic, l. i. c. i. p. 309, +edit. Louvre,) and Cluverius, (Ital. Antiq tom i. p. 301 - 307.) +Yet I still want a local antiquarian and a good topographical +map.] +[Footnote 61: Martial (Epigram iii. 56, 57) plays on the trick of +the knave, who had sold him wine instead of water; but he +seriously declares that a cistern at Ravenna is more valuable +than a vineyard. Sidonius complains that the town is destitute +of fountains and aqueducts; and ranks the want of fresh water +among the local evils, such as the croaking of frogs, the +stinging of gnats, &c.] + +[Footnote 62: The fable of Theodore and Honoria, which Dryden has +so admirably transplanted from Boccaccio, (Giornata iii. novell. +viii.,) was acted in the wood of Chiassi, a corrupt word from +Classis, the naval station which, with the intermediate road, or +suburb the Via Caesaris, constituted the triple city of Ravenna.] + +[Footnote 63: From the year 404, the dates of the Theodosian Code +become sedentary at Constantinople and Ravenna. See Godefroy's +Chronology of the Laws, tom. i. p. cxlviii., &c.] + + The fears of Honorius were not without foundation, nor were +his precautions without effect. While Italy rejoiced in her +deliverance from the Goths, a furious tempest was excited among +the nations of Germany, who yielded to the irresistible impulse +that appears to have been gradually communicated from the eastern +extremity of the continent of Asia. The Chinese annals, as they +have been interpreted by the earned industry of the present age, +may be usefully applied to reveal the secret and remote causes of +the fall of the Roman empire. The extensive territory to the +north of the great wall was possessed, after the flight of the +Huns, by the victorious Sienpi, who were sometimes broken into +independent tribes, and sometimes reunited under a supreme chief; +till at length, styling themselves Topa, or masters of the earth, +they acquired a more solid consistence, and a more formidable +power. The Topa soon compelled the pastoral nations of the +eastern desert to acknowledge the superiority of their arms; they +invaded China in a period of weakness and intestine discord; and +these fortunate Tartars, adopting the laws and manners of the +vanquished people, founded an Imperial dynasty, which reigned +near one hundred and sixty years over the northern provinces of +the monarchy. Some generations before they ascended the throne +of China, one of the Topa princes had enlisted in his cavalry a +slave of the name of Moko, renowned for his valor, but who was +tempted, by the fear of punishment, to desert his standard, and +to range the desert at the head of a hundred followers. This gang +of robbers and outlaws swelled into a camp, a tribe, a numerous +people, distinguished by the appellation of Geougen; and their +hereditary chieftains, the posterity of Moko the slave, assumed +their rank among the Scythian monarchs. The youth of Toulun, the +greatest of his descendants, was exercised by those misfortunes +which are the school of heroes. He bravely struggled with +adversity, broke the imperious yoke of the Topa, and became the +legislator of his nation, and the conqueror of Tartary. His +troops were distributed into regular bands of a hundred and of a +thousand men; cowards were stoned to death; the most splendid +honors were proposed as the reward of valor; and Toulun, who had +knowledge enough to despise the learning of China, adopted only +such arts and institutions as were favorable to the military +spirit of his government. His tents, which he removed in the +winter season to a more southern latitude, were pitched, during +the summer, on the fruitful banks of the Selinga. His conquests +stretched from Corea far beyond the River Irtish. He vanquished, +in the country to the north of the Caspian Sea, the nation of the +Huns; and the new title of Khan, or Cagan, expressed the fame and +power which he derived from this memorable victory. ^64 + +[Footnote 64: See M. de Guignes, Hist. des Huns, tom. i. p. 179 - +189, tom ii p. 295, 334 - 338.] + + The chain of events is interrupted, or rather is concealed, +as it passes from the Volga to the Vistula, through the dark +interval which separates the extreme limits of the Chinese, and +of the Roman, geography. Yet the temper of the Barbarians, and +the experience of successive emigrations, sufficiently declare, +that the Huns, who were oppressed by the arms of the Geougen, +soon withdrew from the presence of an insulting victor. The +countries towards the Euxine were already occupied by their +kindred tribes; and their hasty flight, which they soon converted +into a bold attack, would more naturally be directed towards the +rich and level plains, through which the Vistula gently flows +into the Baltic Sea. The North must again have been alarmed, and +agitated, by the invasion of the Huns; ^* and the nations who +retreated before them must have pressed with incumbent weight on +the confines of Germany. ^65 The inhabitants of those regions, +which the ancients have assigned to the Suevi, the Vandals, and +the Burgundians, might embrace the resolution of abandoning to +the fugitives of Sarmatia their woods and morasses; or at least +of discharging their superfluous numbers on the provinces of the +Roman empire. ^66 About four years after the victorious Toulun +had assumed the title of Khan of the Geougen, another Barbarian, +the haughty Rhodogast, or Radagaisus, ^67 marched from the +northern extremities of Germany almost to the gates of Rome, and +left the remains of his army to achieve the destruction of the +West. The Vandals, the Suevi, and the Burgundians, formed the +strength of this mighty host; but the Alani, who had found a +hospitable reception in their new seats, added their active +cavalry to the heavy infantry of the Germans; and the Gothic +adventurers crowded so eagerly to the standard of Radagaisus, +that by some historians, he has been styled the King of the +Goths. Twelve thousand warriors, distinguished above the vulgar +by their noble birth, or their valiant deeds, glittered in the +van; ^68 and the whole multitude, which was not less than two +hundred thousand fighting men, might be increased, by the +accession of women, of children, and of slaves, to the amount of +four hundred thousand persons. This formidable emigration issued +from the same coast of the Baltic, which had poured forth the +myriads of the Cimbri and Teutones, to assault Rome and Italy in +the vigor of the republic. After the departure of those +Barbarians, their native country, which was marked by the +vestiges of their greatness, long ramparts, and gigantic moles, +^69 remained, during some ages, a vast and dreary solitude; till +the human species was renewed by the powers of generation, and +the vacancy was filled by the influx of new inhabitants. The +nations who now usurp an extent of land which they are unable to +cultivate, would soon be assisted by the industrious poverty of +their neighbors, if the government of Europe did not protect the +claims of dominion and property. + +[Footnote *: There is no authority which connects this inroad of +the Teutonic tribes with the movements of the Huns. The Huns can +hardly have reached the shores of the Baltic, and probably the +greater part of the forces of Radagaisus, particularly the +Vandals, had long occupied a more southern position. - M.] +[Footnote 65: Procopius (de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. iii. p. 182) +has observed an emigration from the Palus Maeotis to the north of +Germany, which he ascribes to famine. But his views of ancient +history are strangely darkened by ignorance and error.] + +[Footnote 66: Zosimus (l. v. p. 331) uses the general description +of the nations beyond the Danube and the Rhine. Their situation, +and consequently their names, are manifestly shown, even in the +various epithets which each ancient writer may have casually +added.] + +[Footnote 67: The name of Rhadagast was that of a local deity of +the Obotrites, (in Mecklenburg.) A hero might naturally assume +the appellation of his tutelar god; but it is not probable that +the Barbarians should worship an unsuccessful hero. See Mascou, +Hist. of the Germans, viii. 14. + Note: The god of war and of hospitality with the Vends and +all the Sclavonian races of Germany bore the name of Radegast, +apparently the same with Rhadagaisus. His principal temple was +at Rhetra in Mecklenburg. It was adorned with great magnificence. + +The statue of the gold was of gold. St. Martin, v. 255. A +statue of Radegast, of much coarser materials, and of the rudest +workmanship, was discovered between 1760 and 1770, with those of +other Wendish deities, on the supposed site of Rhetra. The names +of the gods were cut upon them in Runic characters. See the very +curious volume on these antiquities - Die Gottesdienstliche +Alterthumer der Obotriter - Masch and Wogen. Berlin, 1771. - M.] + +[Footnote 68: Olympiodorus (apud Photium, p. 180, uses the Greek +word which does not convey any precise idea. I suspect that they +were the princes and nobles with their faithful companions; the +knights with their squires, as they would have been styled some +centuries afterwards.] + +[Footnote 69: Tacit. de Moribus Germanorum, c. 37.] + +Chapter XXX: Revolt Of The Goths. + + +Part IV. + + The correspondence of nations was, in that age, so imperfect +and precarious, that the revolutions of the North might escape +the knowledge of the court of Ravenna; till the dark cloud, which +was collected along the coast of the Baltic, burst in thunder +upon the banks of the Upper Danube. The emperor of the West, if +his ministers disturbed his amusements by the news of the +impending danger, was satisfied with being the occasion, and the +spectator, of the war. ^70 The safety of Rome was intrusted to +the counsels, and the sword, of Stilicho; but such was the feeble +and exhausted state of the empire, that it was impossible to +restore the fortifications of the Danube, or to prevent, by a +vigorous effort, the invasion of the Germans. ^71 The hopes of +the vigilant minister of Honorius were confined to the defence of +Italy. He once more abandoned the provinces, recalled the troops, +pressed the new levies, which were rigorously exacted, and +pusillanimously eluded; employed the most efficacious means to +arrest, or allure, the deserters; and offered the gift of +freedom, and of two pieces of gold, to all the slaves who would +enlist. ^72 By these efforts he painfully collected, from the +subjects of a great empire, an army of thirty or forty thousand +men, which, in the days of Scipio or Camillus, would have been +instantly furnished by the free citizens of the territory of +Rome. ^73 The thirty legions of Stilicho were reenforced by a +large body of Barbarian auxiliaries; the faithful Alani were +personally attached to his service; and the troops of Huns and of +Goths, who marched under the banners of their native princes, +Huldin and Sarus, were animated by interest and resentment to +oppose the ambition of Radagaisus. The king of the confederate +Germans passed, without resistance, the Alps, the Po, and the +Apennine; leaving on one hand the inaccessible palace of +Honorius, securely buried among the marshes of Ravenna; and, on +the other, the camp of Stilicho, who had fixed his head-quarters +at Ticinum, or Pavia, but who seems to have avoided a decisive +battle, till he had assembled his distant forces. Many cities of +Italy were pillaged, or destroyed; and the siege of Florence, ^74 +by Radagaisus, is one of the earliest events in the history of +that celebrated republic; whose firmness checked and delayed the +unskillful fury of the Barbarians. The senate and people +trembled at their approached within a hundred and eighty miles of +Rome; and anxiously compared the danger which they had escaped, +with the new perils to which they were exposed. Alaric was a +Christian and a soldier, the leader of a disciplined army; who +understood the laws of war, who respected the sanctity of +treaties, and who had familiarly conversed with the subjects of +the empire in the same camps, and the same churches. The savage +Radagaisus was a stranger to the manners, the religion, and even +the language, of the civilized nations of the South. The +fierceness of his temper was exasperated by cruel superstition; +and it was universally believed, that he had bound himself, by a +solemn vow, to reduce the city into a heap of stones and ashes, +and to sacrifice the most illustrious of the Roman senators on +the altars of those gods who were appeased by human blood. The +public danger, which should have reconciled all domestic +animosities, displayed the incurable madness of religious +faction. The oppressed votaries of Jupiter and Mercury +respected, in the implacable enemy of Rome, the character of a +devout Pagan; loudly declared, that they were more apprehensive +of the sacrifices, than of the arms, of Radagaisus; and secretly +rejoiced in the calamities of their country, which condemned the +faith of their Christian adversaries. ^75 ^* + +[Footnote 70: - Cujus agendi + Spectator vel causa fui, + + (Claudian, vi. Cons. Hon. 439,) + +is the modest language of Honorius, in speaking of the Gothic +war, which he had seen somewhat nearer.] + +[Footnote 71: Zosimus (l. v. p. 331) transports the war, and the +victory of Stilisho, beyond the Danube. A strange error, which +is awkwardly and imperfectly cured (Tillemont, Hist. des Emp. +tom. v. p. 807.) In good policy, we must use the service of +Zosimus, without esteeming or trusting him.] +[Footnote 72: Codex Theodos. l. vii. tit. xiii. leg. 16. The +date of this law A.D. 406. May 18) satisfies-me, as it had done +Godefroy, (tom. ii. p. 387,) of the true year of the invasion of +Radagaisus. Tillemont, Pagi, and Muratori, prefer the preceding +year; but they are bound, by certain obligations of civility and +respect, to St. Paulinus of Nola.] + +[Footnote 73: Soon after Rome had been taken by the Gauls, the +senate, on a sudden emergency, armed ten legions, 3000 horse, and +42,000 foot; a force which the city could not have sent forth +under Augustus, (Livy, xi. 25.) This declaration may puzzle an +antiquary, but it is clearly explained by Montesquieu.] + +[Footnote 74: Machiavel has explained, at least as a philosopher, +the origin of Florence, which insensibly descended, for the +benefit of trade, from the rock of Faesulae to the banks of the +Arno, (Istoria Fiorentina, tom. i. p. 36. Londra, 1747.) The +triumvirs sent a colony to Florence, which, under Tiberius, +(Tacit. Annal. i. 79,) deserved the reputation and name of a +flourishing city. See Cluver. Ital. Antiq. tom. i. p. 507, &c.] +[Footnote 75: Yet the Jupiter of Radagaisus, who worshipped Thor +and Woden, was very different from the Olympic or Capitoline +Jove. The accommodating temper of Polytheism might unite those +various and remote deities; but the genuine Romans ahhorred the +human sacrifices of Gaul and Germany.] +[Footnote *: Gibbon has rather softened the language of Augustine +as to this threatened insurrection of the Pagans, in order to +restore the prohibited rites and ceremonies of Paganism; and +their treasonable hopes that the success of Radagaisus would be +the triumph of idolatry. Compare ii. 25 - M.] + Florence was reduced to the last extremity; and the fainting +courage of the citizens was supported only by the authority of +St. Ambrose; who had communicated, in a dream, the promise of a +speedy deliverance. ^76 On a sudden, they beheld, from their +walls, the banners of Stilicho, who advanced, with his united +force, to the relief of the faithful city; and who soon marked +that fatal spot for the grave of the Barbarian host. The +apparent contradictions of those writers who variously relate the +defeat of Radagaisus, may be reconciled without offering much +violence to their respective testimonies. Orosius and Augustin, +who were intimately connected by friendship and religion, +ascribed this miraculous victory to the providence of God, rather +than to the valor of man. ^77 They strictly exclude every idea of +chance, or even of bloodshed; and positively affirm, that the +Romans, whose camp was the scene of plenty and idleness, enjoyed +the distress of the Barbarians, slowly expiring on the sharp and +barren ridge of the hills of Faesulae, which rise above the city +of Florence. Their extravagant assertion that not a single +soldier of the Christian army was killed, or even wounded, may be +dismissed with silent contempt; but the rest of the narrative of +Augustin and Orosius is consistent with the state of the war, and +the character of Stilicho. Conscious that he commanded the last +army of the republic, his prudence would not expose it, in the +open field, to the headstrong fury of the Germans. The method of +surrounding the enemy with strong lines of circumvallation, which +he had twice employed against the Gothic king, was repeated on a +larger scale, and with more considerable effect. The examples of +Caesar must have been familiar to the most illiterate of the +Roman warriors; and the fortifications of Dyrrachium, which +connected twenty-four castles, by a perpetual ditch and rampart +of fifteen miles, afforded the model of an intrenchment which +might confine, and starve, the most numerous host of Barbarians. +^78 The Roman troops had less degenerated from the industry, than +from the valor, of their ancestors; and if their servile and +laborious work offended the pride of the soldiers, Tuscany could +supply many thousand peasants, who would labor, though, perhaps, +they would not fight, for the salvation of their native country. +The imprisoned multitude of horses and men ^79 was gradually +destroyed, by famine rather than by the sword; but the Romans +were exposed, during the progress of such an extensive work, to +the frequent attacks of an impatient enemy. The despair of the +hungry Barbarians would precipitate them against the +fortifications of Stilicho; the general might sometimes indulge +the ardor of his brave auxiliaries, who eagerly pressed to +assault the camp of the Germans; and these various incidents +might produce the sharp and bloody conflicts which dignify the +narrative of Zosimus, and the Chronicles of Prosper and +Marcellinus. ^80 A seasonable supply of men and provisions had +been introduced into the walls of Florence, and the famished host +of Radagaisus was in its turn besieged. The proud monarch of so +many warlike nations, after the loss of his bravest warriors, was +reduced to confide either in the faith of a capitulation, or in +the clemency of Stilicho. ^81 But the death of the royal captive, +who was ignominiously beheaded, disgraced the triumph of Rome and +of Christianity; and the short delay of his execution was +sufficient to brand the conqueror with the guilt of cool and +deliberate cruelty. ^82 The famished Germans, who escaped the +fury of the auxiliaries, were sold as slaves, at the contemptible +price of as many single pieces of gold; but the difference of +food and climate swept away great numbers of those unhappy +strangers; and it was observed, that the inhuman purchasers, +instead of reaping the fruits of their labor were soon obliged to +provide the expense of their interment Stilicho informed the +emperor and the senate of his success; and deserved, a second +time, the glorious title of Deliverer of Italy. ^83 + +[Footnote 76: Paulinus (in Vit. Ambros c. 50) relates this story, +which he received from the mouth of Pansophia herself, a +religious matron of Florence. Yet the archbishop soon ceased to +take an active part in the business of the world, and never +became a popular saint.] + +[Footnote 77: Augustin de Civitat. Dei, v. 23. Orosius, l. vii. +c. 37, p. 567 - 571. The two friends wrote in Africa, ten or +twelve years after the victory; and their authority is implicitly +followed by Isidore of Seville, (in Chron. p. 713, edit. Grot.) +How many interesting facts might Orosius have inserted in the +vacant space which is devoted to pious nonsense!] +[Footnote 78: Franguntur montes, planumque per ardua Caesar + + Ducit opus: pandit fossas, turritaque summis + + Disponit castella jugis, magnoque necessu + Amplexus fines, saltus, memorosaque tesqua + Et silvas, vastaque feras indagine claudit.! Yet +the simplicity of truth (Caesar, de Bell. Civ. iii. 44) is far +greater than the amplifications of Lucan, (Pharsal. l. vi. 29 - +63.)] +[Footnote 79: The rhetorical expressions of Orosius, "in arido et +aspero montis jugo;" "in unum ac parvum verticem," are not very +suitable to the encampment of a great army. But Faesulae, only +three miles from Florence, might afford space for the +head-quarters of Radagaisus, and would be comprehended within the +circuit of the Roman lines.] + +[Footnote 80: See Zosimus, l. v. p. 331, and the Chronicles of +Prosper and Marcellinus.] + +[Footnote 81: Olympiodorus (apud Photium, p. 180) uses an +expression which would denote a strict and friendly alliance, and +render Stilicho still more criminal. The paulisper detentus, +deinde interfectus, of Orosius, is sufficiently odious. + + Note: Gibbon, by translating this passage of Olympiodorus, +as if it had been good Greek, has probably fallen into an error. +The natural order of the words is as Gibbon translates it; but it +is almost clear, refers to the Gothic chiefs, "whom Stilicho, +after he had defeated Radagaisus, attached to his army." So in +the version corrected by Classen for Niebuhr's edition of the +Byzantines, p. 450. - M.] + +[Footnote 82: Orosius, piously inhuman, sacrifices the king and +people, Agag and the Amalekites, without a symptom of compassion. + +The bloody actor is less detestable than the cool, unfeeling +historian. + + Note: Considering the vow, which he was universally believed +to have made, to destroy Rome, and to sacrifice the senators on +the altars, and that he is said to have immolated his prisoners +to his gods, the execution of Radagaisus, if, as it appears, he +was taken in arms, cannot deserve Gibbon's severe condemnation. +Mr. Herbert (notes to his poem of Attila, p. 317) justly +observes, that "Stilicho had probably authority for hanging him +on the first tree." Marcellinus, adds Mr. Herbert, attributes the +execution to the Gothic chiefs Sarus. - M.] + +[Footnote 83: And Claudian's muse, was she asleep? had she been +ill paid! Methinks the seventh consulship of Honorius (A.D. 407) +would have furnished the subject of a noble poem. Before it was +discovered that the state could no longer be saved, Stilicho +(after Romulus, Camillus and Marius) might have been worthily +surnamed the fourth founder of Rome.] + + + The fame of the victory, and more especially of the miracle, +has encouraged a vain persuasion, that the whole army, or rather +nation, of Germans, who migrated from the shores of the Baltic, +miserably perished under the walls of Florence. Such indeed was +the fate of Radagaisus himself, of his brave and faithful +companions, and of more than one third of the various multitude +of Sueves and Vandals, of Alani and Burgundians, who adhered to +the standard of their general. ^84 The union of such an army +might excite our surprise, but the causes of separation are +obvious and forcible; the pride of birth, the insolence of valor, +the jealousy of command, the impatience of subordination, and the +obstinate conflict of opinions, of interests, and of passions, +among so many kings and warriors, who were untaught to yield, or +to obey. After the defeat of Radagaisus, two parts of the German +host, which must have exceeded the number of one hundred thousand +men, still remained in arms, between the Apennine and the Alps, +or between the Alps and the Danube. It is uncertain whether they +attempted to revenge the death of their general; but their +irregular fury was soon diverted by the prudence and firmness of +Stilicho, who opposed their march, and facilitated their retreat; +who considered the safety of Rome and Italy as the great object +of his care, and who sacrificed, with too much indifference, the +wealth and tranquillity of the distant provinces. ^85 The +Barbarians acquired, from the junction of some Pannonian +deserters, the knowledge of the country, and of the roads; and +the invasion of Gaul, which Alaric had designed, was executed by +the remains of the great army of Radagaisus. ^86 + +[Footnote 84: A luminous passage of Prosper's Chronicle, "In tres +partes, pes diversos principes, diversus exercitus," reduces the +miracle of Florence and connects the history of Italy, Gaul, and +Germany.] +[Footnote 85: Orosius and Jerom positively charge him with +instigating the in vasion. "Excitatae a Stilichone gentes," &c. +They must mean a directly. He saved Italy at the expense of +Gaul] + +[Footnote 86: The Count de Buat is satisfied, that the Germans +who invaded Gaul were the two thirds that yet remained of the +army of Radagaisus. See the Histoire Ancienne des Peuples de +l'Europe, (tom. vii. p. 87, 121. Paris, 1772;) an elaborate work, +which I had not the advantage of perusing till the year 1777. As +early as 1771, I find the same idea expressed in a rough draught +of the present History. I have since observed a similar +intimation in Mascou, (viii. 15.) Such agreement, without mutual +communication, may add some weight to our common sentiment.] + +Yet if they expected to derive any assistance from the tribes of +Germany, who inhabited the banks of the Rhine, their hopes were +disappointed. The Alemanni preserved a state of inactive +neutrality; and the Franks distinguished their zeal and courage +in the defence of the of the empire. In the rapid progress down +the Rhine, which was the first act of the +administration of Stilicho, he had applied himself, with peculiar +attention, to secure the alliance of the warlike Franks, and to +remove the irreconcilable enemies of peace and of the republic. +Marcomir, one of their kings, was publicly convicted, before the +tribunal of the Roman magistrate, of violating the faith of +treaties. He was sentenced to a mild, but distant exile, in the +province of Tuscany; and this degradation of the regal dignity +was so far from exciting the resentment of his subjects, that +they punished with death the turbulent Sunno, who attempted to +revenge his brother; and maintained a dutiful allegiance to the +princes, who were established on the throne by the choice of +Stilicho. ^87 When the limits of Gaul and Germany were shaken by +the northern emigration, the Franks bravely encountered the +single force of the Vandals; who, regardless of the lessons of +adversity, had again separated their troops from the standard of +their Barbarian allies. They paid the penalty of their rashness; +and twenty thousand Vandals, with their king Godigisclus, were +slain in the field of battle. The whole people must have been +extirpated, if the squadrons of the Alani, advancing to their +relief, had not trampled down the infantry of the Franks; who, +after an honorable resistance, were compelled to relinquish the +unequal contest. The victorious confederates pursued their +march, and on the last day of the year, in a season when the +waters of the Rhine were most probably frozen, they entered, +without opposition, the defenceless provinces of Gaul. This +memorable passage of the Suevi, the Vandals, the Alani, and the +Burgundians, who never afterwards retreated, may be considered as +the fall of the Roman empire in the countries beyond the Alps; +and the barriers, which had so long separated the savage and the +civilized nations of the earth, were from that fatal moment +levelled with the ground. ^88 + +[Footnote 87: - Provincia missos + Expellet citius fasces, quam Francia reges + + Quos dederis. + +Claudian (i. Cons. Stil. l. i. 235, &c.) is clear and +satisfactory. These kings of France are unknown to Gregory of +Tours; but the author of the Gesta Francorum mentions both Sunno +and Marcomir, and names the latter as the father of Pharamond, +(in tom. ii. p. 543.) He seems to write from good materials, +which he did not understand.] + +[Footnote 88: See Zosimus, (l. vi. p. 373,) Orosius, (l. vii. c. +40, p. 576,) and the Chronicles. Gregory of Tours (l. ii. c. 9, +p. 165, in the second volume of the Historians of France) has +preserved a valuable fragment of Renatus Profuturus Frigeridus, +whose three names denote a Christian, a Roman subject, and a +Semi-Barbarian.] + + While the peace of Germany was secured by the attachment of +the Franks, and the neutrality of the Alemanni, the subjects of +Rome, unconscious of their approaching calamities, enjoyed the +state of quiet and prosperity, which had seldom blessed the +frontiers of Gaul. Their flocks and herds were permitted to +graze in the pastures of the Barbarians; their huntsmen +penetrated, without fear or danger, into the darkest recesses of +the Hercynian wood. ^89 The banks of the Rhine were crowned, like +those of the Tyber, with elegant houses, and well-cultivated +farms; and if a poet descended the river, he might express his +doubt, on which side was situated the territory of the Romans. +^90 This scene of peace and plenty was suddenly changed into a +desert; and the prospect of the smoking ruins could alone +distinguish the solitude of nature from the desolation of man. +The flourishing city of Mentz was surprised and destroyed; and +many thousand Christians were inhumanly massacred in the church. +Worms perished after a long and obstinate siege; Strasburgh, +Spires, Rheims, Tournay, Arras, Amiens, experienced the cruel +oppression of the German yoke; and the consuming flames of war +spread from the banks of the Rhine over the greatest part of the +seventeen provinces of Gaul. That rich and extensive country, as +far as the ocean, the Alps, and the Pyrenees, was delivered to +the Barbarians, who drove before them, in a promiscuous crowd, +the bishop, the senator, and the virgin, laden with the spoils of +their houses and altars. ^91 The ecclesiastics, to whom we are +indebted for this vague description of the public calamities, +embraced the opportunity of exhorting the Christians to repent of +the sins which had provoked the Divine Justice, and to renounce +the perishable goods of a wretched and deceitful world. But as +the Pelagian controversy, ^92 which attempts to sound the abyss +of grace and predestination, soon became the serious employment +of the Latin clergy, the Providence which had decreed, or +foreseen, or permitted, such a train of moral and natural evils, +was rashly weighed in the imperfect and fallacious balance of +reason. The crimes, and the misfortunes, of the suffering +people, were presumptuously compared with those of their +ancestors; and they arraigned the Divine Justice, which did not +exempt from the common destruction the feeble, the guiltless, the +infant portion of the human species. These idle disputants +overlooked the invariable laws of nature, which have connected +peace with innocence, plenty with industry, and safety with +valor. The timid and selfish policy of the court of Ravenna +might recall the Palatine legions for the protection of Italy; +the remains of the stationary troops might be unequal to the +arduous task; and the Barbarian auxiliaries might prefer the +unbounded license of spoil to the benefits of a moderate and +regular stipend. But the provinces of Gaul were filled with a +numerous race of hardy and robust youth, who, in the defence of +their houses, their families, and their altars, if they had dared +to die, would have deserved to vanquish. The knowledge of their +native country would have enabled them to oppose continual and +insuperable obstacles to the progress of an invader; and the +deficiency of the Barbarians, in arms, as well as in discipline, +removed the only pretence which excuses the submission of a +populous country to the inferior numbers of a veteran army. When +France was invaded by Charles V., he inquired of a prisoner, how +many days Paris might be distant from the frontier; "Perhaps +twelve, but they will be days of battle:" ^93 such was the +gallant answer which checked the arrogance of that ambitious +prince. The subjects of Honorius, and those of Francis I., were +animated by a very different spirit; and in less than two years, +the divided troops of the savages of the Baltic, whose numbers, +were they fairly stated, would appear contemptible, advanced, +without a combat, to the foot of the Pyrenean Mountains. + +[Footnote 89: Claudian (i. Cons. Stil. l. i. 221, &c., l. ii. +186) describes the peace and prosperity of the Gallic frontier. +The Abbe Dubos (Hist. Critique, &c., tom. i. p. 174) would read +Alba (a nameless rivulet of the Ardennes) instead of Albis; and +expatiates on the danger of the Gallic cattle grazing beyond the +Elbe. Foolish enough! In poetical geography, the Elbe, and the +Hercynian, signify any river, or any wood, in Germany. Claudian +is not prepared for the strict examination of our antiquaries.] +[Footnote 90: - Germinasque viator + Cum videat ripas, quae sit Romana requirat.] +[Footnote 91: Jerom, tom. i. p. 93. See in the 1st vol. of the +Historians of France, p. 777, 782, the proper extracts from the +Carmen de Providentil Divina, and Salvian. The anonymous poet +was himself a captive, with his bishop and fellow-citizens.] +[Footnote 92: The Pelagian doctrine, which was first agitated +A.D. 405, was condemned, in the space of ten years, at Rome and +Carthage. St Augustin fought and conquered; but the Greek church +was favorable to his adversaries; and (what is singular enough) +the people did not take any part in a dispute which they could +not understand.] + +[Footnote 93: See the Memoires de Guillaume du Bellay, l. vi. In +French, the original reproof is less obvious, and more pointed, +from the double sense of the word journee, which alike signifies, +a day's travel, or a battle.] + + In the early part of the reign of Honorius, the vigilance of +Stilicho had successfully guarded the remote island of Britain +from her incessant enemies of the ocean, the mountains, and the +Irish coast. ^94 But those restless Barbarians could not neglect +the fair opportunity of the Gothic war, when the walls and +stations of the province were stripped of the Roman troops. If +any of the legionaries were permitted to return from the Italian +expedition, their faithful report of the court and character of +Honorius must have tended to dissolve the bonds of allegiance, +and to exasperate the seditious temper of the British army. The +spirit of revolt, which had formerly disturbed the age of +Gallienus, was revived by the capricious violence of the +soldiers; and the unfortunate, perhaps the ambitious, candidates, +who were the objects of their choice, were the instruments, and +at length the victims, of their passion. ^95 Marcus was the first +whom they placed on the throne, as the lawful emperor of Britain +and of the West. They violated, by the hasty murder of Marcus, +the oath of fidelity which they had imposed on themselves; and +their disapprobation of his manners may seem to inscribe an +honorable epitaph on his tomb. Gratian was the next whom they +adorned with the diadem and the purple; and, at the end of four +months, Gratian experienced the fate of his predecessor. The +memory of the great Constantine, whom the British legions had +given to the church and to the empire, suggested the singular +motive of their third choice. They discovered in the ranks a +private soldier of the name of Constantine, and their impetuous +levity had already seated him on the throne, before they +perceived his incapacity to sustain the weight of that glorious +appellation. ^96 Yet the authority of Constantine was less +precarious, and his government was more successful, than the +transient reigns of Marcus and of Gratian. The danger of leaving +his inactive troops in those camps, which had been twice polluted +with blood and sedition, urged him to attempt the reduction of +the Western provinces. He landed at Boulogne with an +inconsiderable force; and after he had reposed himself some days, +he summoned the cities of Gaul, which had escaped the yoke of the +Barbarians, to acknowledge their lawful sovereign. They obeyed +the summons without reluctance. The neglect of the court of +Ravenna had absolved a deserted people from the duty of +allegiance; their actual distress encouraged them to accept any +circumstances of change, without apprehension, and, perhaps, with +some degree of hope; and they might flatter themselves, that the +troops, the authority, and even the name of a Roman emperor, who +fixed his residence in Gaul, would protect the unhappy country +from the rage of the Barbarians. The first successes of +Constantine against the detached parties of the Germans, were +magnified by the voice of adulation into splendid and decisive +victories; which the reunion and insolence of the enemy soon +reduced to their just value. His negotiations procured a short +and precarious truce; and if some tribes of the Barbarians were +engaged, by the liberality of his gifts and promises, to +undertake the defence of the Rhine, these expensive and uncertain +treaties, instead of restoring the pristine vigor of the Gallic +frontier, served only to disgrace the majesty of the prince, and +to exhaust what yet remained of the treasures of the republic. +Elated, however, with this imaginary triumph, the vain deliverer +of Gaul advanced into the provinces of the South, to encounter a +more pressing and personal danger. Sarus the Goth was ordered to +lay the head of the rebel at the feet of the emperor Honorius; +and the forces of Britain and Italy were unworthily consumed in +this domestic quarrel. After the loss of his two bravest +generals, Justinian and Nevigastes, the former of whom was slain +in the field of battle, the latter in a peaceful but treacherous +interview, Constantine fortified himself within the walls of +Vienna. The place was ineffectually attacked seven days; and the +Imperial army supported, in a precipitate retreat, the ignominy +of purchasing a secure passage from the freebooters and outlaws +of the Alps. ^97 Those mountains now separated the dominions of +two rival monarchs; and the fortifications of the double frontier +were guarded by the troops of the empire, whose arms would have +been more usefully employed to maintain the Roman limits against +the Barbarians of Germany and Scythia. + +[Footnote 94: Claudian, (i. Cons. Stil. l. ii. 250.) It is +supposed that the Scots of Ireland invaded, by sea, the whole +western coast of Britain: and some slight credit may be given +even to Nennius and the Irish traditions, (Carte's Hist. of +England, vol. i. p. 169.) Whitaker's Genuine History of the +Britons, p. 199. The sixty-six lives of St. Patrick, which were +extant in the ninth century, must have contained as many thousand +lies; yet we may believe, that, in one of these Irish inroads the +future apostle was led away captive, (Usher, Antiquit. Eccles +Britann. p. 431, and Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. xvi. p. 45 782, +&c.)] + +[Footnote 95: The British usurpers are taken from Zosimus, (l. +vi. p. 371 - 375,) Orosius, (l. vii. c. 40, p. 576, 577,) +Olympiodorus, (apud Photium, p. 180, 181,) the ecclesiastical +historians, and the Chronicles. The Latins are ignorant of +Marcus.] + +[Footnote 96: Cum in Constantino inconstantiam ... execrarentur, +(Sidonius Apollinaris, l. v. epist. 9, p. 139, edit. secund. +Sirmond.) Yet Sidonius might be tempted, by so fair a pun, to +stigmatize a prince who had disgraced his grandfather.] + +[Footnote 97: Bagaudoe is the name which Zosimus applies to them; +perhaps they deserved a less odious character, (see Dubos, Hist. +Critique, tom. i. p. 203, and this History, vol. i. p. 407.) We +shall hear of them again.] + +Chapter XXX: Revolt Of The Goths. + + +Part V. + + On the side of the Pyrenees, the ambition of Constantine +might be justified by the proximity of danger; but his throne was +soon established by the conquest, or rather submission, of Spain; +which yielded to the influence of regular and habitual +subordination, and received the laws and magistrates of the +Gallic praefecture. The only opposition which was made to the +authority of Constantine proceeded not so much from the powers of +government, or the spirit of the people, as from the private zeal +and interest of the family of Theodosius. Four brothers ^98 had +obtained, by the favor of their kinsman, the deceased emperor, an +honorable rank and ample possessions in their native country; and +the grateful youths resolved to risk those advantages in the +service of his son. After an unsuccessful effort to maintain +their ground at the head of the stationary troops of Lusitania, +they retired to their estates; where they armed and levied, at +their own expense, a considerable body of slaves and dependants, +and boldly marched to occupy the strong posts of the Pyrenean +Mountains. This domestic insurrection alarmed and perplexed the +sovereign of Gaul and Britain; and he was compelled to negotiate +with some troops of Barbarian auxiliaries, for the service of the +Spanish war. They were distinguished by the title of Honorians; +^99 a name which might have reminded them of their fidelity to +their lawful sovereign; and if it should candidly be allowed that +the Scots were influenced by any partial affection for a British +prince, the Moors and the Marcomanni could be tempted only by the +profuse liberality of the usurper, who distributed among the +Barbarians the military, and even the civil, honors of Spain. +The nine bands of Honorians, which may be easily traced on the +establishment of the Western empire, could not exceed the number +of five thousand men: yet this inconsiderable force was +sufficient to terminate a war, which had threatened the power and +safety of Constantine. The rustic army of the Theodosian family +was surrounded and destroyed in the Pyrenees: two of the brothers +had the good fortune to escape by sea to Italy, or the East; the +other two, after an interval of suspense, were executed at Arles; +and if Honorius could remain insensible of the public disgrace, +he might perhaps be affected by the personal misfortunes of his +generous kinsmen. Such were the feeble arms which decided the +possession of the Western provinces of Europe, from the wall of +Antoninus to the columns of Hercules. The events of peace and +war have undoubtedly been diminished by the narrow and imperfect +view of the historians of the times, who were equally ignorant of +the causes, and of the effects, of the most important +revolutions. But the total decay of the national strength had +annihilated even the last resource of a despotic government; and +the revenue of exhausted provinces could no longer purchase the +military service of a discontented and pusillanimous people. +[Footnote 98: Verinianus, Didymus, Theodosius, and Lagodius, who +in modern courts would be styled princes of the blood, were not +distinguished by any rank or privileges above the rest of their +fellow-subjects.] +[Footnote 99: These Honoriani, or Honoriaci, consisted of two +bands of Scots, or Attacotti, two of Moors, two of Marcomanni, +the Victores, the Asca in, and the Gallicani, (Notitia Imperii, +sect. xxxiii. edit. Lab.) They were part of the sixty-five +Auxilia Palatina, and are properly styled by Zosimus, (l. vi. +374.)] + + The poet, whose flattery has ascribed to the Roman eagle the +victories of Pollentia and Verona, pursues the hasty retreat of +Alaric, from the confines of Italy, with a horrid train of +imaginary spectres, such as might hover over an army of +Barbarians, which was almost exterminated by war, famine, and +disease. ^100 In the course of this unfortunate expedition, the +king of the Goths must indeed have sustained a considerable loss; +and his harassed forces required an interval of repose, to +recruit their numbers and revive their confidence. Adversity had +exercised and displayed the genius of Alaric; and the fame of his +valor invited to the Gothic standard the bravest of the Barbarian +warriors; who, from the Euxine to the Rhine, were agitated by the +desire of rapine and conquest. He had deserved the esteem, and +he soon accepted the friendship, of Stilicho himself. Renouncing +the service of the emperor of the East, Alaric concluded, with +the court of Ravenna, a treaty of peace and alliance, by which he +was declared master-general of the Roman armies throughout the +praefecture of Illyricum; as it was claimed, according to the +true and ancient limits, by the minister of Honorius. ^101 The +execution of the ambitious design, which was either stipulated, +or implied, in the articles of the treaty, appears to have been +suspended by the formidable irruption of Radagaisus; and the +neutrality of the Gothic king may perhaps be compared to the +indifference of Caesar, who, in the conspiracy of Catiline, +refused either to assist, or to oppose, the enemy of the +republic. After the defeat of the Vandals, Stilicho resumed his +pretensions to the provinces of the East; appointed civil +magistrates for the administration of justice, and of the +finances; and declared his impatience to lead to the gates of +Constantinople the united armies of the Romans and of the Goths. +The prudence, however, of Stilicho, his aversion to civil war, +and his perfect knowledge of the weakness of the state, may +countenance the suspicion, that domestic peace, rather than +foreign conquest, was the object of his policy; and that his +principal care was to employ the forces of Alaric at a distance +from Italy. This design could not long escape the penetration of +the Gothic king, who continued to hold a doubtful, and perhaps a +treacherous, correspondence with the rival courts; who +protracted, like a dissatisfied mercenary, his languid operations +in Thessaly and Epirus, and who soon returned to claim the +extravagant reward of his ineffectual services. From his camp +near Aemona, ^102 on the confines of Italy, he transmitted to the +emperor of the West a long account of promises, of expenses, and +of demands; called for immediate satisfaction, and clearly +intimated the consequences of a refusal. Yet if his conduct was +hostile, his language was decent and dutiful. He humbly professed +himself the friend of Stilicho, and the soldier of Honorius; +offered his person and his troops to march, without delay, +against the usurper of Gaul; and solicited, as a permanent +retreat for the Gothic nation, the possession of some vacant +province of the Western empire. +[Footnote 100: - Comitatur euntem + Pallor, et atra fames; et saucia lividus ora + + Luctus; et inferno stridentes agmine morbi. + + Claudian in vi. Cons. Hon. 821, &c.] + +[Footnote 101: These dark transactions are investigated by the +Count de Bual (Hist. des Peuples de l'Europe, tom. vii. c. iii. - +viii. p. 69 - 206,) whose laborious accuracy may sometimes +fatigue a superficial reader.] +[Footnote 102: See Zosimus, l. v. p. 334, 335. He interrupts his +scanty narrative to relate the fable of Aemona, and of the ship +Argo; which was drawn overland from that place to the Adriatic. +Sozomen (l. viii. c. 25, l. ix. c. 4) and Socrates (l. vii. c. +10) cast a pale and doubtful light; and Orosius (l. vii. c. 38, +p. 571) is abominably partial.] + + The political and secret transactions of two statesmen, who +labored to deceive each other and the world, must forever have +been concealed in the impenetrable darkness of the cabinet, if +the debates of a popular assembly had not thrown some rays of +light on the correspondence of Alaric and Stilicho. The necessity +of finding some artificial support for a government, which, from +a principle, not of moderation, but of weakness, was reduced to +negotiate with its own subjects, had insensibly revived the +authority of the Roman senate; and the minister of Honorius +respectfully consulted the legislative council of the republic. +Stilicho assembled the senate in the palace of the Caesars; +represented, in a studied oration, the actual state of affairs; +proposed the demands of the Gothic king, and submitted to their +consideration the choice of peace or war. The senators, as if +they had been suddenly awakened from a dream of four hundred +years, appeared, on this important occasion, to be inspired by +the courage, rather than by the wisdom, of their predecessors. +They loudly declared, in regular speeches, or in tumultuary +acclamations, that it was unworthy of the majesty of Rome to +purchase a precarious and disgraceful truce from a Barbarian +king; and that, in the judgment of a magnanimous people, the +chance of ruin was always preferable to the certainty of +dishonor. The minister, whose pacific intentions were seconded +only by the voice of a few servile and venal followers, attempted +to allay the general ferment, by an apology for his own conduct, +and even for the demands of the Gothic prince. "The payment of a +subsidy, which had excited the indignation of the Romans, ought +not (such was the language of Stilicho) to be considered in the +odious light, either of a tribute, or of a ransom, extorted by +the menaces of a Barbarian enemy. Alaric had faithfully asserted +the just pretensions of the republic to the provinces which were +usurped by the Greeks of Constantinople: he modestly required the +fair and stipulated recompense of his services; and if he had +desisted from the prosecution of his enterprise, he had obeyed, +in his retreat, the peremptory, though private, letters of the +emperor himself. These contradictory orders (he would not +dissemble the errors of his own family) had been procured by the +intercession of Serena. The tender piety of his wife had been too +deeply affected by the discord of the royal brothers, the sons of +her adopted father; and the sentiments of nature had too easily +prevailed over the stern dictates of the public welfare." These +ostensible reasons, which faintly disguise the obscure intrigues +of the palace of Ravenna, were supported by the authority of +Stilicho; and obtained, after a warm debate, the reluctant +approbation of the senate. The tumult of virtue and freedom +subsided; and the sum of four thousand pounds of gold was +granted, under the name of a subsidy, to secure the peace of +Italy, and to conciliate the friendship of the king of the Goths. +Lampadius alone, one of the most illustrious members of the +assembly, still persisted in his dissent; exclaimed, with a loud +voice, "This is not a treaty of peace, but of servitude;" ^103 +and escaped the danger of such bold opposition by immediately +retiring to the sanctuary of a Christian church. +[See Palace Of The Caesars] + +[Footnote 103: Zosimus, l. v. p. 338, 339. He repeats the words +of Lampadius, as they were spoke in Latin, "Non est ista pax, sed +pactio servi tutis," and then translates them into Greek for the +benefit of his readers. + Note: From Cicero's XIIth Philippic, 14. - M.] + + But the reign of Stilicho drew towards its end; and the +proud minister might perceive the symptoms of his approaching +disgrace. The generous boldness of Lampadius had been applauded; +and the senate, so patiently resigned to a long servitude, +rejected with disdain the offer of invidious and imaginary +freedom. The troops, who still assumed the name and prerogatives +of the Roman legions, were exasperated by the partial affection +of Stilicho for the Barbarians: and the people imputed to the +mischievous policy of the minister the public misfortunes, which +were the natural consequence of their own degeneracy. Yet +Stilicho might have continued to brave the clamors of the people, +and even of the soldiers, if he could have maintained his +dominion over the feeble mind of his pupil. But the respectful +attachment of Honorius was converted into fear, suspicion, and +hatred. The crafty Olympius, ^104 who concealed his vices under +the mask of Christian piety, had secretly undermined the +benefactor, by whose favor he was promoted to the honorable +offices of the Imperial palace. Olympius revealed to the +unsuspecting emperor, who had attained the twenty-fifth year of +his age, that he was without weight, or authority, in his own +government; and artfully alarmed his timid and indolent +disposition by a lively picture of the designs of Stilicho, who +already meditated the death of his sovereign, with the ambitious +hope of placing the diadem on the head of his son Eucherius. The +emperor was instigated, by his new favorite, to assume the tone +of independent dignity; and the minister was astonished to find, +that secret resolutions were formed in the court and council, +which were repugnant to his interest, or to his intentions. +Instead of residing in the palace of Rome, Honorius declared that +it was his pleasure to return to the secure fortress of Ravenna. +On the first intelligence of the death of his brother Arcadius, +he prepared to visit Constantinople, and to regulate, with the +authority of a guardian, the provinces of the infant Theodosius. +^105 The representation of the difficulty and expense of such a +distant expedition, checked this strange and sudden sally of +active diligence; but the dangerous project of showing the +emperor to the camp of Pavia, which was composed of the Roman +troops, the enemies of Stilicho, and his Barbarian auxiliaries, +remained fixed and unalterable. The minister was pressed, by the +advice of his confidant, Justinian, a Roman advocate, of a lively +and penetrating genius, to oppose a journey so prejudicial to his +reputation and safety. His strenuous but ineffectual efforts +confirmed the triumph of Olympius; and the prudent lawyer +withdrew himself from the impending ruin of his patron. + +[Footnote 104: He came from the coast of the Euxine, and +exercised a splendid office. His actions justify his character, +which Zosimus (l. v. p. 340) exposes with visible satisfaction. +Augustin revered the piety of Olympius, whom he styles a true son +of the church, (Baronius, Annal. Eccles, Eccles. A.D. 408, No. +19, &c. Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. xiii. p. 467, 468.) But +these praises, which the African saint so unworthily bestows, +might proceed as well from ignorance as from adulation.] + +[Footnote 105: Zosimus, l. v. p. 338, 339. Sozomen, l. ix. c. 4. + +Stilicho offered to undertake the journey to Constantinople, that +he might divert Honorius from the vain attempt. The Eastern +empire would not have obeyed, and could not have been conquered.] + + In the passage of the emperor through Bologna, a mutiny of +the guards was excited and appeased by the secret policy of +Stilicho; who announced his instructions to decimate the guilty, +and ascribed to his own intercession the merit of their pardon. +After this tumult, Honorius embraced, for the last time, the +minister whom he now considered as a tyrant, and proceeded on his +way to the camp of Pavia; where he was received by the loyal +acclamations of the troops who were assembled for the service of +the Gallic war. On the morning of the fourth day, he pronounced, +as he had been taught, a military oration in the presence of the +soldiers, whom the charitable visits, and artful discourses, of +Olympius had prepared to execute a dark and bloody conspiracy. +At the first signal, they massacred the friends of Stilicho, the +most illustrious officers of the empire; two Praetorian +praefects, of Gaul and of Italy; two masters-general of the +cavalry and infantry; the master of the offices; the quaestor, +the treasurer, and the count of the domestics. Many lives were +lost; many houses were plundered; the furious sedition continued +to rage till the close of the evening; and the trembling emperor, +who was seen in the streets of Pavia without his robes or diadem, +yielded to the persuasions of his favorite; condemned the memory +of the slain; and solemnly approved the innocence and fidelity of +their assassins. The intelligence of the massacre of Pavia +filled the mind of Stilicho with just and gloomy apprehensions; +and he instantly summoned, in the camp of Bologna, a council of +the confederate leaders, who were attached to his service, and +would be involved in his ruin. The impetuous voice of the +assembly called aloud for arms, and for revenge; to march, +without a moment's delay, under the banners of a hero, whom they +had so often followed to victory; to surprise, to oppress, to +extirpate the guilty Olympius, and his degenerate Romans; and +perhaps to fix the diadem on the head of their injured general. +Instead of executing a resolution, which might have been +justified by success, Stilicho hesitated till he was +irrecoverably lost. He was still ignorant of the fate of the +emperor; he distrusted the fidelity of his own party; and he +viewed with horror the fatal consequences of arming a crowd of +licentious Barbarians against the soldiers and people of Italy. +The confederates, impatient of his timorous and doubtful delay, +hastily retired, with fear and indignation. At the hour of +midnight, Sarus, a Gothic warrior, renowned among the Barbarians +themselves for his strength and valor, suddenly invaded the camp +of his benefactor, plundered the baggage, cut in pieces the +faithful Huns, who guarded his person, and penetrated to the +tent, where the minister, pensive and sleepless, meditated on the +dangers of his situation. Stilicho escaped with difficulty from +the sword of the Goths and, after issuing a last and generous +admonition to the cities of Italy, to shut their gates against +the Barbarians, his confidence, or his despair, urged him to +throw himself into Ravenna, which was already in the absolute +possession of his enemies. Olympius, who had assumed the dominion +of Honorius, was speedily informed, that his rival had embraced, +as a suppliant the altar of the Christian church. The base and +cruel disposition of the hypocrite was incapable of pity or +remorse; but he piously affected to elude, rather than to +violate, the privilege of the sanctuary. Count Heraclian, with a +troop of soldiers, appeared, at the dawn of day, before the gates +of the church of Ravenna. The bishop was satisfied by a solemn +oath, that the Imperial mandate only directed them to secure the +person of Stilicho: but as soon as the unfortunate minister had +been tempted beyond the holy threshold, he produced the warrant +for his instant execution. Stilicho supported, with calm +resignation, the injurious names of traitor and parricide; +repressed the unseasonable zeal of his followers, who were ready +to attempt an ineffectual rescue; and, with a firmness not +unworthy of the last of the Roman generals, submitted his neck to +the sword of Heraclian. ^106 + +[Footnote 106: Zosimus (l. v. p. 336 - 345) has copiously, though +not clearly, related the disgrace and death of Stilicho. +Olympiodorus, (apud Phot. p. 177.) Orosius, (l. vii. c. 38, p. +571, 572,) Sozomen, (l. ix. c. 4,) and Philostorgius, (l. xi. c. +3, l. xii. c. 2,) afford supplemental hints.] + The servile crowd of the palace, who had so long adored the +fortune of Stilicho, affected to insult his fall; and the most +distant connection with the master-general of the West, which had +so lately been a title to wealth and honors, was studiously +denied, and rigorously punished. His family, united by a triple +alliance with the family of Theodosius, might envy the condition +of the meanest peasant. The flight of his son Eucherius was +intercepted; and the death of that innocent youth soon followed +the divorce of Thermantia, who filled the place of her sister +Maria; and who, like Maria, had remained a virgin in the Imperial +bed. ^107 The friends of Stilicho, who had escaped the massacre +of Pavia, were persecuted by the implacable revenge of Olympius; +and the most exquisite cruelty was employed to extort the +confession of a treasonable and sacrilegious conspiracy. They +died in silence: their firmness justified the choice, ^108 and +perhaps absolved the innocence of their patron: and the despotic +power, which could take his life without a trial, and stigmatize +his memory without a proof, has no jurisdiction over the +impartial suffrage of posterity. ^109 The services of Stilicho +are great and manifest; his crimes, as they are vaguely stated in +the language of flattery and hatred, are obscure at least, and +improbable. About four months after his death, an edict was +published, in the name of Honorius, to restore the free +communication of the two empires, which had been so long +interrupted by the public enemy. ^110 The minister, whose fame +and fortune depended on the prosperity of the state, was accused +of betraying Italy to the Barbarians; whom he repeatedly +vanquished at Pollentia, at Verona, and before the walls of +Florence. His pretended design of placing the diadem on the head +of his son Eucherius, could not have been conducted without +preparations or accomplices; and the ambitious father would not +surely have left the future emperor, till the twentieth year of +his age, in the humble station of tribune of the notaries. Even +the religion of Stilicho was arraigned by the malice of his +rival. The seasonable, and almost miraculous, deliverance was +devoutly celebrated by the applause of the clergy; who asserted, +that the restoration of idols, and the persecution of the church, +would have been the first measure of the reign of Eucherius. The +son of Stilicho, however, was educated in the bosom of +Christianity, which his father had uniformly professed, and +zealously supported. ^111 ^* Serena had borrowed her magnificent +necklace from the statue of Vesta; ^112 and the Pagans execrated +the memory of the sacrilegious minister, by whose order the +Sibylline books, the oracles of Rome, had been committed to the +flames. ^113 The pride and power of Stilicho constituted his real +guilt. An honorable reluctance to shed the blood of his +countrymen appears to have contributed to the success of his +unworthy rival; and it is the last humiliation of the character +of Honorius, that posterity has not condescended to reproach him +with his base ingratitude to the guardian of his youth, and the +support of his empire. + +[Footnote 107: Zosimus, l. v. p. 333. The marriage of a +Christian with two sisters, scandalizes Tillemont, (Hist. des +Empereurs, tom. v. p. 557;) who expects, in vain, that Pope +Innocent I. should have done something in the way either of +censure or of dispensation.] + +[Footnote 108: Two of his friends are honorably mentioned, +(Zosimus, l. v. p. 346:) Peter, chief of the school of notaries, +and the great chamberlain Deuterius. Stilicho had secured the +bed-chamber; and it is surprising that, under a feeble prince, +the bed-chamber was not able to secure him.] +[Footnote 109: Orosius (l. vii. c. 38, p. 571, 572) seems to copy +the false and furious manifestos, which were dispersed through +the provinces by the new administration.] + +[Footnote 110: See the Theodosian code, l. vii. tit. xvi. leg. 1, +l. ix. tit. xlii. leg. 22. Stilicho is branded with the name of +proedo publicus, who employed his wealth, ad omnem ditandam, +inquietandamque Barbariem.] +[Footnote 111: Augustin himself is satisfied with the effectual +laws, which Stilicho had enacted against heretics and idolaters; +and which are still extant in the Code. He only applies to +Olympius for their confirmation, (Baronius, Annal. Eccles. A.D. +408, No. 19.)] + +[Footnote 112: Zosimus, l. v. p. 351. We may observe the bad +taste of the age, in dressing their statues with such awkward +finery.] + +[Footnote 113: See Rutilius Numatianus, (Itinerar. l. ii. 41 - +60,) to whom religious enthusiasm has dictated some elegant and +forcible lines. Stilicho likewise stripped the gold plates from +the doors of the Capitol, and read a prophetic sentence which was +engraven under them, (Zosimus, l. v. p. 352.) These are foolish +stories: yet the charge of impiety adds weight and credit to the +praise which Zosimus reluctantly bestows on his virtues. + Note: One particular in the extorted praise of Zosimus, +deserved the notice of the historian, as strongly opposed to the +former imputations of Zosimus himself, and indicative of he +corrupt practices of a declining age. "He had never bartered +promotion in the army for bribes, nor peculated in the supplies +of provisions for the army." l. v. c. xxxiv. - M.] +[Footnote *: Hence, perhaps, the accusation of treachery is +countenanced by Hatilius: - + + Quo magis est facinus diri Stilichonis iniquum + Proditor arcani quod fuit imperii. + Romano generi dum nititur esse superstes, + Crudelis summis miscuit ima furor. + Dumque timet, quicquid se fecerat ipso timeri, + Immisit Latiae barbara tela neci. Rutil. Itin. II. 41. - +M.] + Among the train of dependants whose wealth and dignity +attracted the notice of their own times, our curiosity is excited +by the celebrated name of the poet Claudian, who enjoyed the +favor of Stilicho, and was overwhelmed in the ruin of his patron. + +The titular offices of tribune and notary fixed his rank in the +Imperial court: he was indebted to the powerful intercession of +Serena for his marriage with a very rich heiress of the province +of Africa; ^114 and the statute of Claudian, erected in the forum +of Trajan, was a monument of the taste and liberality of the +Roman senate. ^115 After the praises of Stilicho became offensive +and criminal, Claudian was exposed to the enmity of a powerful +and unforgiving courtier, whom he had provoked by the insolence +of wit. He had compared, in a lively epigram, the opposite +characters of two Praetorian praefects of Italy; he contrasts the +innocent repose of a philosopher, who sometimes resigned the +hours of business to slumber, perhaps to study, with the +interesting diligence of a rapacious minister, indefatigable in +the pursuit of unjust or sacrilegious, gain. "How happy," +continues Claudian, "how happy might it be for the people of +Italy, if Mallius could be constantly awake, and if Hadrian would +always sleep!" ^116 The repose of Mallius was not disturbed by +this friendly and gentle admonition; but the cruel vigilance of +Hadrian watched the opportunity of revenge, and easily obtained, +from the enemies of Stilicho, the trifling sacrifice of an +obnoxious poet. The poet concealed himself, however, during the +tumult of the revolution; and, consulting the dictates of +prudence rather than of honor, he addressed, in the form of an +epistle, a suppliant and humble recantation to the offended +praefect. He deplores, in mournful strains, the fatal +indiscretion into which he had been hurried by passion and folly; +submits to the imitation of his adversary the generous examples +of the clemency of gods, of heroes, and of lions; and expresses +his hope that the magnanimity of Hadrian will not trample on a +defenceless and contemptible foe, already humbled by disgrace and +poverty, and deeply wounded by the exile, the tortures, and the +death of his dearest friends. ^117 Whatever might be the success +of his prayer, or the accidents of his future life, the period of +a few years levelled in the grave the minister and the poet: but +the name of Hadrian is almost sunk in oblivion, while Claudian is +read with pleasure in every country which has retained, or +acquired, the knowledge of the Latin language. If we fairly +balance his merits and his defects, we shall acknowledge that +Claudian does not either satisfy, or silence, our reason. It +would not be easy to produce a passage that deserves the epithet +of sublime or pathetic; to select a verse that melts the heart or +enlarges the imagination. We should vainly seek, in the poems of +Claudian, the happy invention, and artificial conduct, of an +interesting fable; or the just and lively representation of the +characters and situations of real life. For the service of his +patron, he published occasional panegyrics and invectives: and +the design of these slavish compositions encouraged his +propensity to exceed the limits of truth and nature. These +imperfections, however, are compensated in some degree by the +poetical virtues of Claudian. He was endowed with the rare and +precious talent of raising the meanest, of adorning the most +barren, and of diversifying the most similar, topics: his +coloring, more especially in descriptive poetry, is soft and +splendid; and he seldom fails to display, and even to abuse, the +advantages of a cultivated understanding, a copious fancy, an +easy, and sometimes forcible, expression; and a perpetual flow of +harmonious versification. To these commendations, independent of +any accidents of time and place, we must add the peculiar merit +which Claudian derived from the unfavorable circumstances of his +birth. In the decline of arts, and of empire, a native of Egypt, +^118 who had received the education of a Greek, assumed, in a +mature age, the familiar use, and absolute command, of the Latin +language; ^119 soared above the heads of his feeble +contemporaries; and placed himself, after an interval of three +hundred years, among the poets of ancient Rome. ^120 + +[Footnote 114: At the nuptials of Orpheus (a modest comparison!) +all the parts of animated nature contributed their various gifts; +and the gods themselves enriched their favorite. Claudian had +neither flocks, nor herds, nor vines, nor olives. His wealthy +bride was heiress to them all. But he carried to Africa a +recommendatory letter from Serena, his Juno, and was made happy, +(Epist. ii. ad Serenam.)] + +[Footnote 115: Claudian feels the honor like a man who deserved +it, (in praefat Bell. Get.) The original inscription, on marble, +was found at Rome, in the fifteenth century, in the house of +Pomponius Laetus. The statue of a poet, far superior to +Claudian, should have been erected, during his lifetime, by the +men of letters, his countrymen and contemporaries. It was a +noble design.] + +[Footnote 116: See Epigram xxx. + + Mallius indulget somno noctesque diesque: + Insomnis Pharius sacra, profana, rapit. + Omnibus, hoc, Italae gentes, exposcite votis; + Mallius ut vigilet, dormiat ut Pharius. + +Hadrian was a Pharian, (of Alexandrian.) See his public life in +Godefroy, Cod. Theodos. tom. vi. p. 364. Mallius did not always +sleep. He composed some elegant dialogues on the Greek systems +of natural philosophy, (Claud, in Mall. Theodor. Cons. 61 - +112.)] + +[Footnote 117: See Claudian's first Epistle. Yet, in some +places, an air of irony and indignation betrays his secret +reluctance. + + Note: M. Beugnot has pointed out one remarkable +characteristic of Claudian's poetry, and of the times - his +extraordinary religious indifference. Here is a poet writing at +the actual crisis of the complete triumph of the new religion, +the visible extinction of the old: if we may so speak, a strictly +historical poet, whose works, excepting his Mythological poem on +the rape of Proserpine, are confined to temporary subjects, and +to the politics of his own eventful day; yet, excepting in one or +two small and indifferent pieces, manifestly written by a +Christian, and interpolated among his poems, there is no allusion +whatever to the great religious strife. No one would know the +existence of Christianity at that period of the world, by reading +the works of Claudian. His panegyric and his satire preserve the +same religious impartiality; award their most lavish praise or +their bitterest invective on Christian or Pagan; he insults the +fall of Eugenius, and glories in the victories of Theodosius. +Under the child, - and Honorius never became more than a child, - +Christianity continued to inflict wounds more and more deadly on +expiring Paganism. Are the gods of Olympus agitated with +apprehension at the birth of this new enemy? They are introduced +as rejoicing at his appearance, and promising long years of +glory. The whole prophetic choir of Paganism, all the oracles +throughout the world, are summoned to predict the felicity of his +reign. His birth is compared to that of Apollo, but the narrow +limits of an island must not confine the new deity - + ... Non littora nostro + Sufficerent angusta Deo. + +Augury and divination, the shrines of Ammon, and of Delphi, the +Persian Magi, and the Etruscan seers, the Chaldean astrologers, +the Sibyl herself, are described as still discharging their +prophetic functions, and celebrating the natal day of this +Christian prince. They are noble lines, as well as curious +illustrations of the times: + + ... Quae tunc documenta futuri? + Quae voces avium? quanti per inane volatus? + Quis vatum discursus erat? Tibi corniger Ammon, + Et dudum taciti rupere silentia Delphi. + Te Persae cecinere Magi, te sensit Etruscus + Augur, et inspectis Babylonius horruit astris; + Chaldaei stupuere senes, Cumanaque rursus + Itonuit rupes, rabidae delubra Sibyllae. + + Claud. iv. Cons. Hon. 141. + + From the Quarterly Review of Beugnot. Hist. de la Paganisme +en Occident, Q. R. v. lvii. p. 61. - M.] + +[Footnote 118: National vanity has made him a Florentine, or a +Spaniard. But the first Epistle of Claudian proves him a native +of Alexandria, (Fabricius, Bibliot. Latin. tom. iii. p. 191 - +202, edit. Ernest.)] + +[Footnote 119: His first Latin verses were composed during the +consulship of Probinus, A.D. 395. + + Romanos bibimus primum, te consule, fontes, + Et Latiae cessit Graia Thalia togae. + +Besides some Greek epigrams, which are still extant, the Latin +poet had composed, in Greek, the Antiquities of Tarsus, +Anazarbus, Berytus, Nice, &c. It is more easy to supply the loss +of good poetry, than of authentic history.] +[Footnote 120: Strada (Prolusion v. vi.) allows him to contend +with the five heroic poets, Lucretius, Virgil, Ovid, Lucan, and +Statius. His patron is the accomplished courtier Balthazar +Castiglione. His admirers are numerous and passionate. Yet the +rigid critics reproach the exotic weeds, or flowers, which spring +too luxuriantly in his Latian soil] + +Chapter XXXI: Invasion Of Italy, Occupation Of Territories By +Barbarians. + +Part I. + + Invasion Of Italy By Alaric. - Manners Of The Roman Senate +And People. - Rome Is Thrice Besieged, And At Length Pillaged, By +The Goths. - Death Of Alaric. - The Goths Evacuate Italy. - Fall +Of Constantine. - Gaul And Spain Are Occupied By The Barbarians. +- Independence Of Britain. + + The incapacity of a weak and distracted government may often +assume the appearance, and produce the effects, of a treasonable +correspondence with the public enemy. If Alaric himself had been +introduced into the council of Ravenna, he would probably have +advised the same measures which were actually pursued by the +ministers of Honorius. ^1 The king of the Goths would have +conspired, perhaps with some reluctance, to destroy the +formidable adversary, by whose arms, in Italy, as well as in +Greece, he had been twice overthrown. Their active and interested +hatred laboriously accomplished the disgrace and ruin of the +great Stilicho. The valor of Sarus, his fame in arms, and his +personal, or hereditary, influence over the confederate +Barbarians, could recommend him only to the friends of their +country, who despised, or detested, the worthless characters of +Turpilio, Varanes, and Vigilantius. By the pressing instances of +the new favorites, these generals, unworthy as they had shown +themselves of the names of soldiers, ^2 were promoted to the +command of the cavalry, of the infantry, and of the domestic +troops. The Gothic prince would have subscribed with pleasure +the edict which the fanaticism of Olympius dictated to the simple +and devout emperor. Honorius excluded all persons, who were +adverse to the Catholic church, from holding any office in the +state; obstinately rejected the service of all those who +dissented from his religion; and rashly disqualified many of his +bravest and most skilful officers, who adhered to the Pagan +worship, or who had imbibed the opinions of Arianism. ^3 These +measures, so advantageous to an enemy, Alaric would have +approved, and might perhaps have suggested; but it may seem +doubtful, whether the Barbarian would have promoted his interest +at the expense of the inhuman and absurd cruelty which was +perpetrated by the direction, or at least with the connivance of +the Imperial ministers. The foreign auxiliaries, who had been +attached to the person of Stilicho, lamented his death; but the +desire of revenge was checked by a natural apprehension for the +safety of their wives and children; who were detained as hostages +in the strong cities of Italy, where they had likewise deposited +their most valuable effects. At the same hour, and as if by a +common signal, the cities of Italy were polluted by the same +horrid scenes of universal massacre and pillage, which involved, +in promiscuous destruction, the families and fortunes of the +Barbarians. Exasperated by such an injury, which might have +awakened the tamest and most servile spirit, they cast a look of +indignation and hope towards the camp of Alaric, and unanimously +swore to pursue, with just and implacable war, the perfidious +nation who had so basely violated the laws of hospitality. By +the imprudent conduct of the ministers of Honorius, the republic +lost the assistance, and deserved the enmity, of thirty thousand +of her bravest soldiers; and the weight of that formidable army, +which alone might have determined the event of the war, was +transferred from the scale of the Romans into that of the Goths. +[Footnote 1: The series of events, from the death of Stilicho to +the arrival of Alaric before Rome, can only be found in Zosimus, +l. v. p. 347 - 350.] +[Footnote 2: The expression of Zosimus is strong and lively, +sufficient to excite the contempt of the enemy.] + +[Footnote 3: Eos qui catholicae sectae sunt inimici, intra +palatium militare pro hibemus. Nullus nobis sit aliqua ratione +conjunctus, qui a nobis fidest religione discordat. Cod. +Theodos. l. xvi. tit. v. leg. 42, and Godefroy's Commentary, tom. +vi. p. 164. This law was applied in the utmost latitude, and +rigorously executed. Zosimus, l. v. p. 364.] + + In the arts of negotiation, as well as in those of war, the +Gothic king maintained his superior ascendant over an enemy, +whose seeming changes proceeded from the total want of counsel +and design. From his camp, on the confines of Italy, Alaric +attentively observed the revolutions of the palace, watched the +progress of faction and discontent, disguised the hostile aspect +of a Barbarian invader, and assumed the more popular appearance +of the friend and ally of the great Stilicho: to whose virtues, +when they were no longer formidable, he could pay a just tribute +of sincere praise and regret. The pressing invitation of the +malecontents, who urged the king of the Goths to invade Italy, +was enforced by a lively sense of his personal injuries; and he +might especially complain, that the Imperial ministers still +delayed and eluded the payment of the four thousand pounds of +gold which had been granted by the Roman senate, either to reward +his services, or to appease his fury. His decent firmness was +supported by an artful moderation, which contributed to the +success of his designs. He required a fair and reasonable +satisfaction; but he gave the strongest assurances, that, as soon +as he had obtained it, he would immediately retire. He refused +to trust the faith of the Romans, unless Aetius and Jason, the +sons of two great officers of state, were sent as hostages to his +camp; but he offered to deliver, in exchange, several of the +noblest youths of the Gothic nation. The modesty of Alaric was +interpreted, by the ministers of Ravenna, as a sure evidence of +his weakness and fear. They disdained either to negotiate a +treaty, or to assemble an army; and with a rash confidence, +derived only from their ignorance of the extreme danger, +irretrievably wasted the decisive moments of peace and war. While +they expected, in sullen silence, that the Barbarians would +evacuate the confines of Italy, Alaric, with bold and rapid +marches, passed the Alps and the Po; hastily pillaged the cities +of Aquileia, Altinum, Concordia, and Cremona, which yielded to +his arms; increased his forces by the accession of thirty +thousand auxiliaries; and, without meeting a single enemy in the +field, advanced as far as the edge of the morass which protected +the impregnable residence of the emperor of the West. Instead of +attempting the hopeless siege of Ravenna, the prudent leader of +the Goths proceeded to Rimini, stretched his ravages along the +sea-coast of the Hadriatic, and meditated the conquest of the +ancient mistress of the world. An Italian hermit, whose zeal and +sanctity were respected by the Barbarians themselves, encountered +the victorious monarch, and boldly denounced the indignation of +Heaven against the oppressors of the earth; but the saint himself +was confounded by the solemn asseveration of Alaric, that he felt +a secret and praeternatural impulse, which directed, and even +compelled, his march to the gates of Rome. He felt, that his +genius and his fortune were equal to the most arduous +enterprises; and the enthusiasm which he communicated to the +Goths, insensibly removed the popular, and almost superstitious, +reverence of the nations for the majesty of the Roman name. His +troops, animated by the hopes of spoil, followed the course of +the Flaminian way, occupied the unguarded passes of the Apennine, +^4 descended into the rich plains of Umbria; and, as they lay +encamped on the banks of the Clitumnus, might wantonly slaughter +and devour the milk-white oxen, which had been so long reserved +for the use of Roman triumphs. ^5 A lofty situation, and a +seasonable tempest of thunder and lightning, preserved the little +city of Narni; but the king of the Goths, despising the ignoble +prey, still advanced with unabated vigor; and after he had passed +through the stately arches, adorned with the spoils of Barbaric +victories, he pitched his camp under the walls of Rome. ^6 +[Footnote 4: Addison (see his Works, vol. ii. p. 54, edit. +Baskerville) has given a very picturesque description of the road +through the Apennine. The Goths were not at leisure to observe +the beauties of the prospect; but they were pleased to find that +the Saxa Intercisa, a narrow passage which Vespasian had cut +through the rock, (Cluver. Italia Antiq. tom. i. p. 168,) was +totally neglected. + + Hine albi, Clitumne, greges, et maxima taurus + Victima, saepe tuo perfusi flumine sacro, + Romanos ad templa Deum duxere triumphos. + + Georg. ii. 147. + +Besides Virgil, most of the Latin poets, Propertius, Lucan, +Silius Italicus, Claudian, &c., whose passages may be found in +Cluverius and Addison, have celebrated the triumphal victims of +the Clitumnus.] + +[Footnote 6: Some ideas of the march of Alaric are borrowed from +the journey of Honorius over the same ground. (See Claudian in +vi. Cons. Hon. 494 - 522.) The measured distance between Ravenna +and Rome was 254 Roman miles. Itinerar. Wesseling, p. 126.] + During a period of six hundred and nineteen years, the seat +of empire had never been violated by the presence of a foreign +enemy. The unsuccessful expedition of Hannibal ^7 served only to +display the character of the senate and people; of a senate +degraded, rather than ennobled, by the comparison of an assembly +of kings; and of a people, to whom the ambassador of Pyrrhus +ascribed the inexhaustible resources of the Hydra. ^8 Each of the +senators, in the time of the Punic war, had accomplished his term +of the military service, either in a subordinate or a superior +station; and the decree, which invested with temporary command +all those who had been consuls, or censors, or dictators, gave +the republic the immediate assistance of many brave and +experienced generals. In the beginning of the war, the Roman +people consisted of two hundred and fifty thousand citizens of an +age to bear arms. ^9 Fifty thousand had already died in the +defence of their country; and the twenty-three legions which were +employed in the different camps of Italy, Greece, Sardinia, +Sicily, and Spain, required about one hundred thousand men. But +there still remained an equal number in Rome, and the adjacent +territory, who were animated by the same intrepid courage; and +every citizen was trained, from his earliest youth, in the +discipline and exercises of a soldier. Hannibal was astonished by +the constancy of the senate, who, without raising the siege of +Capua, or recalling their scattered forces, expected his +approach. He encamped on the banks of the Anio, at the distance +of three miles from the city; and he was soon informed, that the +ground on which he had pitched his tent, was sold for an adequate +price at a public auction; ^* and that a body of troops was +dismissed by an opposite road, to reenforce the legions of Spain. +^10 He led his Africans to the gates of Rome, where he found +three armies in order of battle, prepared to receive him; but +Hannibal dreaded the event of a combat, from which he could not +hope to escape, unless he destroyed the last of his enemies; and +his speedy retreat confessed the invincible courage of the +Romans. + +[Footnote 7: The march and retreat of Hannibal are described by +Livy, l. xxvi. c. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11; and the reader is made a +spectator of the interesting scene.] + +[Footnote 8: These comparisons were used by Cyneas, the +counsellor of Pyrrhus, after his return from his embassy, in +which he had diligently studied the discipline and manners of +Rome. See Plutarch in Pyrrho. tom. ii. p. 459.] +[Footnote 9: In the three census which were made of the Roman +people, about the time of the second Punic war, the numbers stand +as follows, (see Livy, Epitom. l. xx. Hist. l. xxvii. 36. xxix. +37:) 270,213, 137,108 214,000. The fall of the second, and the +rise of the third, appears so enormous, that several critics, +notwithstanding the unanimity of the Mss., have suspected some +corruption of the text of Livy. (See Drakenborch ad xxvii. 36, +and Beaufort, Republique Romaine, tom. i. p. 325.) They did not +consider that the second census was taken only at Rome, and that +the numbers were diminished, not only by the death, but likewise +by the absence, of many soldiers. In the third census, Livy +expressly affirms, that the legions were mustered by the care of +particular commissaries. From the numbers on the list we must +always deduct one twelfth above threescore, and incapable of +bearing arms. See Population de la France, p. 72.] + +[Footnote *: Compare the remarkable transaction in Jeremiah +xxxii. 6, to 44, where the prophet purchases his uncle's estate +at the approach of the Babylonian captivity, in his undoubting +confidence in the future restoration of the people. In the one +case it is the triumph of religious faith, in the other of +national pride. - M.] + +[Footnote 10: Livy considers these two incidents as the effects +only of chance and courage. I suspect that they were both +managed by the admirable policy of the senate.] + + From the time of the Punic war, the uninterrupted succession +of senators had preserved the name and image of the republic; and +the degenerate subjects of Honorius ambitiously derived their +descent from the heroes who had repulsed the arms of Hannibal, +and subdued the nations of the earth. The temporal honors which +the devout Paula ^11 inherited and despised, are carefully +recapitulated by Jerom, the guide of her conscience, and the +historian of her life. The genealogy of her father, Rogatus, +which ascended as high as Agamemnon, might seem to betray a +Grecian origin; but her mother, Blaesilla, numbered the Scipios, +Aemilius Paulus, and the Gracchi, in the list of her ancestors; +and Toxotius, the husband of Paula, deduced his royal lineage +from Aeneas, the father of the Julian line. The vanity of the +rich, who desired to be noble, was gratified by these lofty +pretensions. Encouraged by the applause of their parasites, they +easily imposed on the credulity of the vulgar; and were +countenanced, in some measure, by the custom of adopting the name +of their patron, which had always prevailed among the freedmen +and clients of illustrious families. Most of those families, +however, attacked by so many causes of external violence or +internal decay, were gradually extirpated; and it would be more +reasonable to seek for a lineal descent of twenty generations, +among the mountains of the Alps, or in the peaceful solitude of +Apulia, than on the theatre of Rome, the seat of fortune, of +danger, and of perpetual revolutions. Under each successive +reign, and from every province of the empire, a crowd of hardy +adventurers, rising to eminence by their talents or their vices, +usurped the wealth, the honors, and the palaces of Rome; and +oppressed, or protected, the poor and humble remains of consular +families; who were ignorant, perhaps, of the glory of their +ancestors. ^12 + +[Footnote 11: See Jerom, tom. i. p. 169, 170, ad Eustochium; he +bestows on Paula the splendid titles of Gracchorum stirps, +soboles Scipionum, Pauli haeres, cujus vocabulum trahit, Martiae +Papyriae Matris Africani vera et germana propago. This +particular description supposes a more solid title than the +surname of Julius, which Toxotius shared with a thousand families +of the western provinces. See the Index of Tacitus, of Gruter's +Inscriptions, &c.] +[Footnote 12: Tacitus (Annal. iii. 55) affirms, that between the +battle of Actium and the reign of Vespasian, the senate was +gradually filled with new families from the Municipia and +colonies of Italy.] + + In the time of Jerom and Claudian, the senators unanimously +yielded the preeminence to the Anician line; and a slight view of +their history will serve to appreciate the rank and antiquity of +the noble families, which contended only for the second place. +^13 During the five first ages of the city, the name of the +Anicians was unknown; they appear to have derived their origin +from Praeneste; and the ambition of those new citizens was long +satisfied with the Plebeian honors of tribunes of the people. ^14 +One hundred and sixty-eight years before the Christian aera, the +family was ennobled by the Praetorship of Anicius, who gloriously +terminated the Illyrian war, by the conquest of the nation, and +the captivity of their king. ^15 From the triumph of that +general, three consulships, in distant periods, mark the +succession of the Anician name. ^16 From the reign of Diocletian +to the final extinction of the Western empire, that name shone +with a lustre which was not eclipsed, in the public estimation, +by the majesty of the Imperial purple. ^17 The several branches, +to whom it was communicated, united, by marriage or inheritance, +the wealth and titles of the Annian, the Petronian, and the +Olybrian houses; and in each generation the number of consulships +was multiplied by an hereditary claim. ^18 The Anician family +excelled in faith and in riches: they were the first of the Roman +senate who embraced Christianity; and it is probable that Anicius +Julian, who was afterwards consul and praefect of the city, +atoned for his attachment to the party of Maxentius, by the +readiness with which he accepted the religion of Constantine. ^19 +Their ample patrimony was increased by the industry of Probus, +the chief of the Anician family; who shared with Gratian the +honors of the consulship, and exercised, four times, the high +office of Praetorian praefect. ^20 His immense estates were +scattered over the wide extent of the Roman world; and though the +public might suspect or disapprove the methods by which they had +been acquired, the generosity and magnificence of that fortunate +statesman deserved the gratitude of his clients, and the +admiration of strangers. ^21 Such was the respect entertained for +his memory, that the two sons of Probus, in their earliest youth, +and at the request of the senate, were associated in the consular +dignity; a memorable distinction, without example, in the annals +of Rome. ^22 + +[Footnote 13: Nec quisquam Procerum tentet (licet aere vetusto + + Floreat, et claro cingatur Roma senatu) + Se jactare parem; sed prima sede relicta + Aucheniis, de jure licet certare secundo. + + Claud. in Prob. et Olybrii Coss. 18. + +Such a compliment paid to the obscure name of the Auchenii has +amazed the critics; but they all agree, that whatever may be the +true reading, the sense of Claudian can be applied only to the +Anician family.] + +[Footnote 14: The earliest date in the annals of Pighius, is that +of M. Anicius Gallus. Trib. Pl. A. U. C. 506. Another tribune, +Q. Anicius, A. U. C. 508, is distinguished by the epithet of +Praenestinus. Livy (xlv. 43) places the Anicii below the great +families of Rome.] + +[Footnote 15: Livy, xliv. 30, 31, xlv. 3, 26, 43. He fairly +appreciates the merit of Anicius, and justly observes, that his +fame was clouded by the superior lustre of the Macedonian, which +preceded the Illyrian triumph.] +[Footnote 16: The dates of the three consulships are, A. U. C. +593, 818, 967 the two last under the reigns of Nero and +Caracalla. The second of these consuls distinguished himself +only by his infamous flattery, (Tacit. Annal. xv. 74;) but even +the evidence of crimes, if they bear the stamp of greatness and +antiquity, is admitted, without reluctance, to prove the +genealogy of a noble house.] + +[Footnote 17: In the sixth century, the nobility of the Anician +name is mentioned (Cassiodor. Variar. l. x. Ep. 10, 12) with +singular respect by the minister of a Gothic king of Italy.] +[Footnote 18: - Fixus in omnes + Cognatos procedit honos; quemcumque requiras + + Hac de stirpe virum, certum est de Consule +nasci. Per fasces numerantur Avi, semperque +renata Nobilitate virent, et prolem fata +sequuntur. +(Claudian in Prob. et Olyb. Consulat. 12, &c.) The Annii, whose +name seems to have merged in the Anician, mark the Fasti with +many consulships, from the time of Vespasian to the fourth +century.] + +[Footnote 19: The title of first Christian senator may be +justified by the authority of Prudentius (in Symmach. i. 553) and +the dislike of the Pagans to the Anician family. See Tillemont, +Hist. des Empereurs, tom. iv. p. 183, v. p. 44. Baron. Annal. +A.D. 312, No. 78, A.D. 322, No. 2.] + +[Footnote 20: Probus ... claritudine generis et potentia et opum +magnitudine, cognitus Orbi Romano, per quem universum poene +patrimonia sparsa possedit, juste an secus non judicioli est +nostri. Ammian Marcellin. xxvii. 11. His children and widow +erected for him a magnificent tomb in the Vatican, which was +demolished in the time of Pope Nicholas V. to make room for the +new church of St.Peter Baronius, who laments the ruin of this +Christian monument, has diligently preserved the inscriptions and +basso-relievos. See Annal. Eccles. A.D. 395, No. 5 - 17.] +[Footnote 21: Two Persian satraps travelled to Milan and Rome, to +hear St. Ambrose, and to see Probus, (Paulin. in Vit. Ambros.) +Claudian (in Cons. Probin. et Olybr. 30 - 60) seems at a loss how +to express the glory of Probus.] + +[Footnote 22: See the poem which Claudian addressed to the two +noble youths.] + +Chapter XXXI: Invasion Of Italy, Occupation Of Territories By +Barbarians. + +Part II. + + "The marbles of the Anician palace," were used as a +proverbial expression of opulence and splendor; ^23 but the +nobles and senators of Rome aspired, in due gradation, to imitate +that illustrious family. The accurate description of the city, +which was composed in the Theodosian age, enumerates one thousand +seven hundred and eighty houses, the residence of wealthy and +honorable citizens. ^24 Many of these stately mansions might +almost excuse the exaggeration of the poet; that Rome contained a +multitude of palaces, and that each palace was equal to a city: +since it included within its own precincts every thing which +could be subservient either to use or luxury; markets, +hippodromes, temples, fountains, baths, porticos, shady groves, +and artificial aviaries. ^25 The historian Olympiodorus, who +represents the state of Rome when it was besieged by the Goths, +^26 continues to observe, that several of the richest senators +received from their estates an annual income of four thousand +pounds of gold, above one hundred and sixty thousand pounds +sterling; without computing the stated provision of corn and +wine, which, had they been sold, might have equalled in value one +third of the money. Compared to this immoderate wealth, an +ordinary revenue of a thousand or fifteen hundred pounds of gold +might be considered as no more than adequate to the dignity of +the senatorian rank, which required many expenses of a public and +ostentatious kind. Several examples are recorded, in the age of +Honorius, of vain and popular nobles, who celebrated the year of +their praetorship by a festival, which lasted seven days, and +cost above one hundred thousand pounds sterling. ^27 The estates +of the Roman senators, which so far exceeded the proportion of +modern wealth, were not confined to the limits of Italy. Their +possessions extended far beyond the Ionian and Aegean Seas, to +the most distant provinces: the city of Nicopolis, which Augustus +had founded as an eternal monument of the Actian victory, was the +property of the devout Paula; ^28 and it is observed by Seneca, +that the rivers, which had divided hostile nations, now flowed +through the lands of private citizens. ^29 According to their +temper and circumstances, the estates of the Romans were either +cultivated by the labor of their slaves, or granted, for a +certain and stipulated rent, to the industrious farmer. The +economical writers of antiquity strenuously recommend the former +method, wherever it may be practicable; but if the object should +be removed, by its distance or magnitude, from the immediate eye +of the master, they prefer the active care of an old hereditary +tenant, attached to the soil, and interested in the produce, to +the mercenary administration of a negligent, perhaps an +unfaithful, steward. ^30 + +[Footnote 23: Secundinus, the Manichaean, ap. Baron. Annal. +Eccles. A.D. 390, No. 34.] + +[Footnote 24: See Nardini, Roma Antica, p. 89, 498, 500.] + +[Footnote 25: Quid loquar inclusas inter laquearia sylvas; + + Vernula queis vario carmine ludit avis. + + Claud. Rutil. Numatian. Itinerar. ver. 111. The +poet lived at the time of the Gothic invasion. A moderate palace +would have covered Cincinnatus's farm of four acres (Val. Max. +iv. 4.) In laxitatem ruris excurrunt, says Seneca, Epist. 114. +See a judicious note of Mr. Hume, Essays, vol. i. p. 562, last +8vo edition.] + +[Footnote 26: This curious account of Rome, in the reign of +Honorius, is found in a fragment of the historian Olympiodorus, +ap. Photium, p. 197.] +[Footnote 27: The sons of Alypius, of Symmachus, and of Maximus, +spent, during their respective praetorships, twelve, or twenty, +or forty, centenaries, (or hundred weight of gold.) See +Olympiodor. ap. Phot. p. 197. This popular estimation allows some +latitude; but it is difficult to explain a law in the Theodosian +Code, (l. vi. leg. 5,) which fixes the expense of the first +praetor at 25,000, of the second at 20,000, and of the third at +15,000 folles. The name of follis (see Mem. de l'Academie des +Inscriptions, tom. xxviii. p. 727) was equally applied to a purse +of 125 pieces of silver, and to a small copper coin of the value +of 1/2625 part of that purse. In the former sense, the 25,000 +folles would be equal to 150,000l.; in the latter, to five or six +ponuds sterling The one appears extravagant, the other is +ridiculous. There must have existed some third and middle value, +which is here understood; but ambiguity is an excusable fault in +the language of laws.] + +[Footnote 28: Nicopolis ...... in Actiaco littore sita +possessioris vestra nunc pars vel maxima est. Jerom. in Praefat. + +Comment. ad Epistol. ad Titum, tom. ix. p. 243. M. D. Tillemont +supposes, strangely enough, that it was part of Agamemnon's +inheritance. Mem. Eccles. tom. xii. p. 85.] +[Footnote 29: Seneca, Epist. lxxxix. His language is of the +declamatory kind: but declamation could scarcely exaggerate the +avarice and luxury of the Romans. The philosopher himself +deserved some share of the reproach, if it be true that his +rigorous exaction of Quadringenties, above three hundred thousand +pounds which he had lent at high interest, provoked a rebellion +in Britain, (Dion Cassius, l. lxii. p. 1003.) According to the +conjecture of Gale (Antoninus's Itinerary in Britain, p. 92,) the +same Faustinus possessed an estate near Bury, in Suffolk and +another in the kingdom of Naples.] +[Footnote 30: Volusius, a wealthy senator, (Tacit. Annal. iii. +30,) always preferred tenants born on the estate. Columella, who +received this maxim from him, argues very judiciously on the +subject. De Re Rustica, l. i. c. 7, p. 408, edit. Gesner. +Leipsig, 1735.] + + The opulent nobles of an immense capital, who were never +excited by the pursuit of military glory, and seldom engaged in +the occupations of civil government, naturally resigned their +leisure to the business and amusements of private life. At Rome, +commerce was always held in contempt: but the senators, from the +first age of the republic, increased their patrimony, and +multiplied their clients, by the lucrative practice of usury; and +the obselete laws were eluded, or violated, by the mutual +inclinations and interest of both parties. ^31 A considerable +mass of treasure must always have existed at Rome, either in the +current coin of the empire, or in the form of gold and silver +plate; and there were many sideboards in the time of Pliny which +contained more solid silver, than had been transported by Scipio +from vanquished Carthage. ^32 The greater part of the nobles, who +dissipated their fortunes in profuse luxury, found themselves +poor in the midst of wealth, and idle in a constant round of +dissipation. Their desires were continually gratified by the +labor of a thousand hands; of the numerous train of their +domestic slaves, who were actuated by the fear of punishment; and +of the various professions of artificers and merchants, who were +more powerfully impelled by the hopes of gain. The ancients were +destitute of many of the conveniences of life, which have been +invented or improved by the progress of industry; and the plenty +of glass and linen has diffused more real comforts among the +modern nations of Europe, than the senators of Rome could derive +from all the refinements of pompous or sensual luxury. ^33 Their +luxury, and their manners, have been the subject of minute and +laborious disposition: but as such inquiries would divert me too +long from the design of the present work, I shall produce an +authentic state of Rome and its inhabitants, which is more +peculiarly applicable to the period of the Gothic invasion. +Ammianus Marcellinus, who prudently chose the capital of the +empire as the residence the best adapted to the historian of his +own times, has mixed with the narrative of public events a lively +representation of the scenes with which he was familiarly +conversant. The judicious reader will not always approve of the +asperity of censure, the choice of circumstances, or the style of +expression; he will perhaps detect the latent prejudices, and +personal resentments, which soured the temper of Ammianus +himself; but he will surely observe, with philosophic curiosity, +the interesting and original picture of the manners of Rome. ^34 +[Footnote 31: Valesius (ad Ammian. xiv. 6) has proved, from +Chrysostom and Augustin, that the senators were not allowed to +lend money at usury. Yet it appears from the Theodosian Code, +(see Godefroy ad l. ii. tit. xxxiii. tom. i. p. 230 - 289,) that +they were permitted to take six percent., or one half of the +legal interest; and, what is more singular, this permission was +granted to the young senators.] + +[Footnote 32: Plin. Hist. Natur. xxxiii. 50. He states the +silver at only 4380 pounds, which is increased by Livy (xxx. 45) +to 100,023: the former seems too little for an opulent city, the +latter too much for any private sideboard.] + +[Footnote 33: The learned Arbuthnot (Tables of Ancient Coins, &c. +p. 153) has observed with humor, and I believe with truth, that +Augustus had neither glass to his windows, nor a shirt to his +back. Under the lower empire, the use of linen and glass became +somewhat more common. + + Note: The discovery of glass in such common use at Pompeii, +spoils the argument of Arbuthnot. See Sir W. Gell. Pompeiana, 2d +ser. p. 98. - M.] +[Footnote 34: It is incumbent on me to explain the liberties +which I have taken with the text of Ammianus. 1. I have melted +down into one piece the sixth chapter of the fourteenth and the +fourth of the twenty-eighth book. 2. I have given order and +connection to the confused mass of materials. 3. I have softened +some extravagant hyperbeles, and pared away some superfluities of +the original. 4. I have developed some observations which were +insinuated rather than expressed. With these allowances, my +version will be found, not literal indeed, but faithful and +exact.] + + "The greatness of Rome" - such is the language of the +historian - "was founded on the rare, and almost incredible, +alliance of virtue and of fortune. The long period of her infancy +was employed in a laborious struggle against the tribes of Italy, +the neighbors and enemies of the rising city. In the strength +and ardor of youth, she sustained the storms of war; carried her +victorious arms beyond the seas and the mountains; and brought +home triumphal laurels from every country of the globe. At +length, verging towards old age, and sometimes conquering by the +terror only of her name, she sought the blessings of ease and +tranquillity. The venerable city, which had trampled on the +necks of the fiercest nations, and established a system of laws, +the perpetual guardians of justice and freedom, was content, like +a wise and wealthy parent, to devolve on the Caesars, her +favorite sons, the care of governing her ample patrimony. ^35 A +secure and profound peace, such as had been once enjoyed in the +reign of Numa, succeeded to the tumults of a republic; while Rome +was still adored as the queen of the earth; and the subject +nations still reverenced the name of the people, and the majesty +of the senate. But this native splendor," continues Ammianus, +"is degraded, and sullied, by the conduct of some nobles, who, +unmindful of their own dignity, and of that of their country, +assume an unbounded license of vice and folly. They contend with +each other in the empty vanity of titles and surnames; and +curiously select, or invent, the most lofty and sonorous +appellations, Reburrus, or Fabunius, Pagonius, or Tarasius, ^36 +which may impress the ears of the vulgar with astonishment and +respect. From a vain ambition of perpetuating their memory, they +affect to multiply their likeness, in statues of bronze and +marble; nor are they satisfied, unless those statues are covered +with plates of gold; an honorable distinction, first granted to +Acilius the consul, after he had subdued, by his arms and +counsels, the power of King Antiochus. The ostentation of +displaying, of magnifying, perhaps, the rent-roll of the estates +which they possess in all the provinces, from the rising to the +setting sun, provokes the just resentment of every man, who +recollects, that their poor and invincible ancestors were not +distinguished from the meanest of the soldiers, by the delicacy +of their food, or the splendor of their apparel. But the modern +nobles measure their rank and consequence according to the +loftiness of their chariots, ^37 and the weighty magnificence of +their dress. Their long robes of silk and purple float in the +wind; and as they are agitated, by art or accident, they +occasionally discover the under garments, the rich tunics, +embroidered with the figures of various animals. ^38 Followed by +a train of fifty servants, and tearing up the pavement, they move +along the streets with the same impetuous speed as if they +travelled with post-horses; and the example of the senators is +boldly imitated by the matrons and ladies, whose covered +carriages are continually driving round the immense space of the +city and suburbs. Whenever these persons of high distinction +condescend to visit the public baths, they assume, on their +entrance, a tone of loud and insolent command, and appropriate to +their own use the conveniences which were designed for the Roman +people. If, in these places of mixed and general resort, they +meet any of the infamous ministers of their pleasures, they +express their affection by a tender embrace; while they proudly +decline the salutations of their fellow-citizens, who are not +permitted to aspire above the honor of kissing their hands, or +their knees. As soon as they have indulged themselves in the +refreshment of the bath, they resume their rings, and the other +ensigns of their dignity, select from their private wardrobe of +the finest linen, such as might suffice for a dozen persons, the +garments the most agreeable to their fancy, and maintain till +their departure the same haughty demeanor; which perhaps might +have been excused in the great Marcellus, after the conquest of +Syracuse. Sometimes, indeed, these heroes undertake more arduous +achievements; they visit their estates in Italy, and procure +themselves, by the toil of servile hands, the amusements of the +chase. ^39 If at any time, but more especially on a hot day, they +have courage to sail, in their painted galleys, from the Lucrine +Lake ^40 to their elegant villas on the seacoast of Puteoli and +Cayeta, ^41 they compare their own expeditions to the marches of +Caesar and Alexander. Yet should a fly presume to settle on the +silken folds of their gilded umbrellas; should a sunbeam +penetrate through some unguarded and imperceptible chink, they +deplore their intolerable hardships, and lament, in affected +language, that they were not born in the land of the Cimmerians, +^42 the regions of eternal darkness. In these journeys into the +country, ^43 the whole body of the household marches with their +master. In the same manner as the cavalry and infantry, the heavy +and the light armed troops, the advanced guard and the rear, are +marshalled by the skill of their military leaders; so the +domestic officers, who bear a rod, as an ensign of authority, +distribute and arrange the numerous train of slaves and +attendants. The baggage and wardrobe move in the front; and are +immediately followed by a multitude of cooks, and inferior +ministers, employed in the service of the kitchens, and of the +table. The main body is composed of a promiscuous crowd of +slaves, increased by the accidental concourse of idle or +dependent plebeians. The rear is closed by the favorite band of +eunuchs, distributed from age to youth, according to the order of +seniority. Their numbers and their deformity excite the horror +of the indignant spectators, who are ready to execrate the memory +of Semiramis, for the cruel art which she invented, of +frustrating the purposes of nature, and of blasting in the bud +the hopes of future generations. In the exercise of domestic +jurisdiction, the nobles of Rome express an exquisite sensibility +for any personal injury, and a contemptuous indifference for the +rest of the human species. When they have called for warm water, +if a slave has been tardy in his obedience, he is instantly +chastised with three hundred lashes: but should the same slave +commit a wilful murder, the master will mildly observe, that he +is a worthless fellow; but that, if he repeats the offence, he +shall not escape punishment. Hospitality was formerly the virtue +of the Romans; and every stranger, who could plead either merit +or misfortune, was relieved, or rewarded by their generosity. At +present, if a foreigner, perhaps of no contemptible rank, is +introduced to one of the proud and wealthy senators, he is +welcomed indeed in the first audience, with such warm +professions, and such kind inquiries, that he retires, enchanted +with the affability of his illustrious friend, and full of regret +that he had so long delayed his journey to Rome, the active seat +of manners, as well as of empire. Secure of a favorable +reception, he repeats his visit the ensuing day, and is mortified +by the discovery, that his person, his name, and his country, are +already forgotten. If he still has resolution to persevere, he +is gradually numbered in the train of dependants, and obtains the +permission to pay his assiduous and unprofitable court to a +haughty patron, incapable of gratitude or friendship; who +scarcely deigns to remark his presence, his departure, or his +return. Whenever the rich prepare a solemn and popular +entertainment; ^44 whenever they celebrate, with profuse and +pernicious luxury, their private banquets; the choice of the +guests is the subject of anxious deliberation. The modest, the +sober, and the learned, are seldom preferred; and the +nomenclators, who are commonly swayed by interested motives, have +the address to insert, in the list of invitations, the obscure +names of the most worthless of mankind. But the frequent and +familiar companions of the great, are those parasites, who +practise the most useful of all arts, the art of flattery; who +eagerly applaud each word, and every action, of their immortal +patron; gaze with rapture on his marble columns and variegated +pavements; and strenuously praise the pomp and elegance which he +is taught to consider as a part of his personal merit. At the +Roman tables, the birds, the squirrels, ^45 or the fish, which +appear of an uncommon size, are contemplated with curious +attention; a pair of scales is accurately applied, to ascertain +their real weight; and, while the more rational guests are +disgusted by the vain and tedious repetition, notaries are +summoned to attest, by an authentic record, the truth of such a +marvelous event. Another method of introduction into the houses +and society of the great, is derived from the profession of +gaming, or, as it is more politely styled, of play. The +confederates are united by a strict and indissoluble bond of +friendship, or rather of conspiracy; a superior degree of skill +in the Tesserarian art (which may be interpreted the game of dice +and tables) ^46 is a sure road to wealth and reputation. A master +of that sublime science, who in a supper, or assembly, is placed +below a magistrate, displays in his countenance the surprise and +indignation which Cato might be supposed to feel, when he was +refused the praetorship by the votes of a capricious people. The +acquisition of knowledge seldom engages the curiosity of nobles, +who abhor the fatigue, and disdain the advantages, of study; and +the only books which they peruse are the Satires of Juvenal, and +the verbose and fabulous histories of Marius Maximus. ^47 The +libraries, which they have inherited from their fathers, are +secluded, like dreary sepulchres, from the light of day. ^48 But +the costly instruments of the theatre, flutes, and enormous +lyres, and hydraulic organs, are constructed for their use; and +the harmony of vocal and instrumental music is incessantly +repeated in the palaces of Rome. In those palaces, sound is +preferred to sense, and the care of the body to that of the mind. + +It is allowed as a salutary maxim, that the light and frivolous +suspicion of a contagious malady, is of sufficient weight to +excuse the visits of the most intimate friends; and even the +servants, who are despatched to make the decent inquiries, are +not suffered to return home, till they have undergone the +ceremony of a previous ablution. Yet this selfish and unmanly +delicacy occasionally yields to the more imperious passion of +avarice. The prospect of gain will urge a rich and gouty senator +as far as Spoleto; every sentiment of arrogance and dignity is +subdued by the hopes of an inheritance, or even of a legacy; and +a wealthy childless citizen is the most powerful of the Romans. +The art of obtaining the signature of a favorable testament, and +sometimes of hastening the moment of its execution, is perfectly +understood; and it has happened, that in the same house, though +in different apartments, a husband and a wife, with the laudable +design of overreaching each other, have summoned their respective +lawyers, to declare, at the same time, their mutual, but +contradictory, intentions. The distress which follows and +chastises extravagant luxury, often reduces the great to the use +of the most humiliating expedients. When they desire to borrow, +they employ the base and supplicating style of the slave in the +comedy; but when they are called upon to pay, they assume the +royal and tragic declamation of the grandsons of Hercules. If +the demand is repeated, they readily procure some trusty +sycophant, instructed to maintain a charge of poison, or magic, +against the insolent creditor; who is seldom released from +prison, till he has signed a discharge of the whole debt. These +vices, which degrade the moral character of the Romans, are mixed +with a puerile superstition, that disgraces their understanding. +They listen with confidence to the predictions of haruspices, who +pretend to read, in the entrails of victims, the signs of future +greatness and prosperity; and there are many who do not presume +either to bathe, or to dine, or to appear in public, till they +have diligently consulted, according to the rules of astrology, +the situation of Mercury, and the aspect of the moon. ^49 It is +singular enough, that this vain credulity may often be discovered +among the profane sceptics, who impiously doubt, or deny, the +existence of a celestial power." + +[Footnote 35: Claudian, who seems to have read the history of +Ammianus, speaks of this great revolution in a much less courtly +style: - + + Postquam jura ferox in se communia Caesar + Transtulit; et lapsi mores; desuetaque priscis + Artibus, in gremium pacis servile recessi. + + De Be. Gildonico, p. 49.] + +[Footnote 36: The minute diligence of antiquarians has not been +able to verify these extraordinary names. I am of opinion that +they were invented by the historian himself, who was afraid of +any personal satire or application. It is certain, however, that +the simple denominations of the Romans were gradually lengthened +to the number of four, five, or even seven, pompous surnames; as, +for instance, Marcus Maecius Maemmius Furius Balburius +Caecilianus Placidus. See Noris Cenotaph Piran Dissert. iv. p. +438.] +[Footnote 37: The or coaches of the romans, were often of solid +silver, curiously carved and engraved; and the trappings of the +mules, or horses, were embossed with gold. This magnificence +continued from the reign of Nero to that of Honorius; and the +Appian way was covered with the splendid equipages of the nobles, +who came out to meet St. Melania, when she returned to Rome, six +years before the Gothic siege, (Seneca, epist. lxxxvii. Plin. +Hist. Natur. xxxiii. 49. Paulin. Nolan. apud Baron. Annal. +Eccles. A.D. 397, No. 5.) Yet pomp is well exchange for +convenience; and a plain modern coach, that is hung upon springs, +is much preferable to the silver or gold carts of antiquity, +which rolled on the axle-tree, and were exposed, for the most +part, to the inclemency of the weather.] + +[Footnote 38: In a homily of Asterius, bishop of Amasia, M. de +Valois has discovered (ad Ammian. xiv. 6) that this was a new +fashion; that bears, wolves lions, and tigers, woods, +hunting-matches, &c., were represented in embroidery: and that +the more pious coxcombs substituted the figure or legend of some +favorite saint.] + +[Footnote 39: See Pliny's Epistles, i. 6. Three large wild boars +were allured and taken in the toils without interrupting the +studies of the philosophic sportsman.] + +[Footnote 40: The change from the inauspicious word Avernus, +which stands in the text, is immaterial. The two lakes, Avernus +and Lucrinus, communicated with each other, and were fashioned by +the stupendous moles of Agrippa into the Julian port, which +opened, through a narrow entrance, into the Gulf of Puteoli. +Virgil, who resided on the spot, has described (Georgic ii. 161) +this work at the moment of its execution: and his commentators, +especially Catrou, have derived much light from Strabo, +Suetonius, and Dion. Earthquakes and volcanoes have changed the +face of the country, and turned the Lucrine Lake, since the year +1538, into the Monte Nuovo. See Camillo Pellegrino Discorsi +della Campania Felice, p. 239, 244, &c. Antonii Sanfelicii +Campania, p. 13, 88 + + Note: Compare Lyell's Geology, ii. 72. - M.] + +[Footnote 41: The regna Cumana et Puteolana; loca caetiroqui +valde expe tenda, interpellantium autem multitudine paene +fugienda. Cicero ad Attic. xvi. 17.] +[Footnote 42: The proverbial expression of Cimmerian darkness was +originally borrowed from the description of Homer, (in the +eleventh book of the Odyssey,) which he applies to a remote and +fabulous country on the shores of the ocean. See Erasmi Adagia, +in his works, tom. ii. p. 593, the Leyden edition.] +[Footnote 43: We may learn from Seneca (epist. cxxiii.) three +curious circumstances relative to the journeys of the Romans. 1. +They were preceded by a troop of Numidian light horse, who +announced, by a cloud of dust, the approach of a great man. 2. +Their baggage mules transported not only the precious vases, but +even the fragile vessels of crystal and murra, which last is +almost proved, by the learned French translator of Seneca, (tom. +iii. p. 402 - 422,) to mean the porcelain of China and Japan. 3. +The beautiful faces of the young slaves were covered with a +medicated crust, or ointment, which secured them against the +effects of the sun and frost.] + +[Footnote 44: Distributio solemnium sportularum. The sportuloe, +or sportelloe, were small baskets, supposed to contain a quantity +of hot provisions of the value of 100 quadrantes, or twelvepence +halfpenny, which were ranged in order in the hall, and +ostentatiously distributed to the hungry or servile crowd who +waited at the door. This indelicate custom is very frequently +mentioned in the epigrams of Martial, and the satires of Juvenal. +See likewise Suetonius, in Claud. c. 21, in Neron. c. 16, in +Domitian, c. 4, 7. These baskets of provisions were afterwards +converted into large pieces of gold and silver coin, or plate, +which were mutually given and accepted even by persons of the +highest rank, (see Symmach. epist. iv. 55, ix. 124, and Miscell. +p. 256,) on solemn occasions, of consulships, marriages, &c.] +[Footnote 45: The want of an English name obliges me to refer to +the common genus of squirrels, the Latin glis, the French loir; a +little animal, who inhabits the woods, and remains torpid in cold +weather, (see Plin. Hist. Natur. viii. 82. Buffon, Hist. +Naturelle, tom. viii. 153. Pennant's Synopsis of Quadrupeds, p. +289.) The art of rearing and fattening great numbers of glires +was practised in Roman villas as a profitable article of rural +economy, (Varro, de Re Rustica, iii. 15.) The excessive demand of +them for luxurious tables was increased by the foolish +prohibitions of the censors; and it is reported that they are +still esteemed in modern Rome, and are frequently sent as +presents by the Colonna princes, (see Brotier, the last editor of +Pliny tom. ii. p. 453. epud Barbou, 1779.) + + Note: Is it not the dormouse? - M.] + +[Footnote 46: This game, which might be translated by the more +familiar names of trictrac, or backgammon, was a favorite +amusement of the gravest Romans; and old Mucius Scaevola, the +lawyer, had the reputation of a very skilful player. It was +called ludus duodecim scriptorum, from the twelve scripta, or +lines, which equally divided the alvevolus or table. On these, +the two armies, the white and the black, each consisting of +fifteen men, or catculi, were regularly placed, and alternately +moved according to the laws of the game, and the chances of the +tesseroe, or dice. Dr. Hyde, who diligently traces the history +and varieties of the nerdiludium (a name of Persic etymology) +from Ireland to Japan, pours forth, on this trifling subject, a +copious torrent of classic and Oriental learning. See Syntagma +Dissertat. tom. ii. p. 217 - 405.] + +[Footnote 47: Marius Maximus, homo omnium verbosissimus, qui, et +mythistoricis se voluminibus implicavit. Vopiscus in Hist. +August. p. 242. He wrote the lives of the emperors, from Trajan +to Alexander Severus. See Gerard Vossius de Historicis Latin. l. +ii. c. 3, in his works, vol. iv. p. 47.] +[Footnote 48: This satire is probably exaggerated. The +Saturnalia of Macrobius, and the epistles of Jerom, afford +satisfactory proofs, that Christian theology and classic +literature were studiously cultivated by several Romans, of both +sexes, and of the highest rank.] + +[Footnote 49: Macrobius, the friend of these Roman nobles, +considered the siara as the cause, or at least the signs, of +future events, (de Somn. Scipion l. i. c 19. p. 68.)] + +Chapter XXXI: Invasion Of Italy, Occupation Of Territories By +Barbarians. + +Part II. + + In populous cities, which are the seat of commerce and +manufactures, the middle ranks of inhabitants, who derive their +subsistence from the dexterity or labor of their hands, are +commonly the most prolific, the most useful, and, in that sense, +the most respectable part of the community. But the plebeians of +Rome, who disdained such sedentary and servile arts, had been +oppressed from the earliest times by the weight of debt and +usury; and the husbandman, during the term of his military +service, was obliged to abandon the cultivation of his farm. ^50 +The lands of Italy which had been originally divided among the +families of free and indigent proprietors, were insensibly +purchased or usurped by the avarice of the nobles; and in the age +which preceded the fall of the republic, it was computed that +only two thousand citizens were possessed of an independent +substance. ^51 Yet as long as the people bestowed, by their +suffrages, the honors of the state, the command of the legions, +and the administration of wealthy provinces, their conscious +pride alleviated in some measure, the hardships of poverty; and +their wants were seasonably supplied by the ambitious liberality +of the candidates, who aspired to secure a venal majority in the +thirty-five tribes, or the hundred and ninety-three centuries, of +Rome. But when the prodigal commons had not only imprudently +alienated the use, but the inheritance of power, they sunk, under +the reign of the Caesars, into a vile and wretched populace, +which must, in a few generations, have been totally extinguished, +if it had not been continually recruited by the manumission of +slaves, and the influx of strangers. As early as the time of +Hadrian, it was the just complaint of the ingenuous natives, that +the capital had attracted the vices of the universe, and the +manners of the most opposite nations. The intemperance of the +Gauls, the cunning and levity of the Greeks, the savage obstinacy +of the Egyptians and Jews, the servile temper of the Asiatics, +and the dissolute, effeminate prostitution of the Syrians, were +mingled in the various multitude, which, under the proud and +false denomination of Romans, presumed to despise their fellow- +subjects, and even their sovereigns, who dwelt beyond the +precincts of the Eternal City. ^52 + +[Footnote 50: The histories of Livy (see particularly vi. 36) are +full of the extortions of the rich, and the sufferings of the +poor debtors. The melancholy story of a brave old soldier +(Dionys. Hal. l. vi. c. 26, p. 347, edit. Hudson, and Livy, ii. +23) must have been frequently repeated in those primitive times, +which have been so undeservedly praised.] +[Footnote 51: Non esse in civitate duo millia hominum qui rem +habereni. Cicero. Offic. ii. 21, and Comment. Paul. Manut. in +edit. Graev. This vague computation was made A. U. C. 649, in a +speech of the tribune Philippus, and it was his object, as well +as that of the Gracchi, (see Plutarch,) to deplore, and perhaps +to exaggerate, the misery of the common people.] +[Footnote 52: See the third Satire (60 - 125) of Juvenal, who +indignantly complains, + + Quamvis quota portio faecis Achaei! + Jampridem Syrus in Tiberem defluxit Orontes; + Et linguam et mores, &c. + +Seneca, when he proposes to comfort his mother (Consolat. ad +Helv. c. 6) by the reflection, that a great part of mankind were +in a state of exile, reminds her how few of the inhabitants of +Rome were born in the city.] + Yet the name of that city was still pronounced with respect: +the frequent and capricious tumults of its inhabitants were +indulged with impunity; and the successors of Constantine, +instead of crushing the last remains of the democracy by the +strong arm of military power, embraced the mild policy of +Augustus, and studied to relieve the poverty, and to amuse the +idleness, of an innumerable people. ^53 I. For the convenience +of the lazy plebeians, the monthly distributions of corn were +converted into a daily allowance of bread; a great number of +ovens were constructed and maintained at the public expense; and +at the appointed hour, each citizen, who was furnished with a +ticket, ascended the flight of steps, which had been assigned to +his peculiar quarter or division, and received, either as a gift, +or at a very low price, a loaf of bread of the weight of three +pounds, for the use of his family. II. The forest of Lucania, +whose acorns fattened large droves of wild hogs, ^54 afforded, as +a species of tribute, a plentiful supply of cheap and wholesome +meat. During five months of the year, a regular allowance of +bacon was distributed to the poorer citizens; and the annual +consumption of the capital, at a time when it was much declined +from its former lustre, was ascertained, by an edict from +Valentinian the Third, at three millions six hundred and +twenty-eight thousand pounds. ^55 III. In the manners of +antiquity, the use of oil was indispensable for the lamp, as well +as for the bath; and the annual tax, which was imposed on Africa +for the benefit of Rome, amounted to the weight of three millions +of pounds, to the measure, perhaps, of three hundred thousand +English gallons. IV. The anxiety of Augustus to provide the +metropolis with sufficient plenty of corn, was not extended +beyond that necessary article of human subsistence; and when the +popular clamor accused the dearness and scarcity of wine, a +proclamation was issued, by the grave reformer, to remind his +subjects that no man could reasonably complain of thirst, since +the aqueducts of Agrippa had introduced into the city so many +copious streams of pure and salubrious water. ^56 This rigid +sobriety was insensibly relaxed; and, although the generous +design of Aurelian ^57 does not appear to have been executed in +its full extent, the use of wine was allowed on very easy and +liberal terms. The administration of the public cellars was +delegated to a magistrate of honorable rank; and a considerable +part of the vintage of Campania was reserved for the fortunate +inhabitants of Rome. +[Footnote 53: Almost all that is said of the bread, bacon, oil, +wine, &c., may be found in the fourteenth book of the Theodosian +Code; which expressly treats of the police of the great cities. +See particularly the titles iii. iv. xv. xvi. xvii. xxiv. The +collateral testimonies are produced in Godefroy's Commentary, and +it is needless to transcribe them. According to a law of +Theodosius, which appreciates in money the military allowance, a +piece of gold (eleven shillings) was equivalent to eighty pounds +of bacon, or to eighty pounds of oil, or to twelve modii (or +pecks) of salt, (Cod. Theod. l. viii. tit. iv. leg. 17.) This +equation, compared with another of seventy pounds of bacon for an +amphora, (Cod. Theod. l. xiv. tit. iv. leg. 4,) fixes the price +of wine at about sixteenpence the gallon.] + +[Footnote 54: The anonymous author of the Description of the +World (p. 14. in tom. iii. Geograph. Minor. Hudson) observes of +Lucania, in his barbarous Latin, Regio optima, et ipsa omnibus +habundans, et lardum multum foras. Proptor quod est in montibus, +cujus aescam animalium rariam, &c.] +[Footnote 55: See Novell. ad calcem Cod. Theod. D. Valent. l. i. +tit. xv. This law was published at Rome, June 29th, A.D. 452.] +[Footnote 56: Sueton. in August. c. 42. The utmost debauch of +the emperor himself, in his favorite wine of Rhaetia, never +exceeded a sextarius, (an English pint.) Id. c. 77. Torrentius +ad loc. and Arbuthnot's Tables, p. 86.] +[Footnote 57: His design was to plant vineyards along the +sea-coast of Hetruria, (Vopiscus, in Hist. August. p. 225;) the +dreary, unwholesome, uncultivated Maremme of modern Tuscany] + The stupendous aqueducts, so justly celebrated by the +praises of Augustus himself, replenished the Thermoe, or baths, +which had been constructed in every part of the city, with +Imperial magnificence. The baths of Antoninus Caracalla, which +were open, at stated hours, for the indiscriminate service of the +senators and the people, contained above sixteen hundred seats of +marble; and more than three thousand were reckoned in the baths +of Diocletian. ^58 The walls of the lofty apartments were covered +with curious mosaics, that imitated the art of the pencil in the +elegance of design, and the variety of colors. The Egyptian +granite was beautifully encrusted with the precious green marble +of Numidia; the perpetual stream of hot water was poured into the +capacious basins, through so many wide mouths of bright and massy +silver; and the meanest Roman could purchase, with a small copper +coin, the daily enjoyment of a scene of pomp and luxury, which +might excite the envy of the kings of Asia. ^59 From these +stately palaces issued a swarm of dirty and ragged plebeians, +without shoes and without a mantle; who loitered away whole days +in the street of Forum, to hear news and to hold disputes; who +dissipated in extravagant gaming, the miserable pittance of their +wives and children; and spent the hours of the night in the +obscure taverns, and brothels, in the indulgence of gross and +vulgar sensuality. ^60 + +[Footnote 58: Olympiodor. apud Phot. p. 197.] + +[Footnote 59: Seneca (epistol. lxxxvi.) compares the baths of +Scipio Africanus, at his villa of Liternum, with the magnificence +(which was continually increasing) of the public baths of Rome, +long before the stately Thermae of Antoninus and Diocletian were +erected. The quadrans paid for admission was the quarter of the +as, about one eighth of an English penny.] +[Footnote 60: Ammianus, (l. xiv. c. 6, and l. xxviii. c. 4,) +after describing the luxury and pride of the nobles of Rome, +exposes, with equal indignation, the vices and follies of the +common people.] + + But the most lively and splendid amusement of the idle +multitude, depended on the frequent exhibition of public games +and spectacles. The piety of Christian princes had suppressed +the inhuman combats of gladiators; but the Roman people still +considered the Circus as their home, their temple, and the seat +of the republic. The impatient crowd rushed at the dawn of day +to secure their places, and there were many who passed a +sleepless and anxious night in the adjacent porticos. From the +morning to the evening, careless of the sun, or of the rain, the +spectators, who sometimes amounted to the number of four hundred +thousand, remained in eager attention; their eyes fixed on the +horses and charioteers, their minds agitated with hope and fear, +for the success of the colors which they espoused: and the +happiness of Rome appeared to hang on the event of a race. ^61 +The same immoderate ardor inspired their clamors and their +applause, as often as they were entertained with the hunting of +wild beasts, and the various modes of theatrical representation. +These representations in modern capitals may deserve to be +considered as a pure and elegant school of taste, and perhaps of +virtue. But the Tragic and Comic Muse of the Romans, who seldom +aspired beyond the imitation of Attic genius, ^62 had been almost +totally silent since the fall of the republic; ^63 and their +place was unworthily occupied by licentious farce, effeminate +music, and splendid pageantry. The pantomimes, ^64 who +maintained their reputation from the age of Augustus to the sixth +century, expressed, without the use of words, the various fables +of the gods and heroes of antiquity; and the perfection of their +art, which sometimes disarmed the gravity of the philosopher, +always excited the applause and wonder of the people. The vast +and magnificent theatres of Rome were filled by three thousand +female dancers, and by three thousand singers, with the masters +of the respective choruses. Such was the popular favor which +they enjoyed, that, in a time of scarcity, when all strangers +were banished from the city, the merit of contributing to the +public pleasures exempted them from a law, which was strictly +executed against the professors of the liberal arts. ^65 + +[Footnote 61: Juvenal. Satir. xi. 191, &c. The expressions of +the historian Ammianus are not less strong and animated than +those of the satirist and both the one and the other painted from +the life. The numbers which the great Circus was capable of +receiving are taken from the original Notitioe of the city. The +differences between them prove that they did not transcribe each +other; but the same may appear incredible, though the country on +these occasions flocked to the city.] + +[Footnote 62: Sometimes indeed they composed original pieces. + + - Vestigia Graeca + Ausi deserere et celeb rare domestica facta. + +Horat. Epistol. ad Pisones, 285, and the learned, though +perplexed note of Dacier, who might have allowed the name of +tragedies to the Brutus and the Decius of Pacuvius, or to the +Cato of Maternus. The Octavia, ascribed to one of the Senecas, +still remains a very unfavorable specimen of Roman tragedy.] +[Footnote 63: In the time of Quintilian and Pliny, a tragic poet +was reduced to the imperfect method of hiring a great room, and +reading his play to the company, whom he invited for that +purpose. (See Dialog. de Oratoribus, c. 9, 11, and Plin. +Epistol. vii. 17.)] + +[Footnote 64: See the dialogue of Lucian, entitled the +Saltatione, tom. ii. p. 265 - 317, edit. Reitz. The pantomimes +obtained the honorable name; and it was required, that they +should be conversant with almost every art and science. Burette +(in the Memoires de l'Academie des Inscriptions, tom. i. p. 127, +&c.) has given a short history of the art of pantomimes.] +[Footnote 65: Ammianus, l. xiv. c. 6. He complains, with decent +indignation that the streets of Rome were filled with crowds of +females, who might have given children to the state, but whose +only occupation was to curl and dress their hair, and jactari +volubilibus gyris, dum experimunt innumera simulacra, quae +finxere fabulae theatrales.] + + It is said, that the foolish curiosity of Elagabalus +attempted to discover, from the quantity of spiders' webs, the +number of the inhabitants of Rome. A more rational method of +inquiry might not have been undeserving of the attention of the +wisest princes, who could easily have resolved a question so +important for the Roman government, and so interesting to +succeeding ages. The births and deaths of the citizens were duly +registered; and if any writer of antiquity had condescended to +mention the annual amount, or the common average, we might now +produce some satisfactory calculation, which would destroy the +extravagant assertions of critics, and perhaps confirm the modest +and probable conjectures of philosophers. ^66 The most diligent +researches have collected only the following circumstances; +which, slight and imperfect as they are, may tend, in some +degree, to illustrate the question of the populousness of ancient +Rome. I. When the capital of the empire was besieged by the +Goths, the circuit of the walls was accurately measured, by +Ammonius, the mathematician, who found it equal to twenty-one +miles. ^67 It should not be forgotten that the form of the city +was almost that of a circle; the geometrical figure which is +known to contain the largest space within any given +circumference. II. The architect Vitruvius, who flourished in +the Augustan age, and whose evidence, on this occasion, has +peculiar weight and authority, observes, that the innumerable +habitations of the Roman people would have spread themselves far +beyond the narrow limits of the city; and that the want of +ground, which was probably contracted on every side by gardens +and villas, suggested the common, though inconvenient, practice +of raising the houses to a considerable height in the air. ^68 +But the loftiness of these buildings, which often consisted of +hasty work and insufficient materials, was the cause of frequent +and fatal accidents; and it was repeatedly enacted by Augustus, +as well as by Nero, that the height of private edifices within +the walls of Rome, should not exceed the measure of seventy feet +from the ground. ^69 III. Juvenal ^70 laments, as it should seem +from his own experience, the hardships of the poorer citizens, to +whom he addresses the salutary advice of emigrating, without +delay, from the smoke of Rome, since they might purchase, in the +little towns of Italy, a cheerful commodious dwelling, at the +same price which they annually paid for a dark and miserable +lodging. House-rent was therefore immoderately dear: the rich +acquired, at an enormous expense, the ground, which they covered +with palaces and gardens; but the body of the Roman people was +crowded into a narrow space; and the different floors, and +apartments, of the same house, were divided, as it is still the +custom of Paris, and other cities, among several families of +plebeians. IV. The total number of houses in the fourteen +regions of the city, is accurately stated in the description of +Rome, composed under the reign of Theodosius, and they amount to +forty-eight thousand three hundred and eighty-two. ^71 The two +classes of domus and of insuloe, into which they are divided, +include all the habitations of the capital, of every rank and +condition from the marble palace of the Anicii, with a numerous +establishment of freedmen and slaves, to the lofty and narrow +lodging-house, where the poet Codrus and his wife were permitted +to hire a wretched garret immediately under the files. If we +adopt the same average, which, under similar circumstances, has +been found applicable to Paris, ^72 and indifferently allow about +twenty-five persons for each house, of every degree, we may +fairly estimate the inhabitants of Rome at twelve hundred +thousand: a number which cannot be thought excessive for the +capital of a mighty empire, though it exceeds the populousness of +the greatest cities of modern Europe. ^73 ^* +[Footnote 66: Lipsius (tom. iii. p. 423, de Magnitud. Romana, l. +iii. c. 3) and Isaac Vossius (Observant. Var. p. 26 - 34) have +indulged strange dreams, of four, or eight, or fourteen, millions +in Rome. Mr. Hume, (Essays, vol. i. p. 450 - 457,) with +admirable good sense and scepticism betrays some secret +disposition to extenuate the populousness of ancient times.] +[Footnote 67: Olympiodor. ap. Phot. p. 197. See Fabricius, Bibl. +Graec. tom. ix. p. 400.] + +[Footnote 68: In ea autem majestate urbis, et civium infinita +frequentia, innumerabiles habitationes opus fuit explicare. Ergo +cum recipero non posset area plana tantam multitudinem in urbe, +ad auxilium altitudinis aedificiorum res ipsa coegit devenire. +Vitruv. ii. 8. This passage, which I owe to Vossius, is clear, +strong, and comprehensive.] + +[Footnote 69: The successive testimonies of Pliny, Aristides, +Claudian, Rutilius, &c., prove the insufficiency of these +restrictive edicts. See Lipsius, de Magnitud. Romana, l. iii. c. +4. + + - Tabulata tibi jam tertia fumant; + Tu nescis; nam si gradibus trepidatur ab imis + Ultimus ardebit, quem tegula sola tuetur + A pluvia. Juvenal. Satir. iii. 199] + +[Footnote 70: Read the whole third satire, but particularly 166, +223, &c. The description of a crowded insula, or lodging-house, +in Petronius, (c. 95, 97,) perfectly tallies with the complaints +of Juvenal; and we learn from legal authority, that, in the time +of Augustus, (Heineccius, Hist. Juris. Roman. c. iv. p. 181,) the +ordinary rent of the several coenacula, or apartments of an +insula, annually produced forty thousand sesterces, between three +and four hundred pounds sterling, (Pandect. l. xix. tit. ii. No. +30,) a sum which proves at once the large extent, and high value, +of those common buildings.] +[Footnote 71: This sum total is composed of 1780 domus, or great +houses of 46,602 insuloe, or plebeian habitations, (see Nardini, +Roma Antica, l. iii. p. 88;) and these numbers are ascertained by +the agreement of the texts of the different Notitioe. Nardini, +l. viii. p. 498, 500.] + +[Footnote 72: See that accurate writer M. de Messance, Recherches +sur la Population, p. 175 - 187. From probable, or certain +grounds, he assigns to Paris 23,565 houses, 71,114 families, and +576,630 inhabitants.] +[Footnote 73: This computation is not very different from that +which M. Brotier, the last editor of Tacitus, (tom. ii. p. 380,) +has assumed from similar principles; though he seems to aim at a +degree of precision which it is neither possible nor important to +obtain.] + +[Footnote *: M. Dureau de la Malle (Economic Politique des +Romaines, t. i. p. 369) quotes a passage from the xvth chapter of +Gibbon, in which he estimates the population of Rome at not less +than a million, and adds (omitting any reference to this +passage,) that he (Gibbon) could not have seriously studied the +question. M. Dureau de la Malle proceeds to argue that Rome, as +contained within the walls of Servius Tullius, occupying an area +only one fifth of that of Paris, could not have contained 300,000 +inhabitants; within those of Aurelian not more than 560,000, +inclusive of soldiers and strangers. The suburbs, he endeavors +to show, both up to the time of Aurelian, and after his reign, +were neither so extensive, nor so populous, as generally +supposed. M. Dureau de la Malle has but imperfectly quoted the +important passage of Dionysius, that which proves that when he +wrote (in the time of Augustus) the walls of Servius no longer +marked the boundary of the city. In many places they were so +built upon, that it was impossible to trace them. There was no +certain limit, where the city ended and ceased to be the city; it +stretched out to so boundless an extent into the country. Ant. +Rom. iv. 13. None of M. de la Malle's arguments appear to me to +prove, against this statement, that these irregular suburbs did +not extend so far in many parts, as to make it impossible to +calculate accurately the inhabited area of the city. Though no +doubt the city, as reconstructed by Nero, was much less closely +built and with many more open spaces for palaces, temples, and +other public edifices, yet many passages seem to prove that the +laws respecting the height of houses were not rigidly enforced. +A great part of the lower especially of the slave population, +were very densely crowded, and lived, even more than in our +modern towns, in cellars and subterranean dwellings under the +public edifices. + Nor do M. de la Malle's arguments, by which he would explain +the insulae insulae (of which the Notitiae Urbis give us the +number) as rows of shops, with a chamber or two within the domus, +or houses of the wealthy, satisfy me as to their soundness of +their scholarship. Some passages which he adduces directly +contradict his theory; none, as appears to me, distinctly prove +it. I must adhere to the old interpretation of the word, as +chiefly dwellings for the middling or lower classes, or clusters +of tenements, often perhaps, under the same roof. + + On this point, Zumpt, in the Dissertation before quoted, +entirely disagrees with M. de la Malle. Zumpt has likewise +detected the mistake of M. de la Malle as to the "canon" of corn, +mentioned in the life of Septimius Severus by Spartianus. On +this canon the French writer calculates the inhabitants of Rome +at that time. But the "canon" was not the whole supply of Rome, +but that quantity which the state required for the public +granaries to supply the gratuitous distributions to the people, +and the public officers and slaves; no doubt likewise to keep +down the general price. M. Zumpt reckons the population of Rome +at 2,000,000. After careful consideration, I should conceive the +number in the text, 1,200,000, to be nearest the truth - M. +1845.] + + Such was the state of Rome under the reign of Honorius; at +the time when the Gothic army formed the siege, or rather the +blockade, of the city. ^74 By a skilful disposition of his +numerous forces, who impatiently watched the moment of an +assault, Alaric encompassed the walls, commanded the twelve +principal gates, intercepted all communication with the adjacent +country, and vigilantly guarded the navigation of the Tyber, from +which the Romans derived the surest and most plentiful supply of +provisions. The first emotions of the nobles, and of the people, +were those of surprise and indignation, that a vile Barbarian +should dare to insult the capital of the world: but their +arrogance was soon humbled by misfortune; and their unmanly rage, +instead of being directed against an enemy in arms, was meanly +exercised on a defenceless and innocent victim. Perhaps in the +person of Serena, the Romans might have respected the niece of +Theodosius, the aunt, nay, even the adoptive mother, of the +reigning emperor: but they abhorred the widow of Stilicho; and +they listened with credulous passion to the tale of calumny, +which accused her of maintaining a secret and criminal +correspondence with the Gothic invader. Actuated, or overawed, by +the same popular frenzy, the senate, without requiring any +evidence of his guilt, pronounced the sentence of her death. +Serena was ignominiously strangled; and the infatuated multitude +were astonished to find, that this cruel act of injustice did not +immediately produce the retreat of the Barbarians, and the +deliverance of the city. That unfortunate city gradually +experienced the distress of scarcity, and at length the horrid +calamities of famine. The daily allowance of three pounds of +bread was reduced to one half, to one third, to nothing; and the +price of corn still continued to rise in a rapid and extravagant +proportion. The poorer citizens, who were unable to purchase the +necessaries of life, solicited the precarious charity of the +rich; and for a while the public misery was alleviated by the +humanity of Laeta, the widow of the emperor Gratian, who had +fixed her residence at Rome, and consecrated to the use of the +indigent the princely revenue which she annually received from +the grateful successors of her husband. ^75 But these private and +temporary donatives were insufficient to appease the hunger of a +numerous people; and the progress of famine invaded the marble +palaces of the senators themselves. The persons of both sexes, +who had been educated in the enjoyment of ease and luxury, +discovered how little is requisite to supply the demands of +nature; and lavished their unavailing treasures of gold and +silver, to obtain the coarse and scanty sustenance which they +would formerly have rejected with disdain. The food the most +repugnant to sense or imagination, the aliments the most +unwholesome and pernicious to the constitution, were eagerly +devoured, and fiercely disputed, by the rage of hunger. A dark +suspicion was entertained, that some desperate wretches fed on +the bodies of their fellow-creatures, whom they had secretly +murdered; and even mothers, (such was the horrid conflict of the +two most powerful instincts implanted by nature in the human +breast,) even mothers are said to have tasted the flesh of their +slaughtered infants! ^76 Many thousands of the inhabitants of +Rome expired in their houses, or in the streets, for want of +sustenance; and as the public sepulchres without the walls were +in the power of the enemy the stench, which arose from so many +putrid and unburied carcasses, infected the air; and the miseries +of famine were succeeded and aggravated by the contagion of a +pestilential disease. The assurances of speedy and effectual +relief, which were repeatedly transmitted from the court of +Ravenna, supported for some time, the fainting resolution of the +Romans, till at length the despair of any human aid tempted them +to accept the offers of a praeternatural deliverance. +Pompeianus, praefect of the city, had been persuaded, by the art +or fanaticism of some Tuscan diviners, that, by the mysterious +force of spells and sacrifices, they could extract the lightning +from the clouds, and point those celestial fires against the camp +of the Barbarians. ^77 The important secret was communicated to +Innocent, the bishop of Rome; and the successor of St. Peter is +accused, perhaps without foundation, of preferring the safety of +the republic to the rigid severity of the Christian worship. But +when the question was agitated in the senate; when it was +proposed, as an essential condition, that those sacrifices should +be performed in the Capitol, by the authority, and in the +presence, of the magistrates, the majority of that respectable +assembly, apprehensive either of the Divine or of the Imperial +displeasure, refused to join in an act, which appeared almost +equivalent to the public restoration of Paganism. ^78 + +[Footnote 74: For the events of the first siege of Rome, which +are often confounded with those of the second and third, see +Zosimus, l. v. p. 350 - 354, Sozomen, l. ix. c. 6, Olympiodorus, +ap. Phot. p. 180, Philostorgius, l. xii. c. 3, and Godefroy, +Dissertat. p. 467 - 475.] + +[Footnote 75: The mother of Laeta was named Pissumena. Her +father, family, and country, are unknown. Ducange, Fam. +Byzantium, p. 59.] +[Footnote 76: Ad nefandos cibos erupit esurientium rabies, et sua +invicem membra laniarunt, dum mater non parcit lactenti +infantiae; et recipit utero, quem paullo ante effuderat. Jerom. +ad Principiam, tom. i. p. 121. The same horrid circumstance is +likewise told of the sieges of Jerusalem and Paris. For the +latter, compare the tenth book of the Henriade, and the Journal +de Henri IV. tom. i. p. 47 - 83; and observe that a plain +narrative of facts is much more pathetic, than the most labored +descriptions of epic poetry] +[Footnote 77: Zosimus (l. v. p. 355, 356) speaks of these +ceremonies like a Greek unacquainted with the national +superstition of Rome and Tuscany. I suspect, that they consisted +of two parts, the secret and the public; the former were probably +an imitation of the arts and spells, by which Numa had drawn down +Jupiter and his thunder on Mount Aventine. + + - Quid agant laqueis, quae carmine dicant, + Quaque trahant superis sedibus arte Jovem, + Scire nefas homini. + +The ancilia, or shields of Mars, the pignora Imperii, which were +carried in solemn procession on the calends of March, derived +their origin from this mysterious event, (Ovid. Fast. iii. 259 - +398.) It was probably designed to revive this ancient festival, +which had been suppressed by Theodosius. In that case, we +recover a chronological date (March the 1st, A.D. 409) which has +not hitherto been observed. + + Note: On this curious question of the knowledge of +conducting lightning, processed by the ancients, consult Eusebe +Salverte, des Sciences Occultes, l. xxiv. Paris, 1829. - M.] +[Footnote 78: Sozomen (l. ix. c. 6) insinuates that the +experiment was actually, though unsuccessfully, made; but he does +not mention the name of Innocent: and Tillemont, (Mem. Eccles. +tom. x. p. 645) is determined not to believe, that a pope could +be guilty of such impious condescension.] + The last resource of the Romans was in the clemency, or at +least in the moderation, of the king of the Goths. The senate, +who in this emergency assumed the supreme powers of government, +appointed two ambassadors to negotiate with the enemy. This +important trust was delegated to Basilius, a senator, of Spanish +extraction, and already conspicuous in the administration of +provinces; and to John, the first tribune of the notaries, who +was peculiarly qualified, by his dexterity in business, as well +as by his former intimacy with the Gothic prince. When they were +introduced into his presence, they declared, perhaps in a more +lofty style than became their abject condition, that the Romans +were resolved to maintain their dignity, either in peace or war; +and that, if Alaric refused them a fair and honorable +capitulation, he might sound his trumpets, and prepare to give +battle to an innumerable people, exercised in arms, and animated +by despair. "The thicker the hay, the easier it is mowed," was +the concise reply of the Barbarian; and this rustic metaphor was +accompanied by a loud and insulting laugh, expressive of his +contempt for the menaces of an unwarlike populace, enervated by +luxury before they were emaciated by famine. He then +condescended to fix the ransom, which he would accept as the +price of his retreat from the walls of Rome: all the gold and +silver in the city, whether it were the property of the state, or +of individuals; all the rich and precious movables; and all the +slaves that could prove their title to the name of Barbarians. +The ministers of the senate presumed to ask, in a modest and +suppliant tone, "If such, O king, are your demands, what do you +intend to leave us?" "Your Lives!" replied the haughty conqueror: +they trembled, and retired. Yet, before they retired, a short +suspension of arms was granted, which allowed some time for a +more temperate negotiation. The stern features of Alaric were +insensibly relaxed; he abated much of the rigor of his terms; and +at length consented to raise the siege, on the immediate payment +of five thousand pounds of gold, of thirty thousand pounds of +silver, of four thousand robes of silk, of three thousand pieces +of fine scarlet cloth, and of three thousand pounds weight of +pepper. ^79 But the public treasury was exhausted; the annual +rents of the great estates in Italy and the provinces, had been +exchanged, during the famine, for the vilest sustenance; the +hoards of secret wealth were still concealed by the obstinacy of +avarice; and some remains of consecrated spoils afforded the only +resource that could avert the impending ruin of the city. As +soon as the Romans had satisfied the rapacious demands of Alaric, +they were restored, in some measure, to the enjoyment of peace +and plenty. Several of the gates were cautiously opened; the +importation of provisions from the river and the adjacent country +was no longer obstructed by the Goths; the citizens resorted in +crowds to the free market, which was held during three days in +the suburbs; and while the merchants who undertook this gainful +trade made a considerable profit, the future subsistence of the +city was secured by the ample magazines which were deposited in +the public and private granaries. A more regular discipline than +could have been expected, was maintained in the camp of Alaric; +and the wise Barbarian justified his regard for the faith of +treaties, by the just severity with which he chastised a party of +licentious Goths, who had insulted some Roman citizens on the +road to Ostia. His army, enriched by the contributions of the +capital, slowly advanced into the fair and fruitful province of +Tuscany, where he proposed to establish his winter quarters; and +the Gothic standard became the refuge of forty thousand Barbarian +slaves, who had broke their chains, and aspired, under the +command of their great deliverer, to revenge the injuries and the +disgrace of their cruel servitude. About the same time, he +received a more honorable reenforcement of Goths and Huns, whom +Adolphus, ^80 the brother of his wife, had conducted, at his +pressing invitation, from the banks of the Danube to those of the +Tyber, and who had cut their way, with some difficulty and loss, +through the superior number of the Imperial troops. A victorious +leader, who united the daring spirit of a Barbarian with the art +and discipline of a Roman general, was at the head of a hundred +thousand fighting men; and Italy pronounced, with terror and +respect, the formidable name of Alaric. ^81 + +[Footnote 79: Pepper was a favorite ingredient of the most +expensive Roman cookery, and the best sort commonly sold for +fifteen denarii, or ten shillings, the pound. See Pliny, Hist. +Natur. xii. 14. It was brought from India; and the same country, +the coast of Malabar, still affords the greatest plenty: but the +improvement of trade and navigation has multiplied the quantity +and reduced the price. See Histoire Politique et Philosophique, +&c., tom. i. p. 457.] + +[Footnote 80: This Gothic chieftain is called by Jornandes and +Isidore, Athaulphus; by Zosimus and Orosius, Ataulphus; and by +Olympiodorus, Adaoulphus. I have used the celebrated name of +Adolphus, which seems to be authorized by the practice of the +Swedes, the sons or brothers of the ancient Goths.] + +[Footnote 81: The treaty between Alaric and the Romans, &c., is +taken from Zosimus, l. v. p. 354, 355, 358, 359, 362, 363. The +additional circumstances are too few and trifling to require any +other quotation.] + +Chapter XXXI: Invasion Of Italy, Occupation Of Territories By +Barbarians. + +Part III. + + At the distance of fourteen centuries, we may be satisfied +with relating the military exploits of the conquerors of Rome, +without presuming to investigate the motives of their political +conduct. In the midst of his apparent prosperity, Alaric was +conscious, perhaps, of some secret weakness, some internal +defect; or perhaps the moderation which he displayed, was +intended only to deceive and disarm the easy credulity of the +ministers of Honorius. The king of the Goths repeatedly +declared, that it was his desire to be considered as the friend +of peace, and of the Romans. Three senators, at his earnest +request, were sent ambassadors to the court of Ravenna, to +solicit the exchange of hostages, and the conclusion of the +treaty; and the proposals, which he more clearly expressed during +the course of the negotiations, could only inspire a doubt of his +sincerity, as they might seem inadequate to the state of his +fortune. The Barbarian still aspired to the rank of +master-general of the armies of the West; he stipulated an annual +subsidy of corn and money; and he chose the provinces of +Dalmatia, Noricum, and Venetia, for the seat of his new kingdom, +which would have commanded the important communication between +Italy and the Danube. If these modest terms should be rejected, +Alaric showed a disposition to relinquish his pecuniary demands, +and even to content himself with the possession of Noricum; an +exhausted and impoverished country, perpetually exposed to the +inroads of the Barbarians of Germany. ^82 But the hopes of peace +were disappointed by the weak obstinacy, or interested views, of +the minister Olympius. Without listening to the salutary +remonstrances of the senate, he dismissed their ambassadors under +the conduct of a military escort, too numerous for a retinue of +honor, and too feeble for any army of defence. Six thousand +Dalmatians, the flower of the Imperial legions, were ordered to +march from Ravenna to Rome, through an open country which was +occupied by the formidable myriads of the Barbarians. These +brave legionaries, encompassed and betrayed, fell a sacrifice to +ministerial folly; their general, Valens, with a hundred +soldiers, escaped from the field of battle; and one of the +ambassadors, who could no longer claim the protection of the law +of nations, was obliged to purchase his freedom with a ransom of +thirty thousand pieces of gold. Yet Alaric, instead of resenting +this act of impotent hostility, immediately renewed his proposals +of peace; and the second embassy of the Roman senate, which +derived weight and dignity from the presence of Innocent, bishop +of the city, was guarded from the dangers of the road by a +detachment of Gothic soldiers. ^83 + +[Footnote 82: Zosimus, l. v. p. 367 368, 369.] + +[Footnote 83: Zosimus, l. v. p. 360, 361, 362. The bishop, by +remaining at Ravenna, escaped the impending calamities of the +city. Orosius, l. vii. c. 39, p. 573.] + + Olympius ^84 might have continued to insult the just +resentment of a people who loudly accused him as the author of +the public calamities; but his power was undermined by the secret +intrigues of the palace. The favorite eunuchs transferred the +government of Honorius, and the empire, to Jovius, the Praetorian +praefect; an unworthy servant, who did not atone, by the merit of +personal attachment, for the errors and misfortunes of his +administration. The exile, or escape, of the guilty Olympius, +reserved him for more vicissitudes of fortune: he experienced the +adventures of an obscure and wandering life; he again rose to +power; he fell a second time into disgrace; his ears were cut +off; he expired under the lash; and his ignominious death +afforded a grateful spectacle to the friends of Stilicho. After +the removal of Olympius, whose character was deeply tainted with +religious fanaticism, the Pagans and heretics were delivered from +the impolitic proscription, which excluded them from the +dignities of the state. The brave Gennerid, ^85 a soldier of +Barbarian origin, who still adhered to the worship of his +ancestors, had been obliged to lay aside the military belt: and +though he was repeatedly assured by the emperor himself, that +laws were not made for persons of his rank or merit, he refused +to accept any partial dispensation, and persevered in honorable +disgrace, till he had extorted a general act of justice from the +distress of the Roman government. The conduct of Gennerid in the +important station to which he was promoted or restored, of +master-general of Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum, and Rhaetia, +seemed to revive the discipline and spirit of the republic. From +a life of idleness and want, his troops were soon habituated to +severe exercise and plentiful subsistence; and his private +generosity often supplied the rewards, which were denied by the +avarice, or poverty, of the court of Ravenna. The valor of +Gennerid, formidable to the adjacent Barbarians, was the firmest +bulwark of the Illyrian frontier; and his vigilant care assisted +the empire with a reenforcement of ten thousand Huns, who arrived +on the confines of Italy, attended by such a convoy of +provisions, and such a numerous train of sheep and oxen, as might +have been sufficient, not only for the march of an army, but for +the settlement of a colony. But the court and councils of +Honorius still remained a scene of weakness and distraction, of +corruption and anarchy. Instigated by the praefect Jovius, the +guards rose in furious mutiny, and demanded the heads of two +generals, and of the two principal eunuchs. The generals, under +a perfidious promise of safety, were sent on shipboard, and +privately executed; while the favor of the eunuchs procured them +a mild and secure exile at Milan and Constantinople. Eusebius the +eunuch, and the Barbarian Allobich, succeeded to the command of +the bed-chamber and of the guards; and the mutual jealousy of +these subordinate ministers was the cause of their mutual +destruction. By the insolent order of the count of the +domestics, the great chamberlain was shamefully beaten to death +with sticks, before the eyes of the astonished emperor; and the +subsequent assassination of Allobich, in the midst of a public +procession, is the only circumstance of his life, in which +Honorius discovered the faintest symptom of courage or +resentment. Yet before they fell, Eusebius and Allobich had +contributed their part to the ruin of the empire, by opposing the +conclusion of a treaty which Jovius, from a selfish, and perhaps +a criminal, motive, had negotiated with Alaric, in a personal +interview under the walls of Rimini. During the absence of +Jovius, the emperor was persuaded to assume a lofty tone of +inflexible dignity, such as neither his situation, nor his +character, could enable him to support; and a letter, signed with +the name of Honorius, was immediately despatched to the +Praetorian praefect, granting him a free permission to dispose of +the public money, but sternly refusing to prostitute the military +honors of Rome to the proud demands of a Barbarian. This letter +was imprudently communicated to Alaric himself; and the Goth, who +in the whole transaction had behaved with temper and decency, +expressed, in the most outrageous language, his lively sense of +the insult so wantonly offered to his person and to his nation. +The conference of Rimini was hastily interrupted; and the +praefect Jovius, on his return to Ravenna, was compelled to +adopt, and even to encourage, the fashionable opinions of the +court. By his advice and example, the principal officers of the +state and army were obliged to swear, that, without listening, in +any circumstances, to any conditions of peace, they would still +persevere in perpetual and implacable war against the enemy of +the republic. This rash engagement opposed an insuperable bar to +all future negotiation. The ministers of Honorius were heard to +declare, that, if they had only in voked the name of the Deity, +they would consult the public safety, and trust their souls to +the mercy of Heaven: but they had sworn by the sacred head of the +emperor himself; they had sworn by the sacred head of the emperor +himself; they had touched, in solemn ceremony, that august seat +of majesty and wisdom; and the violation of their oath would +exposethem to the temporal penalties of sacrilege and rebellion. +^86 [Footnote 84: For the adventures of Olympius, and his +successors in the ministry, see Zosimus, l. v. p. 363, 365, 366, +and Olympiodor. ap. Phot. p. 180, 181. ] + +[Footnote 85: Zosimus (l. v. p. 364) relates this circumstance +with visible complacency, and celebrates the character of +Gennerid as the last glory of expiring Paganism. Very different +were the sentiments of the council of Carthage, who deputed four +bishops to the court of Ravenna to complain of the law, which had +been just enacted, that all conversions to Christianity should be +free and voluntary. See Baronius, Annal. Eccles. A.D. 409, No. +12, A.D. 410, No. 47, 48.] + +[Footnote 86: Zosimus, l. v. p. 367, 368, 369. This custom of +swearing by the head, or life, or safety, or genius, of the +sovereign, was of the highest antiquity, both in Egypt (Genesis, +xlii. 15) and Scythia. It was soon transferred, by flattery, to +the Caesars; and Tertullian complains, that it was the only oath +which the Romans of his time affected to reverence. See an +elegant Dissertation of the Abbe Mossieu on the Oaths of the +Ancients, in the Mem de l'Academie des Inscriptions, tom. i. p. +208, 209.] + + While the emperor and his court enjoyed, with sullen pride, +the security of the marches and fortifications of Ravenna, they +abandoned Rome, almost without defence, to the resentment of +Alaric. Yet such was the moderation which he still preserved, or +affected, that, as he moved with his army along the Flaminian +way, he successively despatched the bishops of the towns of Italy +to reiterate his offers of peace, and to congradulate the +emperor, that he would save the city and its inhabitants from +hostile fire, and the sword of the Barbarians. ^87 These +impending calamities were, however, averted, not indeed by the +wisdom of Honorius, but by the prudence or humanity of the Gothic +king; who employed a milder, though not less effectual, method of +conquest. Instead of assaulting the capital, he successfully +directed his efforts against the Port of Ostia, one of the +boldest and most stupendous works of Roman magnificence. ^88 The +accidents to which the precarious subsistence of the city was +continually exposed in a winter navigation, and an open road, had +suggested to the genius of the first Caesar the useful design, +which was executed under the reign of Claudius. The artificial +moles, which formed the narrow entrance, advanced far into the +sea, and firmly repelled the fury of the waves, while the largest +vessels securely rode at anchor within three deep and capacious +basins, which received the northern branch of the Tyber, about +two miles from the ancient colony of Ostia. ^89 The Roman Port +insensibly swelled to the size of an episcopal city, ^90 where +the corn of Africa was deposited in spacious granaries for the +use of the capital. As soon as Alaric was in possession of that +important place, he summoned the city to surrender at discretion; +and his demands were enforced by the positive declaration, that a +refusal, or even a delay, should be instantly followed by the +destruction of the magazines, on which the life of the Roman +people depended. The clamors of that people, and the terror of +famine, subdued the pride of the senate; they listened, without +reluctance, to the proposal of placing a new emperor on the +throne of the unworthy Honorius; and the suffrage of the Gothic +conqueror bestowed the purple on Attalus, praefect of the city. +The grateful monarch immediately acknowledged his protector as +master-general of the armies of the West; Adolphus, with the rank +of count of the domestics, obtained the custody of the person of +Attalus; and the two hostile nations seemed to be united in the +closest bands of friendship and alliance. ^91 +[Footnote 87: Zosimus, l. v. p. 368, 369. I have softened the +expressions of Alaric, who expatiates, in too florid a manner, on +the history of Rome] +[Footnote 88: See Sueton. in Claud. c. 20. Dion Cassius, l. lx. +p. 949, edit Reimar, and the lively description of Juvenal, +Satir. xii. 75, &c. In the sixteenth century, when the remains of +this Augustan port were still visible, the antiquarians sketched +the plan, (see D'Anville, Mem. de l'Academie des Inscriptions, +tom. xxx. p. 198,) and declared, with enthusiasm, that all the +monarchs of Europe would be unable to execute so great a work, +(Bergier, Hist. des grands Chemins des Romains, tom. ii. p. +356.)] + + +[Footnote 89: The Ostia Tyberina, (see Cluver. Italia Antiq. l. +iii. p. 870 - 879,) in the plural number, the two mouths of the +Tyber, were separated by the Holy Island, an equilateral +triangle, whose sides were each of them computed at about two +miles. The colony of Ostia was founded immediately beyond the +left, or southern, and the Port immediately beyond the right, or +northern, branch of hte river; and the distance between their +remains measures something more than two miles on Cingolani's +map. In the time of Strabo, the sand and mud deposited by the +Tyber had choked the harbor of Ostia; the progress of the same +cause has added much to the size of the Holy Islands, and +gradually left both Ostia and the Port at a considerable distance +from the shore. The dry channels (fiumi morti) and the large +estuaries (stagno di Ponente, di Levante) mark the changes of the +river, and the efforts of the sea. Consult, for the present +state of this dreary and desolate tract, the excellent map of the +ecclesiastical state by the mathematicians of Benedict XIV.; an +actual survey of the Agro Romano, in six sheets, by Cingolani, +which contains 113,819 rubbia, (about 570,000 acres;) and the +large topographical map of Ameti, in eight sheets.] + +[Footnote 90: As early as the third, (Lardner's Credibility of +the Gospel, part ii. vol. iii. p. 89 - 92,) or at least the +fourth, century, (Carol. a Sancta Paulo, Notit. Eccles. p. 47,) +the Port of Rome was an episcopal city, which was demolished, as +it should seem in the ninth century, by Pope Gregory IV., during +the incursions of the Arabs. It is now reduced to an inn, a +church, and the house, or palace, of the bishop; who ranks as one +of six cardinal-bishops of the Roman church. See Eschinard, +Deserizione di Roman et dell' Agro Romano, p. 328. + + Note: Compare Sir W. Gell. Rome and its Vicinity vol. ii p. +134. - M.] +[Footnote 91: For the elevation of Attalus, consult Zosimus, l. +vi. p. 377 - 380, Sozomen, l. ix. c. 8, 9, Olympiodor. ap. Phot. +p. 180, 181, Philostorg. l. xii. c. 3, and Godefroy's Dissertat. +p. 470.] + + The gates of the city were thrown open, and the new emperor +of the Romans, encompassed on every side by the Gothic arms, was +conducted, in tumultuous procession, to the palace of Augustus +and Trajan. After he had distributed the civil and military +dignities among his favorites and followers, Attalus convened an +assembly of the senate; before whom, in a format and florid +speech, he asserted his resolution of restoring the majesty of +the republic, and of uniting to the empire the provinces of Egypt +and the East, which had once acknowledged the sovereignty of +Rome. Such extravagant promises inspired every reasonable citizen +with a just contempt for the character of an unwarlike usurper, +whose elevation was the deepest and most ignominious wound which +the republic had yet sustained from the insolence of the +Barbarians. But the populace, with their usual levity, applauded +the change of masters. The public discontent was favorable to +the rival of Honorius; and the sectaries, oppressed by his +persecuting edicts, expected some degree of countenance, or at +least of toleration, from a prince, who, in his native country of +Ionia, had been educated in the Pagan superstition, and who had +since received the sacrament of baptism from the hands of an +Arian bishop. ^92 The first days of the reign of Attalus were +fair and prosperous. An officer of confidence was sent with an +inconsiderable body of troops to secure the obedience of Africa; +the greatest part of Italy submitted to the terror of the Gothic +powers; and though the city of Bologna made a vigorous and +effectual resistance, the people of Milan, dissatisfied perhaps +with the absence of Honorius, accepted, with loud acclamations, +the choice of the Roman senate. At the head of a formidable army, +Alaric conducted his royal captive almost to the gates of +Ravenna; and a solemn embassy of the principal ministers, of +Jovius, the Praetorian praefect, of Valens, master of the cavalry +and infantry, of the quaestor Potamius, and of Julian, the first +of the notaries, was introduced, with martial pomp, into the +Gothic camp. In the name of their sovereign, they consented to +acknowledge the lawful election of his competitor, and to divide +the provinces of Italy and the West between the two emperors. +Their proposals were rejected with disdain; and the refusal was +aggravated by the insulting clemency of Attalus, who condescended +to promise, that, if Honorius would instantly resign the purple, +he should be permitted to pass the remainder of his life in the +peaceful exile of some remote island. ^93 So desperate indeed did +the situation of the son of Theodosius appear, to those who were +the best acquainted with his strength and resources, that Jovius +and Valens, his minister and his general, betrayed their trust, +infamously deserted the sinking cause of their benefactor, and +devoted their treacherous allegiance to the service of his more +fortunate rival. Astonished by such examples of domestic +treason, Honorius trembled at the approach of every servant, at +the arrival of every messenger. He dreaded the secret enemies, +who might lurk in his capital, his palace, his bed-chamber; and +some ships lay ready in the harbor of Ravenna, to transport the +abdicated monarch to the dominions of his infant nephew, the +emperor of the East. +[Footnote 92: We may admit the evidence of Sozomen for the Arian +baptism, and that of Philostorgius for the Pagan education, of +Attalus. The visible joy of Zosimus, and the discontent which he +imputes to the Anician family, are very unfavorable to the +Christianity of the new emperor.] + +[Footnote 93: He carried his insolence so far, as to declare that +he should mutilate Honorius before he sent him into exile. But +this assertion of Zosimus is destroyed by the more impartial +testimony of Olympiodorus; who attributes the ungenerous proposal +(which was absolutely rejected by Attalus) to the baseness, and +perhaps the treachery, of Jovius.] + + But there is a Providence (such at least was the opinion of +the historian Procopius) ^94 that watches over innocence and +folly; and the pretensions of Honorius to its peculiar care +cannot reasonably be disputed. At the moment when his despair, +incapable of any wise or manly resolution, meditated a shameful +flight, a seasonable reenforcement of four thousand veterans +unexpectedly landed in the port of Ravenna. To these valiant +strangers, whose fidelity had not been corrupted by the factions +of the court, he committed the walls and gates of the city; and +the slumbers of the emperor were no longer disturbed by the +apprehension of imminent and internal danger. The favorable +intelligence which was received from Africa suddenly changed the +opinions of men, and the state of public affairs. The troops and +officers, whom Attalus had sent into that province, were defeated +and slain; and the active zeal of Heraclian maintained his own +allegiance, and that of his people. The faithful count of Africa +transmitted a large sum of money, which fixed the attachment of +the Imperial guards; and his vigilance, in preventing the +exportation of corn and oil, introduced famine, tumult, and +discontent, into the walls of Rome. The failure of the African +expedition was the source of mutual complaint and recrimination +in the party of Attalus; and the mind of his protector was +insensibly alienated from the interest of a prince, who wanted +spirit to command, or docility to obey. The most imprudent +measures were adopted, without the knowledge, or against the +advice, of Alaric; and the obstinate refusal of the senate, to +allow, in the embarkation, the mixture even of five hundred +Goths, betrayed a suspicious and distrustful temper, which, in +their situation, was neither generous nor prudent. The +resentment of the Gothic king was exasperated by the malicious +arts of Jovius, who had been raised to the rank of patrician, and +who afterwards excused his double perfidy, by declaring, without +a blush, that he had only seemed to abandon the service of +Honorius, more effectually to ruin the cause of the usurper. In a +large plain near Rimini, and in the presence of an innumerable +multitude of Romans and Barbarians, the wretched Attalus was +publicly despoiled of the diadem and purple; and those ensigns of +royalty were sent by Alaric, as the pledge of peace and +friendship, to the son of Theodosius. ^95 The officers who +returned to their duty, were reinstated in their employments, and +even the merit of a tardy repentance was graciously allowed; but +the degraded emperor of the Romans, desirous of life, and +insensible of disgrace, implored the permission of following the +Gothic camp, in the train of a haughty and capricious Barbarian. +^96 + +[Footnote 94: Procop. de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 2.] + +[Footnote 95: See the cause and circumstances of the fall of +Attalus in Zosimus, l. vi. p. 380 - 383. Sozomen, l. ix. c. 8. +Philostorg. l. xii. c. 3. The two acts of indemnity in the +Theodosian Code, l. ix. tit. xxxviii. leg. 11, 12, which were +published the 12th of February, and the 8th of August, A.D. 410, +evidently relate to this usurper.] + +[Footnote 96: In hoc, Alaricus, imperatore, facto, infecto, +refecto, ac defecto ... Mimum risit, et ludum spectavit imperii. +Orosius, l. vii. c. 42, p. 582.] + + The degradation of Attalus removed the only real obstacle to +the conclusion of the peace; and Alaric advanced within three +miles of Ravenna, to press the irresolution of the Imperial +ministers, whose insolence soon returned with the return of +fortune. His indignation was kindled by the report, that a rival +chieftain, that Sarus, the personal enemy of Adolphus, and the +hereditary foe of the house of Balti, had been received into the +palace. At the head of three hundred followers, that fearless +Barbarian immediately sallied from the gates of Ravenna; +surprised, and cut in pieces, a considerable body of Goths; +reentered the city in triumph; and was permitted to insult his +adversary, by the voice of a herald, who publicly declared that +the guilt of Alaric had forever excluded him from the friendship +and alliance of the emperor. ^97 The crime and folly of the court +of Ravenna was expiated, a third time, by the calamities of Rome. +The king of the Goths, who no longer dissembled his appetite for +plunder and revenge, appeared in arms under the walls of the +capital; and the trembling senate, without any hopes of relief, +prepared, by a desperate resistance, to defray the ruin of their +country. But they were unable to guard against the secret +conspiracy of their slaves and domestics; who, either from birth +or interest, were attached to the cause of the enemy. At the +hour of midnight, the Salarian gate was silently opened, and the +inhabitants were awakened by the tremendous sound of the Gothic +trumpet. Eleven hundred and sixty-three years after the +foundation of Rome, the Imperial city, which had subdued and +civilized so considerable a part of mankind, was delivered to the +licentious fury of the tribes of Germany and Scythia. ^98 + +[Footnote 97: Zosimus, l. vi. p. 384. Sozomen, l. ix. c. 9. +Philostorgius, l. xii. c. 3. In this place the text of Zosimus +is mutilated, and we have lost the remainder of his sixth and +last book, which ended with the sack of Rome. Credulous and +partial as he is, we must take our leave of that historian with +some regret.] + +[Footnote 98: Adest Alaricus, trepidam Romam obsidet, turbat, +irrumpit. Orosius, l. vii. c. 39, p. 573. He despatches this +great event in seven words; but he employs whole pages in +celebrating the devotion of the Goths. I have extracted from an +improbable story of Procopius, the circumstances which had an air +of probability. Procop. de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 2. He +supposes that the city was surprised while the senators slept in +the afternoon; but Jerom, with more authority and more reason, +affirms, that it was in the night, nocte Moab capta est. nocte +cecidit murus ejus, tom. i. p. 121, ad Principiam.] + + The proclamation of Alaric, when he forced his entrance into +a vanquished city, discovered, however, some regard for the laws +of humanity and religion. He encouraged his troops boldly to +seize the rewards of valor, and to enrich themselves with the +spoils of a wealthy and effeminate people: but he exhorted them, +at the same time, to spare the lives of the unresisting citizens, +and to respect the churches of the apostles, St. Peter and St. +Paul, as holy and inviolable sanctuaries. Amidst the horrors of +a nocturnal tumult, several of the Christian Goths displayed the +fervor of a recent conversion; and some instances of their +uncommon piety and moderation are related, and perhaps adorned, +by the zeal of ecclesiastical writers. ^99 While the Barbarians +roamed through the city in quest of prey, the humble dwelling of +an aged virgin, who had devoted her life to the service of the +altar, was forced open by one of the powerful Goths. He +immediately demanded, though in civil language, all the gold and +silver in her possession; and was astonished at the readiness +with which she conducted him to a splendid hoard of massy plate, +of the richest materials, and the most curious workmanship. The +Barbarian viewed with wonder and delight this valuable +acquisition, till he was interrupted by a serious admonition, +addressed to him in the following words: "These," said she, "are +the consecrated vessels belonging to St. Peter: if you presume to +touch them, the sacrilegious deed will remain on your conscience. + +For my part, I dare not keep what I am unable to defend." The +Gothic captain, struck with reverential awe, despatched a +messenger to inform the king of the treasure which he had +discovered; and received a peremptory order from Alaric, that all +the consecrated plate and ornaments should be transported, +without damage or delay, to the church of the apostle. From the +extremity, perhaps, of the Quirinal hill, to the distant quarter +of the Vatican, a numerous detachment of Goths, marching in order +of battle through the principal streets, protected, with +glittering arms, the long train of their devout companions, who +bore aloft, on their heads, the sacred vessels of gold and +silver; and the martial shouts of the Barbarians were mingled +with the sound of religious psalmody. From all the adjacent +houses, a crowd of Christians hastened to join this edifying +procession; and a multitude of fugitives, without distinction of +age, or rank, or even of sect, had the good fortune to escape to +the secure and hospitable sanctuary of the Vatican. The learned +work, concerning the City of God, was professedly composed by St. +Augustin, to justify the ways of Providence in the destruction of +the Roman greatness. He celebrates, with peculiar satisfaction, +this memorable triumph of Christ; and insults his adversaries, by +challenging them to produce some similar example of a town taken +by storm, in which the fabulous gods of antiquity had been able +to protect either themselves or their deluded votaries. ^100 +[Footnote 99: Orosius (l. vii. c. 39, p. 573 - 576) applauds the +piety of the Christian Goths, without seeming to perceive that +the greatest part of them were Arian heretics. Jornandes (c. 30, +p. 653) and Isidore of Seville, (Chron. p. 417, edit. Grot.,) who +were both attached to the Gothic cause, have repeated and +embellished these edifying tales. According to Isidore, Alaric +himself was heard to say, that he waged war with the Romans, and +not with the apostles. Such was the style of the seventh +century; two hundred years before, the fame and merit had been +ascribed, not to the apostles, but to Christ.] + +[Footnote 100: See Augustin, de Civitat. Dei, l. i. c. 1 - 6. He +particularly appeals to the examples of Troy, Syracuse, and +Tarentum.] + + In the sack of Rome, some rare and extraordinary examples of +Barbarian virtue have been deservedly applauded. But the holy +precincts of the Vatican, and the apostolic churches, could +receive a very small proportion of the Roman people; many +thousand warriors, more especially of the Huns, who served under +the standard of Alaric, were strangers to the name, or at least +to the faith, of Christ; and we may suspect, without any breach +of charity or candor, that in the hour of savage license, when +every passion was inflamed, and every restraint was removed, the +precepts of the Gospel seldom influenced the behavior of the +Gothic Christians. The writers, the best disposed to exaggerate +their clemency, have freely confessed, that a cruel slaughter was +made of the Romans; ^101 and that the streets of the city were +filled with dead bodies, which remained without burial during the +general consternation. The despair of the citizens was sometimes +converted into fury: and whenever the Barbarians were provoked by +opposition, they extended the promiscuous massacre to the feeble, +the innocent, and the helpless. The private revenge of forty +thousand slaves was exercised without pity or remorse; and the +ignominious lashes, which they had formerly received, were washed +away in the blood of the guilty, or obnoxious, families. The +matrons and virgins of Rome were exposed to injuries more +dreadful, in the apprehension of chastity, than death itself; and +the ecclesiastical historian has selected an example of female +virtue, for the admiration of future ages. ^102 A Roman lady, of +singular beauty and orthodox faith, had excited the impatient +desires of a young Goth, who, according to the sagacious remark +of Sozomen, was attached to the Arian heresy. Exasperated by her +obstinate resistance, he drew his sword, and, with the anger of a +lover, slightly wounded her neck. The bleeding heroine still +continued to brave his resentment, and to repel his love, till +the ravisher desisted from his unavailing efforts, respectfully +conducted her to the sanctuary of the Vatican, and gave six +pieces of gold to the guards of the church, on condition that +they should restore her inviolate to the arms of her husband. +Such instances of courage and generosity were not extremely +common. The brutal soldiers satisfied their sensual appetites, +without consulting either the inclination or the duties of their +female captives: and a nice question of casuistry was seriously +agitated, Whether those tender victims, who had inflexibly +refused their consent to the violation which they sustained, had +lost, by their misfortune, the glorious crown of virginity. ^103 +Their were other losses indeed of a more substantial kind, and +more general concern. It cannot be presumed, that all the +Barbarians were at all times capable of perpetrating such amorous +outrages; and the want of youth, or beauty, or chastity, +protected the greatest part of the Roman women from the danger of +a rape. But avarice is an insatiate and universal passion; since +the enjoyment of almost every object that can afford pleasure to +the different tastes and tempers of mankind may be procured by +the possession of wealth. In the pillage of Rome, a just +preference was given to gold and jewels, which contain the +greatest value in the smallest compass and weight: but, after +these portable riches had been removed by the more diligent +robbers, the palaces of Rome were rudely stripped of their +splendid and costly furniture. The sideboards of massy plate, and +the variegated wardrobes of silk and purple, were irregularly +piled in the wagons, that always followed the march of a Gothic +army. The most exquisite works of art were roughly handled, or +wantonly destroyed; many a statue was melted for the sake of the +precious materials; and many a vase, in the division of the +spoil, was shivered into fragments by the stroke of a battle-axe. + +The acquisition of riches served only to stimulate the avarice of +the rapacious Barbarians, who proceeded, by threats, by blows, +and by tortures, to force from their prisoners the confession of +hidden treasure. ^104 Visible splendor and expense were alleged +as the proof of a plentiful fortune; the appearance of poverty +was imputed to a parsimonious disposition; and the obstinacy of +some misers, who endured the most cruel torments before they +would discover the secret object of their affection, was fatal to +many unhappy wretches, who expired under the lash, for refusing +to reveal their imaginary treasures. The edifices of Rome, +though the damage has been much exaggerated, received some injury +from the violence of the Goths. At their entrance through the +Salarian gate, they fired the adjacent houses to guide their +march, and to distract the attention of the citizens; the flames, +which encountered no obstacle in the disorder of the night, +consumed many private and public buildings; and the ruins of the +palace of Sallust ^105 remained, in the age of Justinian, a +stately monument of the Gothic conflagration. ^106 Yet a +contemporary historian has observed, that fire could scarcely +consume the enormous beams of solid brass, and that the strength +of man was insufficient to subvert the foundations of ancient +structures. Some truth may possibly be concealed in his devout +assertion, that the wrath of Heaven supplied the imperfections of +hostile rage; and that the proud Forum of Rome, decorated with +the statues of so many gods and heroes, was levelled in the dust +by the stroke of lightning. ^107 +[Footnote 101: Jerom (tom. i. p. 121, ad Principiam) has applied +to the sack of Rome all the strong expressions of Virgil: - + Quis cladem illius noctis, quis funera fando, + Explicet, &c. + +Procopius (l. i. c. 2) positively affirms that great numbers were +slain by the Goths. Augustin (de Civ. Dei, l. i. c. 12, 13) +offers Christian comfort for the death of those whose bodies +(multa corpora) had remained (in tanta strage) unburied. +Baronius, from the different writings of the Fathers, has thrown +some light on the sack of Rome. Annal. Eccles. A.D. 410, No. 16 +- 34.] +[Footnote 102: Sozomen. l. ix. c. 10. Augustin (de Civitat. Dei, +l. i. c. 17) intimates, that some virgins or matrons actually +killed themselves to escape violation; and though he admires +their spirit, he is obliged, by his theology, to condemn their +rash presumption. Perhaps the good bishop of Hippo was too easy +in the belief, as well as too rigid in the censure, of this act +of female heroism. The twenty maidens (if they ever existed) who +threw themselves into the Elbe, when Magdeburgh was taken by +storm, have been multiplied to the number of twelve hundred. See +Harte's History of Gustavus Adolphus, vol. i. p. 308.] + +[Footnote 103: See Augustin de Civitat. Dei, l. i. c. 16, 18. He +treats the subject with remarkable accuracy: and after admitting +that there cannot be any crime where there is no consent, he +adds, Sed quia non solum quod ad dolorem, verum etiam quod ad +libidinem, pertinet, in corpore alieno pepetrari potest; quicquid +tale factum fuerit, etsi retentam constantissimo animo pudicitiam +non excutit, pudorem tamen incutit, ne credatur factum cum mentis +etiam voluntate, quod fieri fortasse sine carnis aliqua voluptate +non potuit. In c. 18 he makes some curious distinctions between +moral and physical virginity.] +[Footnote 104: Marcella, a Roman lady, equally respectable for +her rank, her age, and her piety, was thrown on the ground, and +cruelly beaten and whipped, caesam fustibus flagellisque, &c. +Jerom, tom. i. p. 121, ad Principiam. See Augustin, de Civ. Dei, +l. c. 10. The modern Sacco di Roma, p. 208, gives an idea of the +various methods of torturing prisoners for gold.] +[Footnote 105: The historian Sallust, who usefully practiced the +vices which he has so eloquently censured, employed the plunder +of Numidia to adorn his palace and gardens on the Quirinal hill. +The spot where the house stood is now marked by the church of St. +Susanna, separated only by a street from the baths of Diocletian, +and not far distant from the Salarian gate. See Nardini, Roma +Antica, p. 192, 193, and the great I'lan of Modern Rome, by +Nolli.] +[Footnote 106: The expressions of Procopius are distinct and +moderate, (de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 2.) The Chronicle of +Marcellinus speaks too strongly partem urbis Romae cremavit; and +the words of Philostorgius (l. xii. c. 3) convey a false and +exaggerated idea. Bargaeus has composed a particular +dissertation (see tom. iv. Antiquit. Rom. Graev.) to prove that +the edifices of Rome were not subverted by the Goths and +Vandals.] + +[Footnote 107: Orosius, l. ii. c. 19, p. 143. He speaks as if he +disapproved all statues; vel Deum vel hominem mentiuntur. They +consisted of the kings of Alba and Rome from Aeneas, the Romans, +illustrious either in arms or arts, and the deified Caesars. The +expression which he uses of Forum is somewhat ambiguous, since +there existed five principal Fora; but as they were all +contiguous and adjacent, in the plain which is surrounded by the +Capitoline, the Quirinal, the Esquiline, and the Palatine hills, +they might fairly be considered as one. See the Roma Antiqua of +Donatus, p. 162 - 201, and the Roma Antica of Nardini, p. 212 - +273. The former is more useful for the ancient descriptions, the +latter for the actual topography.] + +Chapter XXXI: Invasion Of Italy, Occupation Of Territories By +Barbarians. + +Part IV. + + Whatever might be the numbers of equestrian or plebeian +rank, who perished in the massacre of Rome, it is confidently +affirmed that only one senator lost his life by the sword of the +enemy. ^108 But it was not easy to compute the multitudes, who, +from an honorable station and a prosperous fortune, were suddenly +reduced to the miserable condition of captives and exiles. As +the Barbarians had more occasion for money than for slaves, they +fixed at a moderate price the redemption of their indigent +prisoners; and the ransom was often paid by the benevolence of +their friends, or the charity of strangers. ^109 The captives, +who were regularly sold, either in open market, or by private +contract, would have legally regained their native freedom, which +it was impossible for a citizen to lose, or to alienate. ^110 But +as it was soon discovered that the vindication of their liberty +would endanger their lives; and that the Goths, unless they were +tempted to sell, might be provoked to murder, their useless +prisoners; the civil jurisprudence had been already qualified by +a wise regulation, that they should be obliged to serve the +moderate term of five years, till they had discharged by their +labor the price of their redemption. ^111 The nations who invaded +the Roman empire, had driven before them, into Italy, whole +troops of hungry and affrighted provincials, less apprehensive of +servitude than of famine. The calamities of Rome and Italy +dispersed the inhabitants to the most lonely, the most secure, +the most distant places of refuge. While the Gothic cavalry +spread terror and desolation along the sea-coast of Campania and +Tuscany, the little island of Igilium, separated by a narrow +channel from the Argentarian promontory, repulsed, or eluded, +their hostile attempts; and at so small a distance from Rome, +great numbers of citizens were securely concealed in the thick +woods of that sequestered spot. ^112 The ample patrimonies, which +many senatorian families possessed in Africa, invited them, if +they had time, and prudence, to escape from the ruin of their +country, to embrace the shelter of that hospitable province. The +most illustrious of these fugitives was the noble and pious +Proba, ^113 the widow of the praefect Petronius. After the death +of her husband, the most powerful subject of Rome, she had +remained at the head of the Anician family, and successively +supplied, from her private fortune, the expense of the +consulships of her three sons. When the city was besieged and +taken by the Goths, Proba supported, with Christian resignation, +the loss of immense riches; embarked in a small vessel, from +whence she beheld, at sea, the flames of her burning palace, and +fled with her daughter Laeta, and her granddaughter, the +celebrated virgin, Demetrias, to the coast of Africa. The +benevolent profusion with which the matron distributed the +fruits, or the price, of her estates, contributed to alleviate +the misfortunes of exile and captivity. But even the family of +Proba herself was not exempt from the rapacious oppression of +Count Heraclian, who basely sold, in matrimonial prostitution, +the noblest maidens of Rome to the lust or avarice of the Syrian +merchants. The Italian fugitives were dispersed through the +provinces, along the coast of Egypt and Asia, as far as +Constantinople and Jerusalem; and the village of Bethlem, the +solitary residence of St. Jerom and his female converts, was +crowded with illustrious beggars of either sex, and every age, +who excited the public compassion by the remembrance of their +past fortune. ^114 This awful catastrophe of Rome filled the +astonished empire with grief and terror. So interesting a +contrast of greatness and ruin, disposed the fond credulity of +the people to deplore, and even to exaggerate, the afflictions of +the queen of cities. The clergy, who applied to recent events +the lofty metaphors of oriental prophecy, were sometimes tempted +to confound the destruction of the capital and the dissolution of +the globe. +[Footnote 108: Orosius (l. ii. c. 19, p. 142) compares the +cruelty of the Gauls and the clemency of the Goths. Ibi vix +quemquam inventum senatorem, qui vel absens evaserit; hic vix +quemquam requiri, qui forte ut latens perierit. But there is an +air of rhetoric, and perhaps of falsehood, in this antithesis; +and Socrates (l. vii. c. 10) affirms, perhaps by an opposite +exaggeration, that many senators were put to death with various +and exquisite tortures.] +[Footnote 109: Multi ... Christiani incaptivitatem ducti sunt. +Augustin, de Civ Dei, l. i. c. 14; and the Christians experienced +no peculiar hardships.] +[Footnote 110: See Heineccius, Antiquitat. Juris Roman. tom. i. +p. 96.] +[Footnote 111: Appendix Cod. Theodos. xvi. in Sirmond. Opera, +tom. i. p. 735. This edict was published on the 11th of December, +A.D. 408, and is more reasonable than properly belonged to the +ministers of Honorius.] +[Footnote 112: Eminus Igilii sylvosa cacumina miror; + Quem fraudare nefas laudis honore suae. + + Haec proprios nuper tutata est insula saltus; + + Sive loci ingenio, seu Domini genio. + Gurgite cum modico victricibus obstitit +armis, Tanquam longinquo dissociata mari. + + Haec multos lacera suscepit ab urbe fugates, + + Hic fessis posito certa timore salus. + Plurima terreno populaverat aequora bello, + + Contra naturam classe timendus eques: + Unum, mira fides, vario discrimine portum! + + Tam prope Romanis, tam procul esse Getis. + + Rutilius, in Itinerar. l. i. 325 + + The island is now called Giglio. See Cluver. Ital. Antiq. +l. ii. ] +[Footnote 113: As the adventures of Proba and her family are +connected with the life of St. Augustin, they are diligently +illustrated by Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. xiii. p. 620 - 635. +Some time after their arrival in Africa, Demetrias took the veil, +and made a vow of virginity; an event which was considered as of +the highest importance to Rome and to the world. All the Saints +wrote congratulatory letters to her; that of Jerom is still +extant, (tom. i. p. 62 - 73, ad Demetriad. de servand +Virginitat.,) and contains a mixture of absurd reasoning, +spirited declamation, and curious facts, some of which relate to +the siege and sack of Rome.] + +[Footnote 114: See the pathetic complaint of Jerom, (tom. v. p. +400,) in his preface to the second book of his Commentaries on +the Prophet Ezekiel.] + There exists in human nature a strong propensity to +depreciate the advantages, and to magnify the evils, of the +present times. Yet, when the first emotions had subsided, and a +fair estimate was made of the real damage, the more learned and +judicious contemporaries were forced to confess, that infant Rome +had formerly received more essential injury from the Gauls, than +she had now sustained from the Goths in her declining age. ^115 +The experience of eleven centuries has enabled posterity to +produce a much more singular parallel; and to affirm with +confidence, that the ravages of the Barbarians, whom Alaric had +led from the banks of the Danube, were less destructive than the +hostilities exercised by the troops of Charles the Fifth, a +Catholic prince, who styled himself Emperor of the Romans. ^116 +The Goths evacuated the city at the end of six days, but Rome +remained above nine months in the possession of the Imperialists; +and every hour was stained by some atrocious act of cruelty, +lust, and rapine. The authority of Alaric preserved some order +and moderation among the ferocious multitude which acknowledged +him for their leader and king; but the constable of Bourbon had +gloriously fallen in the attack of the walls; and the death of +the general removed every restraint of discipline from an army +which consisted of three independent nations, the Italians, the +Spaniards, and the Germans. In the beginning of the sixteenth +century, the manners of Italy exhibited a remarkable scene of the +depravity of mankind. They united the sanguinary crimes that +prevail in an unsettled state of society, with the polished vices +which spring from the abuse of art and luxury; and the loose +adventurers, who had violated every prejudice of patriotism and +superstition to assault the palace of the Roman pontiff, must +deserve to be considered as the most profligate of the Italians. +At the same aera, the Spaniards were the terror both of the Old +and New World: but their high- spirited valor was disgraced by +gloomy pride, rapacious avarice, and unrelenting cruelty. +Indefatigable in the pursuit of fame and riches, they had +improved, by repeated practice, the most exquisite and effectual +methods of torturing their prisoners: many of the Castilians, who +pillaged Rome, were familiars of the holy inquisition; and some +volunteers, perhaps, were lately returned from the conquest of +Mexico The Germans were less corrupt than the Italians, less +cruel than the Spaniards; and the rustic, or even savage, aspect +of those Tramontane warriors, often disguised a simple and +merciful disposition. But they had imbibed, in the first fervor +of the reformation, the spirit, as well as the principles of +Luther. It was their favorite amusement to insult, or destroy, +the consecrated objects of Catholic superstition; they indulged, +without pity or remorse, a devout hatred against the clergy of +every denomination and degree, who form so considerable a part of +the inhabitants of modern Rome; and their fanatic zeal might +aspire to subvert the throne of Anti-christ, to purify, with +blood and fire, the abominations of the spiritual Babylon. ^117 +[Footnote 115: Orosius, though with some theological partiality, +states this comparison, l. ii. c. 19, p. 142, l. vii. c. 39, p. +575. But, in the history of the taking of Rome by the Gauls, +every thing is uncertain, and perhaps fabulous. See Beaufort sur +l'Incertitude, &c., de l'Histoire Romaine, p. 356; and Melot, in +the Mem. de l'Academie des Inscript. tom. xv. p. 1 - 21.] +[Footnote 116: The reader who wishes to inform himself of the +circumstances of his famous event, may peruse an admirable +narrative in Dr. Robertson's History of Charles V. vol. ii. p. +283; or consult the Annali d'Italia of the learned Muratori, tom. +xiv. p. 230 - 244, octavo edition. If he is desirous of +examining the originals, he may have recourse to the eighteenth +book of the great, but unfinished, history of Guicciardini. But +the account which most truly deserves the name of authentic and +original, is a little book, entitled, Il Sacco di Roma, composed, +within less than a month after the assault of the city, by the +brother of the historian Guicciardini, who appears to have been +an able magistrate and a dispassionate writer.] + +[Footnote 117: The furious spirit of Luther, the effect of temper +and enthusiasm, has been forcibly attacked, (Bossuet, Hist. des +Variations des Eglises Protestantes, livre i. p. 20 - 36,) and +feebly defended, (Seckendorf. Comment. de Lutheranismo, +especially l. i. No. 78, p. 120, and l. iii. No. 122, p. 556.)] + The retreat of the victorious Goths, who evacuated Rome on +the sixth day, ^118 might be the result of prudence; but it was +not surely the effect of fear. ^119 At the head of an army +encumbered with rich and weighty spoils, their intrepid leader +advanced along the Appian way into the southern provinces of +Italy, destroying whatever dared to oppose his passage, and +contenting himself with the plunder of the unresisting country. +The fate of Capua, the proud and luxurious metropolis of +Campania, and which was respected, even in its decay, as the +eighth city of the empire, ^120 is buried in oblivion; whilst the +adjacent town of Nola ^121 has been illustrated, on this +occasion, by the sanctity of Paulinus, ^122 who was successively +a consul, a monk, and a bishop. At the age of forty, he +renounced the enjoyment of wealth and honor, of society and +literature, to embrace a life of solitude and penance; and the +loud applause of the clergy encouraged him to despise the +reproaches of his worldly friends, who ascribed this desperate +act to some disorder of the mind or body. ^123 An early and +passionate attachment determined him to fix his humble dwelling +in one of the suburbs of Nola, near the miraculous tomb of St. +Faelix, which the public devotion had already surrounded with +five large and populous churches. The remains of his fortune, +and of his understanding, were dedicated to the service of the +glorious martyr; whose praise, on the day of his festival, +Paulinus never failed to celebrate by a solemn hymn; and in whose +name he erected a sixth church, of superior elegance and beauty, +which was decorated with many curious pictures, from the history +of the Old and New Testament. Such assiduous zeal secured the +favor of the saint, ^124 or at least of the people; and, after +fifteen years' retirement, the Roman consul was compelled to +accept the bishopric of Nola, a few months before the city was +invested by the Goths. During the siege, some religious persons +were satisfied that they had seen, either in dreams or visions, +the divine form of their tutelar patron; yet it soon appeared by +the event, that Faelix wanted power, or inclination, to preserve +the flock of which he had formerly been the shepherd. Nola was +not saved from the general devastation; ^125 and the captive +bishop was protected only by the general opinion of his innocence +and poverty. Above four years elapsed from the successful +invasion of Italy by the arms of Alaric, to the voluntary retreat +of the Goths under the conduct of his successor Adolphus; and, +during the whole time, they reigned without control over a +country, which, in the opinion of the ancients, had united all +the various excellences of nature and art. The prosperity, +indeed, which Italy had attained in the auspicious age of the +Antonines, had gradually declined with the decline of the empire. + +The fruits of a long peace perished under the rude grasp of the +Barbarians; and they themselves were incapable of tasting the +more elegant refinements of luxury, which had been prepared for +the use of the soft and polished Italians. Each soldier, however, +claimed an ample portion of the substantial plenty, the corn and +cattle, oil and wine, that was daily collected and consumed in +the Gothic camp; and the principal warriors insulted the villas +and gardens, once inhabited by Lucullus and Cicero, along the +beauteous coast of Campania. Their trembling captives, the sons +and daughters of Roman senators, presented, in goblets of gold +and gems, large draughts of Falernian wine to the haughty +victors; who stretched their huge limbs under the shade of +plane-trees, ^126 artificially disposed to exclude the scorching +rays, and to admit the genial warmth, of the sun. These delights +were enhanced by the memory of past hardships: the comparison of +their native soil, the bleak and barren hills of Scythia, and the +frozen banks of the Elbe and Danube, added new charms to the +felicity of the Italian climate. ^127 + +[Footnote 118: Marcellinus, in Chron. Orosius, (l. vii. c. 39, p. +575,) asserts, that he left Rome on the third day; but this +difference is easily reconciled by the successive motions of +great bodies of troops.] +[Footnote 119: Socrates (l. vii. c. 10) pretends, without any +color of truth, or reason, that Alaric fled on the report that +the armies of the Eastern empire were in full march to attack +him.] + +[Footnote 120: Ausonius de Claris Urbibus, p. 233, edit. Toll. +The luxury of Capua had formerly surpassed that of Sybaris +itself. See Athenaeus Deipnosophist. l. xii. p. 528, edit. +Casaubon.] + +[Footnote 121: Forty-eight years before the foundation of Rome, +(about 800 before the Christian aera,) the Tuscans built Capua +and Nola, at the distance of twenty-three miles from each other; +but the latter of the two cities never emerged from a state of +mediocrity.] + +[Footnote 122: Tillemont (Mem. Eccles. tom. xiv. p. 1 - 46) has +compiled, with his usual diligence, all that relates to the life +and writings of Paulinus, whose retreat is celebrated by his own +pen, and by the praises of St. Ambrose, St. Jerom, St. Augustin, +Sulpicius Severus, &c., his Christian friends and +contemporaries.] + +[Footnote 123: See the affectionate letters of Ausonius (epist. +xix. - xxv. p. 650-698, edit. Toll.) to his colleague, his +friend, and his disciple, Paulinus. The religion of Ausonius is +still a problem, (see Mem. de l'Academie des Inscriptions, tom. +xv. p. 123 - 138.) I believe that it was such in his own time, +and, consequently, that in his heart he was a Pagan.] +[Footnote 124: The humble Paulinus once presumed to say, that he +believed St. Faelix did love him; at least, as a master loves his +little dog.] +[Footnote 125: See Jornandes, de Reb. Get. c. 30, p. 653. +Philostorgius, l. xii. c. 3. Augustin. de Civ. Dei, l.i.c. 10. +Baronius, Annal. Eccles. A.D. 410, No. 45, 46.] + +[Footnote 126: The platanus, or plane-tree, was a favorite of the +ancients, by whom it was propagated, for the sake of shade, from +the East to Gaul. Plin. Hist. Natur. xii. 3, 4, 5. He mentions +several of an enormous size; one in the Imperial villa, at +Velitrae, which Caligula called his nest, as the branches were +capable of holding a large table, the proper attendants, and the +emperor himself, whom Pliny quaintly styles pars umbroe; an +expression which might, with equal reason, be applied to Alaric] +[Footnote 127: The prostrate South to the destroyer yields + + Her boasted titles, and her golden fields; + + With grim delight the brood of winter view + + A brighter day, and skies of azure hue; + + Scent the new fragrance of the opening rose, + +And quaff the pendent vintage as it grows. +See Gray's Poems, published by Mr. Mason, p. 197. Instead of +compiling tables of chronology and natural history, why did not +Mr. Gray apply the powers of his genius to finish the philosophic +poem, of which he has left such an exquisite specimen?] + + Whether fame, or conquest, or riches, were the object or +Alaric, he pursued that object with an indefatigable ardor, which +could neither be quelled by adversity nor satiated by success. +No sooner had he reached the extreme land of Italy, than he was +attracted by the neighboring prospect of a fertile and peaceful +island. Yet even the possession of Sicily he considered only as +an intermediate step to the important expedition, which he +already meditated against the continent of Africa. The Straits +of Rhegium and Messina ^128 are twelve miles in length, and, in +the narrowest passage, about one mile and a half broad; and the +fabulous monsters of the deep, the rocks of Scylla, and the +whirlpool of Charybdis, could terrify none but the most timid and +unskilful mariners. Yet as soon as the first division of the +Goths had embarked, a sudden tempest arose, which sunk, or +scattered, many of the transports; their courage was daunted by +the terrors of a new element; and the whole design was defeated +by the premature death of Alaric, which fixed, after a short +illness, the fatal term of his conquests. The ferocious +character of the Barbarians was displayed in the funeral of a +hero whose valor and fortune they celebrated with mournful +applause. By the labor of a captive multitude, they forcibly +diverted the course of the Busentinus, a small river that washes +the walls of Consentia. The royal sepulchre, adorned with the +splendid spoils and trophies of Rome, was constructed in the +vacant bed; the waters were then restored to their natural +channel; and the secret spot, where the remains of Alaric had +been deposited, was forever concealed by the inhuman massacre of +the prisoners, who had been employed to execute the work. ^129 +[Footnote 128: For the perfect description of the Straits of +Messina, Scylla, Clarybdis, &c., see Cluverius, (Ital. Antiq. l. +iv. p. 1293, and Sicilia Antiq. l. i. p. 60 - 76, who had +diligently studied the ancients, and surveyed with a curious eye +the actual face of the country.] + +[Footnote 129: Jornandes, de Reb Get. c. 30, p. 654.] + +Chapter XXXI: Invasion Of Italy, Occupation Of Territories By +Barbarians. + +Part V. + + The personal animosities and hereditary feuds of the +Barbarians were suspended by the strong necessity of their +affairs; and the brave Adolphus, the brother-in-law of the +deceased monarch, was unanimously elected to succeed to his +throne. The character and political system of the new king of +the Goths may be best understood from his own conversation with +an illustrious citizen of Narbonne; who afterwards, in a +pilgrimage to the Holy Land, related it to St. Jerom, in the +presence of the historian Orosius. "In the full confidence of +valor and victory, I once aspired (said Adolphus) to change the +face of the universe; to obliterate the name of Rome; to erect on +its ruins the dominion of the Goths; and to acquire, like +Augustus, the immortal fame of the founder of a new empire. By +repeated experiments, I was gradually convinced, that laws are +essentially necessary to maintain and regulate a well-constituted +state; and that the fierce, untractable humor of the Goths was +incapable of bearing the salutary yoke of laws and civil +government. From that moment I proposed to myself a different +object of glory and ambition; and it is now my sincere wish that +the gratitude of future ages should acknowledge the merit of a +stranger, who employed the sword of the Goths, not to subvert, +but to restore and maintain, the prosperity of the Roman empire." +^130 With these pacific views, the successor of Alaric suspended +the operations of war; and seriously negotiated with the Imperial +court a treaty of friendship and alliance. It was the interest +of the ministers of Honorius, who were now released from the +obligation of their extravagant oath, to deliver Italy from the +intolerable weight of the Gothic powers; and they readily +accepted their service against the tyrants and Barbarians who +infested the provinces beyond the Alps. ^131 Adolphus, assuming +the character of a Roman general, directed his march from the +extremity of Campania to the southern provinces of Gaul. His +troops, either by force of agreement, immediately occupied the +cities of Narbonne, Thoulouse, and Bordeaux; and though they were +repulsed by Count Boniface from the walls of Marseilles, they +soon extended their quarters from the Mediterranean to the Ocean. + +The oppressed provincials might exclaim, that the miserable +remnant, which the enemy had spared, was cruelly ravished by +their pretended allies; yet some specious colors were not wanting +to palliate, or justify the violence of the Goths. The cities of +Gaul, which they attacked, might perhaps be considered as in a +state of rebellion against the government of Honorius: the +articles of the treaty, or the secret instructions of the court, +might sometimes be alleged in favor of the seeming usurpations of +Adolphus; and the guilt of any irregular, unsuccessful act of +hostility might always be imputed, with an appearance of truth, +to the ungovernable spirit of a Barbarian host, impatient of +peace or discipline. The luxury of Italy had been less effectual +to soften the temper, than to relax the courage, of the Goths; +and they had imbibed the vices, without imitating the arts and +institutions, of civilized society. ^132 + +[Footnote 130: Orosius, l. vii. c. 43, p. 584, 585. He was sent +by St. Augustin in the year 415, from Africa to Palestine, to +visit St. Jerom, and to consult with him on the subject of the +Pelagian controversy.] +[Footnote 131: Jornandes supposes, without much probability, that +Adolphus visited and plundered Rome a second time, (more +locustarum erasit) Yet he agrees with Orosius in supposing that a +treaty of peace was concluded between the Gothic prince and +Honorius. See Oros. l. vii. c. 43 p. 584, 585. Jornandes, de +Reb. Geticis, c. 31, p. 654, 655.] + +[Footnote 132: The retreat of the Goths from Italy, and their +first transactions in Gaul, are dark and doubtful. I have +derived much assistance from Mascou, (Hist. of the Ancient +Germans, l. viii. c. 29, 35, 36, 37,) who has illustrated, and +connected, the broken chronicles and fragments of the times.] + The professions of Adolphus were probably sincere, and his +attachment to the cause of the republic was secured by the +ascendant which a Roman princess had acquired over the heart and +understanding of the Barbarian king. Placidia, ^133 the daughter +of the great Theodosius, and of Galla, his second wife, had +received a royal education in the palace of Constantinople; but +the eventful story of her life is connected with the revolutions +which agitated the Western empire under the reign of her brother +Honorius. When Rome was first invested by the arms of Alaric, +Placidia, who was then about twenty years of age, resided in the +city; and her ready consent to the death of her cousin Serena has +a cruel and ungrateful appearance, which, according to the +circumstances of the action, may be aggravated, or excused, by +the consideration of her tender age. ^134 The victorious +Barbarians detained, either as a hostage or a captive, ^135 the +sister of Honorius; but, while she was exposed to the disgrace of +following round Italy the motions of a Gothic camp, she +experienced, however, a decent and respectful treatment. The +authority of Jornandes, who praises the beauty of Placidia, may +perhaps be counterbalanced by the silence, the expressive +silence, of her flatterers: yet the splendor of her birth, the +bloom of youth, the elegance of manners, and the dexterous +insinuation which she condescended to employ, made a deep +impression on the mind of Adolphus; and the Gothic king aspired +to call himself the brother of the emperor. The ministers of +Honorius rejected with disdain the proposal of an alliance so +injurious to every sentiment of Roman pride; and repeatedly urged +the restitution of Placidia, as an indispensable condition of the +treaty of peace. But the daughter of Theodosius submitted, +without reluctance, to the desires of the conqueror, a young and +valiant prince, who yielded to Alaric in loftiness of stature, +but who excelled in the more attractive qualities of grace and +beauty. The marriage of Adolphus and Placidia ^136 was +consummated before the Goths retired from Italy; and the solemn, +perhaps the anniversary day of their nuptials was afterwards +celebrated in the house of Ingenuus, one of the most illustrious +citizens of Narbonne in Gaul. The bride, attired and adorned +like a Roman empress, was placed on a throne of state; and the +king of the Goths, who assumed, on this occasion, the Roman +habit, contented himself with a less honorable seat by her side. +The nuptial gift, which, according to the custom of his nation, +^137 was offered to Placidia, consisted of the rare and +magnificent spoils of her country. Fifty beautiful youths, in +silken robes, carried a basin in each hand; and one of these +basins was filled with pieces of gold, the other with precious +stones of an inestimable value. Attalus, so long the sport of +fortune, and of the Goths, was appointed to lead the chorus of +the Hymeneal song; and the degraded emperor might aspire to the +praise of a skilful musician. The Barbarians enjoyed the +insolence of their triumph; and the provincials rejoiced in this +alliance, which tempered, by the mild influence of love and +reason, the fierce spirit of their Gothic lord. ^138 +[Footnote 133: See an account of Placidia in Ducange Fam. Byzant. +p. 72; and Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, tom. v. p. 260, 386, +&c. tom. vi. p. 240.] +[Footnote 134: Zosim. l. v. p. 350.] + +[Footnote 135: Zosim. l. vi. p. 383. Orosius, (l. vii. c. 40, p. +576,) and the Chronicles of Marcellinus and Idatius, seem to +suppose, that the Goths did not carry away Placidia till after +the last siege of Rome.] +[Footnote 136: See the pictures of Adolphus and Placidia, and the +account of their marriage, in Jornandes, de Reb. Geticis, c. 31, +p. 654, 655. With regard to the place where the nuptials were +stipulated, or consummated, or celebrated, the Mss. of Jornandes +vary between two neighboring cities, Forli and Imola, (Forum +Livii and Forum Cornelii.) It is fair and easy to reconcile the +Gothic historian with Olympiodorus, (see Mascou, l. viii. c. 46:) +but Tillemont grows peevish, and swears that it is not worth +while to try to conciliate Jornandes with any good authors.] +[Footnote 137: The Visigoths (the subjects of Adolphus) +restrained by subsequent laws, the prodigality of conjugal love. +It was illegal for a husband to make any gift or settlement for +the benefit of his wife during the first year of their marriage; +and his liberality could not at any time exceed the tenth part of +his property. The Lombards were somewhat more indulgent: they +allowed the morgingcap immediately after the wedding night; and +this famous gift, the reward of virginity might equal the fourth +part of the husband's substance. Some cautious maidens, indeed, +were wise enough to stipulate beforehand a present, which they +were too sure of not deserving. See Montesquieu, Esprit des Loix, +l. xix. c. 25. Muratori, delle Antichita Italiane, tom. i. +Dissertazion, xx. p. 243.] + +[Footnote 138: We owe the curious detail of this nuptial feast to +the historian Olympiodorus, ap. Photium, p. 185, 188.] + + The hundred basins of gold and gems, presented to Placidia +at her nuptial feast, formed an inconsiderable portion of the +Gothic treasures; of which some extraordinary specimens may be +selected from the history of the successors of Adolphus. Many +curious and costly ornaments of pure gold, enriched with jewels, +were found in their palace of Narbonne, when it was pillaged, in +the sixth century, by the Franks: sixty cups, caps, or chalices; +fifteen patens, or plates, for the use of the communion; twenty +boxes, or cases, to hold the books of the Gospels: this +consecrated wealth ^139 was distributed by the son of Clovis +among the churches of his dominions, and his pious liberality +seems to upbraid some former sacrilege of the Goths. They +possessed, with more security of conscience, the famous +missorium, or great dish for the service of the table, of massy +gold, of the weight of five hundred pounds, and of far superior +value, from the precious stones, the exquisite workmanship, and +the tradition, that it had been presented by Aetius, the +patrician, to Torismond, king of the Goths. One of the successors +of Torismond purchased the aid of the French monarch by the +promise of this magnificent gift. When he was seated on the +throne of Spain, he delivered it with reluctance to the +ambassadors of Dagobert; despoiled them on the road; stipulated, +after a long negotiation, the inadequate ransom of two hundred +thousand pieces of gold; and preserved the missorium, as the +pride of the Gothic treasury. ^140 When that treasury, after the +conquest of Spain, was plundered by the Arabs, they admired, and +they have celebrated, another object still more remarkable; a +table of considerable size, of one single piece of solid emerald, +^141 encircled with three rows of fine pearls, supported by three +hundred and sixty-five feet of gems and massy gold, and estimated +at the price of five hundred thousand pieces of gold. ^142 Some +portion of the Gothic treasures might be the gift of friendship, +or the tribute of obedience; but the far greater part had been +the fruits of war and rapine, the spoils of the empire, and +perhaps of Rome. +[Footnote 139: See in the great collection of the Historians of +France by Dom Bouquet, tom. ii. Greg. Turonens. l. iii. c. 10, +p. 191. Gesta Regum Francorum, c. 23, p. 557. The anonymous +writer, with an ignorance worthy of his times, supposes that +these instruments of Christian worship had belonged to the temple +of Solomon. If he has any meaning it must be, that they were +found in the sack of Rome.] + +[Footnote 140: Consult the following original testimonies in the +Historians of France, tom. ii. Fredegarii Scholastici Chron. c. +73, p. 441. Fredegar. Fragment. iii. p. 463. Gesta Regis +Dagobert, c. 29, p. 587. The accession of Sisenand to the throne +of Spain happened A.D. 631. The 200,000 pieces of gold were +appropriated by Dagobert to the foundation of the church of St. +Denys.] +[Footnote 141: The president Goguet (Origine des Loix, &c., tom. +ii. p. 239) is of opinion, that the stupendous pieces of emerald, +the statues and columns which antiquity has placed in Egypt, at +Gades, at Constantinople, were in reality artificial compositions +of colored glass. The famous emerald dish, which is shown at +Genoa, is supposed to countenance the suspicion.] +[Footnote 142: Elmacin. Hist. Saracenica, l. i. p. 85. Roderic. +Tolet. Hist. Arab. c. 9. Cardonne, Hist. de l'Afrique et de +l'Espagne sous les Arabes tom. i. p. 83. It was called the Table +of Solomon, according to the custom of the Orientals, who ascribe +to that prince every ancient work of knowledge or magnificence.] + After the deliverance of Italy from the oppression of the +Goths, some secret counsellor was permitted, amidst the factions +of the palace, to heal the wounds of that afflicted country. ^143 +By a wise and humane regulation, the eight provinces which had +been the most deeply injured, Campania, Tuscany, Picenum, +Samnium, Apulia, Calabria, Bruttium, and Lucania, obtained an +indulgence of five years: the ordinary tribute was reduced to one +fifth, and even that fifth was destined to restore and support +the useful institution of the public posts. By another law, the +lands which had been left without inhabitants or cultivation, +were granted, with some diminution of taxes, to the neighbors who +should occupy, or the strangers who should solicit them; and the +new possessors were secured against the future claims of the +fugitive proprietors. About the same time a general amnesty was +published in the name of Honorius, to abolish the guilt and +memory of all the involuntary offences which had been committed +by his unhappy subjects, during the term of the public disorder +and calamity A decent and respectful attention was paid to the +restoration of the capital; the citizens were encouraged to +rebuild the edifices which had been destroyed or damaged by +hostile fire; and extraordinary supplies of corn were imported +from the coast of Africa. The crowds that so lately fled before +the sword of the Barbarians, were soon recalled by the hopes of +plenty and pleasure; and Albinus, praefect of Rome, informed the +court, with some anxiety and surprise, that, in a single day, he +had taken an account of the arrival of fourteen thousand +strangers. ^144 In less than seven years, the vestiges of the +Gothic invasion were almost obliterated; and the city appeared to +resume its former splendor and tranquillity. The venerable +matron replaced her crown of laurel, which had been ruffled by +the storms of war; and was still amused, in the last moment of +her decay, with the prophecies of revenge, of victory, and of +eternal dominion. ^145 + +[Footnote 143: His three laws are inserted in the Theodosian +Code, l. xi. tit. xxviii. leg. 7. L. xiii. tit. xi. leg. 12. L. +xv. tit. xiv. leg. 14 The expressions of the last are very +remarkable; since they contain not only a pardon, but an +apology.] + +[Footnote 144: Olympiodorus ap. Phot. p. 188. Philostorgius (l. +xii. c. 5) observes, that when Honorius made his triumphal entry, +he encouraged the Romans, with his hand and voice, to rebuild +their city; and the Chronicle of Prosper commends Heraclian, qui +in Romanae urbis reparationem strenuum exhibuerat ministerium.] +[Footnote 145: The date of the voyage of Claudius Rutilius +Numatianus is clogged with some difficulties; but Scaliger has +deduced from astronomical characters, that he left Rome the 24th +of September and embarked at Porto the 9th of October, A.D. 416. +See Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, tom, v. p. 820. In this +poetical Itinerary, Rutilius (l. i. 115, &c.) addresses Rome in a +high strain of congratulation: - + + Erige crinales lauros, seniumque sacrati + Verticis in virides, Roma, recinge comas, &c.] + + This apparent tranquillity was soon disturbed by the +approach of a hostile armament from the country which afforded +the daily subsistence of the Roman people. Heraclian, count of +Africa, who, under the most difficult and distressful +circumstances, had supported, with active loyalty, the cause of +Honorius, was tempted, in the year of his consulship, to assume +the character of a rebel, and the title of emperor. The ports of +Africa were immediately filled with the naval forces, at the head +of which he prepared to invade Italy: and his fleet, when it cast +anchor at the mouth of the Tyber, indeed surpassed the fleets of +Xerxes and Alexander, if all the vessels, including the royal +galley, and the smallest boat, did actually amount to the +incredible number of three thousand two hundred. ^146 Yet with +such an armament, which might have subverted, or restored, the +greatest empires of the earth, the African usurper made a very +faint and feeble impression on the provinces of his rival. As he +marched from the port, along the road which leads to the gates of +Rome, he was encountered, terrified, and routed, by one of the +Imperial captains; and the lord of this mighty host, deserting +his fortune and his friends, ignominiously fled with a single +ship. ^147 When Heraclian landed in the harbor of Carthage, he +found that the whole province, disdaining such an unworthy ruler, +had returned to their allegiance. The rebel was beheaded in the +ancient temple of Memory his consulship was abolished: ^148 and +the remains of his private fortune, not exceeding the moderate +sum of four thousand pounds of gold, were granted to the brave +Constantius, who had already defended the throne, which he +afterwards shared with his feeble sovereign. Honorius viewed, +with supine indifference, the calamities of Rome and Italy; ^149 +but the rebellious attempts of Attalus and Heraclian, against his +personal safety, awakened, for a moment, the torpid instinct of +his nature. He was probably ignorant of the causes and events +which preserved him from these impending dangers; and as Italy +was no longer invaded by any foreign or domestic enemies, he +peaceably existed in the palace of Ravenna, while the tyrants +beyond the Alps were repeatedly vanquished in the name, and by +the lieutenants, of the son of Theodosius. ^150 In the course of +a busy and interesting narrative I might possibly forget to +mention the death of such a prince: and I shall therefore take +the precaution of observing, in this place, that he survived the +last siege of Rome about thirteen years. +[Footnote 146: Orosius composed his history in Africa, only two +years after the event; yet his authority seems to be overbalanced +by the improbability of the fact. The Chronicle of Marcellinus +gives Heraclian 700 ships and 3000 men: the latter of these +numbers is ridiculously corrupt; but the former would please me +very much.] + +[Footnote 147: The Chronicle of Idatius affirms, without the +least appearance of truth, that he advanced as far as Otriculum, +in Umbria, where he was overthrown in a great battle, with the +loss of 50,000 men.] +[Footnote 148: See Cod. Theod. l. xv. tit. xiv. leg. 13. The +legal acts performed in his name, even the manumission of slaves, +were declared invalid, till they had been formally repeated.] +[Footnote 149: I have disdained to mention a very foolish, and +probably a false, report, (Procop. de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 2,) +that Honorius was alarmed by the loss of Rome, till he understood +that it was not a favorite chicken of that name, but only the +capital of the world, which had been lost. Yet even this story is +some evidence of the public opinion.] +[Footnote 150: The materials for the lives of all these tyrants +are taken from six contemporary historians, two Latins and four +Greeks: Orosius, l. vii. c. 42, p. 581, 582, 583; Renatus +Profuturus Frigeridus, apud Gregor Turon. l. ii. c. 9, in the +Historians of France, tom. ii. p. 165, 166; Zosimus, l. v. p. +370, 371; Olympiodorus, apud Phot. p. 180, 181, 184, 185; +Sozomen, l. ix. c. 12, 13, 14, 15; and Philostorgius, l. xii. c. +5, 6, with Godefroy's Dissertation, p. 477-481; besides the four +Chronicles of Prosper Tyro, Prosper of Aquitain, Idatius, and +Marcellinus.] + + The usurpation of Constantine, who received the purple from +the legions of Britain, had been successful, and seemed to be +secure. His title was acknowledged, from the wall of Antoninus +to the columns of Hercules; and, in the midst of the public +disorder he shared the dominion, and the plunder, of Gaul and +Spain, with the tribes of Barbarians, whose destructive progress +was no longer checked by the Rhine or Pyrenees. Stained with the +blood of the kinsmen of Honorius, he extorted, from the court of +Ravenna, with which he secretly corresponded, the ratification of +his rebellious claims Constantine engaged himself, by a solemn +promise, to deliver Italy from the Goths; advanced as far as the +banks of the Po; and after alarming, rather than assisting, his +pusillanimous ally, hastily returned to the palace of Arles, to +celebrate, with intemperate luxury, his vain and ostentatious +triumph. But this transient prosperity was soon interrupted and +destroyed by the revolt of Count Gerontius, the bravest of his +generals; who, during the absence of his son Constants, a prince +already invested with the Imperial purple, had been left to +command in the provinces of Spain. From some reason, of which we +are ignorant, Gerontius, instead of assuming the diadem, placed +it on the head of his friend Maximus, who fixed his residence at +Tarragona, while the active count pressed forwards, through the +Pyrenees, to surprise the two emperors, Constantine and Constans, +before they could prepare for their defence. The son was made +prisoner at Vienna, and immediately put to death: and the +unfortunate youth had scarcely leisure to deplore the elevation +of his family; which had tempted, or compelled him, +sacrilegiously to desert the peaceful obscurity of the monastic +life. The father maintained a siege within the walls of Arles; +but those walls must have yielded to the assailants, had not the +city been unexpectedly relieved by the approach of an Italian +army. The name of Honorius, the proclamation of a lawful +emperor, astonished the contending parties of the rebels. +Gerontius, abandoned by his own troops, escaped to the confines +of Spain; and rescued his name from oblivion, by the Roman +courage which appeared to animate the last moments of his life. +In the middle of the night, a great body of his perfidious +soldiers surrounded and attacked his house, which he had strongly +barricaded. His wife, a valiant friend of the nation of the +Alani, and some faithful slaves, were still attached to his +person; and he used, with so much skill and resolution, a large +magazine of darts and arrows, that above three hundred of the +assailants lost their lives in the attempt. His slaves when all +the missile weapons were spent, fled at the dawn of day; and +Gerontius, if he had not been restrained by conjugal tenderness, +might have imitated their example; till the soldiers, provoked by +such obstinate resistance, applied fire on all sides to the +house. In this fatal extremity, he complied with the request of +his Barbarian friend, and cut off his head. The wife of +Gerontius, who conjured him not to abandon her to a life of +misery and disgrace, eagerly presented her neck to his sword; and +the tragic scene was terminated by the death of the count +himself, who, after three ineffectual strokes, drew a short +dagger, and sheathed it in his heart. ^151 The unprotected +Maximus, whom he had invested with the purple, was indebted for +his life to the contempt that was entertained of his power and +abilities. The caprice of the Barbarians, who ravaged Spain, +once more seated this Imperial phantom on the throne: but they +soon resigned him to the justice of Honorius; and the tyrant +Maximus, after he had been shown to the people of Ravenna and +Rome, was publicly executed. + +[Footnote 151: The praises which Sozomen has bestowed on this act +of despair, appear strange and scandalous in the mouth of an +ecclesiastical historian. He observes (p. 379) that the wife of +Gerontius was a Christian; and that her death was worthy of her +religion, and of immortal fame.] + + The general, (Constantius was his name,) who raised by his +approach the siege of Arles, and dissipated the troops of +Gerontius, was born a Roman; and this remarkable distinction is +strongly expressive of the decay of military spirit among the +subjects of the empire. The strength and majesty which were +conspicuous in the person of that general, ^152 marked him, in +the popular opinion, as a candidate worthy of the throne, which +he afterwards ascended. In the familiar intercourse of private +life, his manners were cheerful and engaging; nor would he +sometimes disdain, in the license of convivial mirth, to vie with +the pantomimes themselves, in the exercises of their ridiculous +profession. But when the trumpet summoned him to arms; when he +mounted his horse, and, bending down (for such was his singular +practice) almost upon the neck, fiercely rolled his large +animated eyes round the field, Constantius then struck terror +into his foes, and inspired his soldiers with the assurance of +victory. He had received from the court of Ravenna the important +commission of extirpating rebellion in the provinces of the West; +and the pretended emperor Constantine, after enjoying a short and +anxious respite, was again besieged in his capital by the arms of +a more formidable enemy. Yet this interval allowed time for a +successful negotiation with the Franks and Alemanni and his +ambassador, Edobic, soon returned at the head of an army, to +disturb the operations of the siege of Arles. The Roman general, +instead of expecting the attack in his lines, boldly and perhaps +wisely, resolved to pass the Rhone, and to meet the Barbarians. +His measures were conducted with so much skill and secrecy, that, +while they engaged the infantry of Constantius in the front, they +were suddenly attacked, surrounded, and destroyed, by the cavalry +of his lieutenant Ulphilas, who had silently gained an +advantageous post in their rear. The remains of the army of +Edobic were preserved by flight or submission, and their leader +escaped from the field of battle to the house of a faithless +friend; who too clearly understood, that the head of his +obnoxious guest would be an acceptable and lucrative present for +the Imperial general. On this occasion, Constantius behaved with +the magnanimity of a genuine Roman. Subduing, or suppressing, +every sentiment of jealousy, he publicly acknowledged the merit +and services of Ulphilas; but he turned with horror from the +assassin of Edobic; and sternly intimated his commands, that the +camp should no longer be polluted by the presence of an +ungrateful wretch, who had violated the laws of friendship and +hospitality. The usurper, who beheld, from the walls of Arles, +the ruin of his last hopes, was tempted to place some confidence +in so generous a conqueror. He required a solemn promise for his +security; and after receiving, by the imposition of hands, the +sacred character of a Christian Presbyter, he ventured to open +the gates of the city. But he soon experienced that the +principles of honor and integrity, which might regulate the +ordinary conduct of Constantius, were superseded by the loose +doctrines of political morality. The Roman general, indeed, +refused to sully his laurels with the blood of Constantine; but +the abdicated emperor, and his son Julian, were sent under a +strong guard into Italy; and before they reached the palace of +Ravenna, they met the ministers of death. +[Footnote 152: It is the expression of Olympiodorus, which he +seems to have borrowed from Aeolus, a tragedy of Euripides, of +which some fragments only are now extant, (Euripid. Barnes, tom. +ii. p. 443, ver 38.) This allusion may prove, that the ancient +tragic poets were still familiar to the Greeks of the fifth +century.] + + At a time when it was universally confessed, that almost +every man in the empire was superior in personal merit to the +princes whom the accident of their birth had seated on the +throne, a rapid succession of usurpers, regardless of the fate of +their predecessors, still continued to arise. This mischief was +peculiarly felt in the provinces of Spain and Gaul, where the +principles of order and obedience had been extinguished by war +and rebellion. Before Constantine resigned the purple, and in the +fourth month of the siege of Arles, intelligence was received in +the Imperial camp, that Jovinus has assumed the diadem at Mentz, +in the Upper Germany, at the instigation of Goar, king of the +Alani, and of Guntiarius, king of the Burgundians; and that the +candidate, on whom they had bestowed the empire, advanced with a +formidable host of Barbarians, from the banks of the Rhine to +those of the Rhone. Every circumstance is dark and extraordinary +in the short history of the reign of Jovinus. It was natural to +expect, that a brave and skilful general, at the head of a +victorious army, would have asserted, in a field of battle, the +justice of the cause of Honorius. The hasty retreat of +Constantius might be justified by weighty reasons; but he +resigned, without a struggle, the possession of Gaul; and +Dardanus, the Praetorian praefect, is recorded as the only +magistrate who refused to yield obedience to the usurper. ^153 +When the Goths, two years after the siege of Rome, established +their quarters in Gaul, it was natural to suppose that their +inclinations could be divided only between the emperor Honorius, +with whom they had formed a recent alliance, and the degraded +Attalus, whom they reserved in their camp for the occasional +purpose of acting the part of a musician or a monarch. Yet in a +moment of disgust, (for which it is not easy to assign a cause, +or a date,) Adolphus connected himself with the usurper of Gaul; +and imposed on Attalus the ignominious task of negotiating the +treaty, which ratified his own disgrace. We are again surprised +to read, that, instead of considering the Gothic alliance as the +firmest support of his throne, Jovinus upbraided, in dark and +ambiguous language, the officious importunity of Attalus; that, +scorning the advice of his great ally, he invested with the +purple his brother Sebastian; and that he most imprudently +accepted the service of Sarus, when that gallant chief, the +soldier of Honorius, was provoked to desert the court of a +prince, who knew not how to reward or punish. Adolphus, educated +among a race of warriors, who esteemed the duty of revenge as the +most precious and sacred portion of their inheritance, advanced +with a body of ten thousand Goths to encounter the hereditary +enemy of the house of Balti. He attacked Sarus at an unguarded +moment, when he was accompanied only by eighteen or twenty of his +valiant followers. United by friendship, animated by despair, +but at length oppressed by multitudes, this band of heroes +deserved the esteem, without exciting the compassion, of their +enemies; and the lion was no sooner taken in the toils, ^154 than +he was instantly despatched. The death of Sarus dissolved the +loose alliance which Adolphus still maintained with the usurpers +of Gaul. He again listened to the dictates of love and prudence; +and soon satisfied the brother of Placidia, by the assurance that +he would immediately transmit to the palace of Ravenna the heads +of the two tyrants, Jovinus and Sebastian. The king of the Goths +executed his promise without difficulty or delay; the helpless +brothers, unsupported by any personal merit, were abandoned by +their Barbarian auxiliaries; and the short opposition of Valentia +was expiated by the ruin of one of the noblest cities of Gaul. +The emperor, chosen by the Roman senate, who had been promoted, +degraded, insulted, restored, again degraded, and again insulted, +was finally abandoned to his fate; but when the Gothic king +withdrew his protection, he was restrained, by pity or contempt, +from offering any violence to the person of Attalus. The +unfortunate Attalus, who was left without subjects or allies, +embarked in one of the ports of Spain, in search of some secure +and solitary retreat: but he was intercepted at sea, conducted to +the presence of Honorius, led in triumph through the streets of +Rome or Ravenna, and publicly exposed to the gazing multitude, on +the second step of the throne of his invincible conqueror. The +same measure of punishment, with which, in the days of his +prosperity, he was accused of menacing his rival, was inflicted +on Attalus himself; he was condemned, after the amputation of two +fingers, to a perpetual exile in the Isle of Lipari, where he was +supplied with the decent necessaries of life. The remainder of +the reign of Honorius was undisturbed by rebellion; and it may be +observed, that, in the space of five years, seven usurpers had +yielded to the fortune of a prince, who was himself incapable +either of counsel or of action. + +[Footnote 153: Sidonius Apollinaris, (l. v. epist. 9, p. 139, and +Not. Sirmond. p. 58,) after stigmatizing the inconstancy of +Constantine, the facility of Jovinus, the perfidy of Gerontius, +continues to observe, that all the vices of these tyrants were +united in the person of Dardanus. Yet the praefect supported a +respectable character in the world, and even in the church; held +a devout correspondence with St. Augustin and St. Jerom; and was +complimented by the latter (tom. iii. p. 66) with the epithets of +Christianorum Nobilissime, and Nobilium Christianissime.] + +[Footnote 154: The expression may be understood almost literally: +Olympiodorus says a sack, or a loose garment; and this method of +entangling and catching an enemy, laciniis contortis, was much +practised by the Huns, (Ammian. xxxi. 2.) Il fut pris vif avec +des filets, is the translation of Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, +tom. v. p. 608. + + Note: Bekker in his Photius reads something, but in the new +edition of the Bysantines, he retains the old version, which is +translated Scutis, as if they protected him with their shields, +in order to take him alive. Photius, Bekker, p. 58. - M] + +Chapter XXXI: Invasion Of Italy, Occupation Of Territories By +Barbarians. + +Part VI. + + The situation of Spain, separated, on all sides, from the +enemies of Rome, by the sea, by the mountains, and by +intermediate provinces, had secured the long tranquillity of that +remote and sequestered country; and we may observe, as a sure +symptom of domestic happiness, that, in a period of four hundred +years, Spain furnished very few materials to the history of the +Roman empire. The footsteps of the Barbarians, who, in the reign +of Gallienus, had penetrated beyond the Pyrenees, were soon +obliterated by the return of peace; and in the fourth century of +the Christian aera, the cities of Emerita, or Merida, of Corduba, +Seville, Bracara, and Tarragona, were numbered with the most +illustrious of the Roman world. The various plenty of the +animal, the vegetable, and the mineral kingdoms, was improved and +manufactured by the skill of an industrious people; and the +peculiar advantages of naval stores contributed to support an +extensive and profitable trade. ^155 The arts and sciences +flourished under the protection of the emperors; and if the +character of the Spaniards was enfeebled by peace and servitude, +the hostile approach of the Germans, who had spread terror and +desolation from the Rhine to the Pyrenees, seemed to rekindle +some sparks of military ardor. As long as the defence of the +mountains was intrusted to the hardy and faithful militia of the +country, they successfully repelled the frequent attempts of the +Barbarians. But no sooner had the national troops been compelled +to resign their post to the Honorian bands, in the service of +Constantine, than the gates of Spain were treacherously betrayed +to the public enemy, about ten months before the sack of Rome by +the Goths. ^156 The consciousness of guilt, and the thirst of +rapine, prompted the mercenary guards of the Pyrenees to desert +their station; to invite the arms of the Suevi, the Vandals, and +the Alani; and to swell the torrent which was poured with +irresistible violence from the frontiers of Gaul to the sea of +Africa. The misfortunes of Spain may be described in the +language of its most eloquent historian, who has concisely +expressed the passionate, and perhaps exaggerated, declamations +of contemporary writers. ^157 "The irruption of these nations was +followed by the most dreadful calamities; as the Barbarians +exercised their indiscriminate cruelty on the fortunes of the +Romans and the Spaniards, and ravaged with equal fury the cities +and the open country. The progress of famine reduced the +miserable inhabitants to feed on the flesh of their +fellow-creatures; and even the wild beasts, who multiplied, +without control, in the desert, were exasperated, by the taste of +blood, and the impatience of hunger, boldly to attack and devour +their human prey. Pestilence soon appeared, the inseparable +companion of famine; a large proportion of the people was swept +away; and the groans of the dying excited only the envy of their +surviving friends. At length the Barbarians, satiated with +carnage and rapine, and afflicted by the contagious evils which +they themselves had introduced, fixed their permanent seats in +the depopulated country. The ancient Gallicia, whose limits +included the kingdom of Old Castille, was divided between the +Suevi and the Vandals; the Alani were scattered over the +provinces of Carthagena and Lusitania, from the Mediterranean to +the Atlantic Ocean; and the fruitful territory of Boetica was +allotted to the Silingi, another branch of the Vandalic nation. +After regulating this partition, the conquerors contracted with +their new subjects some reciprocal engagements of protection and +obedience: the lands were again cultivated; and the towns and +villages were again occupied by a captive people. The greatest +part of the Spaniards was even disposed to prefer this new +condition of poverty and barbarism, to the severe oppressions of +the Roman government; yet there were many who still asserted +their native freedom; and who refused, more especially in the +mountains of Gallicia, to submit to the Barbarian yoke." ^158 +[Footnote 155: Without recurring to the more ancient writers, I +shall quote three respectable testimonies which belong to the +fourth and seventh centuries; the Expositio totius Mundi, (p. 16, +in the third volume of Hudson's Minor Geographers,) Ausonius, (de +Claris Urbibus, p. 242, edit. Toll.,) and Isidore of Seville, +(Praefat. ad. Chron. ap. Grotium, Hist. Goth. 707.) Many +particulars relative to the fertility and trade of Spain may be +found in Nonnius, Hispania Illustrata; and in Huet, Hist. du +Commerce des Anciens, c. 40. p. 228 - 234.] + +[Footnote 156: The date is accurately fixed in the Fasti, and the +Chronicle of Idatius. Orosius (l. vii. c. 40, p. 578) imputes +the loss of Spain to the treachery of the Honorians; while +Sozomen (l. ix. c. 12) accuses only their negligence.] + +[Footnote 157: Idatius wishes to apply the prophecies of Daniel +to these national calamities; and is therefore obliged to +accommodate the circumstances of the event to the terms of the +prediction.] +[Footnote 158: Mariana de Rebus Hispanicis, l. v. c. 1, tom. i. +p. 148. Comit. 1733. He had read, in Orosius, (l. vii. c. 41, p. +579,) that the Barbarians had turned their swords into +ploughshares; and that many of the Provincials had preferred +inter Barbaros pauperem libertatem, quam inter Romanos +tributariam solicitudinem, sustinere.] + + The important present of the heads of Jovinus and Sebastian +had approved the friendship of Adolphus, and restored Gaul to the +obedience of his brother Honorius. Peace was incompatible with +the situation and temper of the king of the Goths. He readily +accepted the proposal of turning his victorious arms against the +Barbarians of Spain; the troops of Constantius intercepted his +communication with the seaports of Gaul, and gently pressed his +march towards the Pyrenees: ^159 he passed the mountains, and +surprised, in the name of the emperor, the city of Barcelona. +The fondness of Adolphus for his Roman bride, was not abated by +time or possession: and the birth of a son, surnamed, from his +illustrious grandsire, Theodosius, appeared to fix him forever in +the interest of the republic. The loss of that infant, whose +remains were deposited in a silver coffin in one of the churches +near Barcelona, afflicted his parents; but the grief of the +Gothic king was suspended by the labors of the field; and the +course of his victories was soon interrupted by domestic treason. + +He had imprudently received into his service one of the followers +of Sarus; a Barbarian of a daring spirit, but of a diminutive +stature; whose secret desire of revenging the death of his +beloved patron was continually irritated by the sarcasms of his +insolent master. Adolphus was assassinated in the palace of +Barcelona; the laws of the succession were violated by a +tumultuous faction; ^160 and a stranger to the royal race, +Singeric, the brother of Sarus himself, was seated on the Gothic +throne. The first act of his reign was the inhuman murder of the +six children of Adolphus, the issue of a former marriage, whom he +tore, without pity, from the feeble arms of a venerable bishop. +^161 The unfortunate Placidia, instead of the respectful +compassion, which she might have excited in the most savage +breasts, was treated with cruel and wanton insult. The daughter +of the emperor Theodosius, confounded among a crowd of vulgar +captives, was compelled to march on foot above twelve miles, +before the horse of a Barbarian, the assassin of a husband whom +Placidia loved and lamented. ^162 [Footnote 159: This mixture of +force and persuasion may be fairly inferred from comparing +Orosius and Jornandes, the Roman and the Gothic historian.] +[Footnote 160: According to the system of Jornandes, (c. 33, p. +659,) the true hereditary right to the Gothic sceptre was vested +in the Amali; but those princes, who were the vassals of the +Huns, commanded the tribes of the Ostrogoths in some distant +parts of Germany or Scythia.] +[Footnote 161: The murder is related by Olympiodorus: but the +number of the children is taken from an epitaph of suspected +authority.] +[Footnote 162: The death of Adolphus was celebrated at +Constantinople with illuminations and Circensian games. (See +Chron. Alexandrin.) It may seem doubtful whether the Greeks were +actuated, on this occasion, be their hatred of the Barbarians, or +of the Latins.] + + But Placidia soon obtained the pleasure of revenge, and the +view of her ignominious sufferings might rouse an indignant +people against the tyrant, who was assassinated on the seventh +day of his usurpation. After the death of Singeric, the free +choice of the nation bestowed the Gothic sceptre on Wallia; whose +warlike and ambitious temper appeared, in the beginning of his +reign, extremely hostile to the republic. He marched in arms +from Barcelona to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, which the +ancients revered and dreaded as the boundary of the world. But +when he reached the southern promontory of Spain, ^163 and, from +the rock now covered by the fortress of Gibraltar, contemplated +the neighboring and fertile coast of Africa, Wallia resumed the +designs of conquest, which had been interrupted by the death of +Alaric. The winds and waves again disappointed the enterprise of +the Goths; and the minds of a superstitious people were deeply +affected by the repeated disasters of storms and shipwrecks. In +this disposition the successor of Adolphus no longer refused to +listen to a Roman ambassador, whose proposals were enforced by +the real, or supposed, approach of a numerous army, under the +conduct of the brave Constantius. A solemn treaty was stipulated +and observed; Placidia was honorably restored to her brother; six +hundred thousand measures of wheat were delivered to the hungry +Goths; ^164 and Wallia engaged to draw his sword in the service +of the empire. A bloody war was instantly excited among the +Barbarians of Spain; and the contending princes are said to have +addressed their letters, their ambassadors, and their hostages, +to the throne of the Western emperor, exhorting him to remain a +tranquil spectator of their contest; the events of which must be +favorable to the Romans, by the mutual slaughter of their common +enemies. ^165 The Spanish war was obstinately supported, during +three campaigns, with desperate valor, and various success; and +the martial achievements of Wallia diffused through the empire +the superior renown of the Gothic hero. He exterminated the +Silingi, who had irretrievably ruined the elegant plenty of the +province of Boetica. He slew, in battle, the king of the Alani; +and the remains of those Scythian wanderers, who escaped from the +field, instead of choosing a new leader, humbly sought a refuge +under the standard of the Vandals, with whom they were ever +afterwards confounded. The Vandals themselves, and the Suevi, +yielded to the efforts of the invincible Goths. The promiscuous +multitude of Barbarians, whose retreat had been intercepted, were +driven into the mountains of Gallicia; where they still +continued, in a narrow compass and on a barren soil, to exercise +their domestic and implacable hostilities. In the pride of +victory, Wallia was faithful to his engagements: he restored his +Spanish conquests to the obedience of Honorius; and the tyranny +of the Imperial officers soon reduced an oppressed people to +regret the time of their Barbarian servitude. While the event of +the war was still doubtful, the first advantages obtained by the +arms of Wallia had encouraged the court of Ravenna to decree the +honors of a triumph to their feeble sovereign. He entered Rome +like the ancient conquerors of nations; and if the monuments of +servile corruption had not long since met with the fate which +they deserved, we should probably find that a crowd of poets and +orators, of magistrates and bishops, applauded the fortune, the +wisdom, and the invincible courage, of the emperor Honorius. ^166 + +[Footnote 163: Quod Tartessiacis avus hujus Vallia terris + Vandalicas turmas, et juncti Martis Alanos + Stravit, et occiduam texere cadavera Calpen. + + Sidon. Apollinar. in Panegyr. Anthem. 363 p. 300, edit. +Sirmond.] +[Footnote 164: This supply was very acceptable: the Goths were +insulted by the Vandals of Spain with the epithet of Truli, +because in their extreme distress, they had given a piece of gold +for a trula, or about half a pound of flour. Olympiod. apud +Phot. p. 189.] + +[Footnote 165: Orosius inserts a copy of these pretended letters. + +Tu cum omnibus pacem habe, omniumque obsides accipe; nos nobis +confligimus nobis perimus, tibi vincimus; immortalis vero +quaestus erit Reipublicae tuae, si utrique pereamus. The idea is +just; but I cannot persuade myself that it was entertained or +expressed by the Barbarians.] + +[Footnote 166: Roman triumphans ingreditur, is the formal +expression of Prosper's Chronicle. The facts which relate to the +death of Adolphus, and the exploits of Wallia, are related from +Olympiodorus, (ap. Phot. p. 188,) Orosius, (l. vii. c. 43 p. 584 +- 587,) Jornandes, (de Rebus p. 31, 32,) and the chronicles of +Idatius and Isidore.] + + Such a triumph might have been justly claimed by the ally of +Rome, if Wallia, before he repassed the Pyrenees, had extirpated +the seeds of the Spanish war. His victorious Goths, forty-three +years after they had passed the Danube, were established, +according to the faith of treaties, in the possession of the +second Aquitain; a maritime province between the Garonne and the +Loire, under the civil and ecclesiastical jurisdiction of +Bourdeaux. That metropolis, advantageously situated for the +trade of the ocean, was built in a regular and elegant form; and +its numerous inhabitants were distinguished among the Gauls by +their wealth, their learning, and the politeness of their +manners. The adjacent province, which has been fondly compared +to the garden of Eden, is blessed with a fruitful soil, and a +temperate climate; the face of the country displayed the arts and +the rewards of industry; and the Goths, after their martial +toils, luxuriously exhausted the rich vineyards of Aquitain. ^167 +The Gothic limits were enlarged by the additional gift of some +neighboring dioceses; and the successors of Alaric fixed their +royal residence at Thoulouse, which included five populous +quarters, or cities, within the spacious circuit of its walls. +About the same time, in the last years of the reign of Honorius, +the Goths, the Burgundians, and the Franks, obtained a permanent +seat and dominion in the provinces of Gaul. The liberal grant of +the usurper Jovinus to his Burgundian allies, was confirmed by +the lawful emperor; the lands of the First, or Upper, Germany, +were ceded to those formidable Barbarians; and they gradually +occupied, either by conquest or treaty, the two provinces which +still retain, with the titles of Duchy and County, the national +appellation of Burgundy. ^168 The Franks, the valiant and +faithful allies of the Roman republic, were soon tempted to +imitate the invaders, whom they had so bravely resisted. Treves, +the capital of Gaul, was pillaged by their lawless bands; and the +humble colony, which they so long maintained in the district of +Toxandia, in Brabant, insensibly multiplied along the banks of +the Meuse and Scheld, till their independent power filled the +whole extent of the Second, or Lower Germany. These facts may be +sufficiently justified by historic evidence; but the foundation +of the French monarchy by Pharamond, the conquests, the laws, and +even the existence, of that hero, have been justly arraigned by +the impartial severity of modern criticism. ^169 +[Footnote 167: Ausonius (de Claris Urbibus, p. 257 - 262) +celebrates Bourdeaux with the partial affection of a native. See +in Salvian (de Gubern. Dei, p. 228. Paris, 1608) a florid +description of the provinces of Aquitain and Novempopulania.] +[Footnote 168: Orosius (l. vii. c. 32, p. 550) commends the +mildness and modesty of these Burgundians, who treated their +subjects of Gaul as their Christian brethren. Mascou has +illustrated the origin of their kingdom in the four first +annotations at the end of his laborious History of the Ancient +Germans, vol. ii. p. 555 - 572, of the English translation.] +[Footnote 169: See Mascou, l. viii. c. 43, 44, 45. Except in a +short and suspicious line of the Chronicle of Prosper, (in tom. +i. p. 638,) the name of Pharamond is never mentioned before the +seventh century. The author of the Gesta Francorum (in tom. ii. +p. 543) suggests, probably enough, that the choice of Pharamond, +or at least of a king, was recommended to the Franks by his +father Marcomir, who was an exile in Tuscany. + Note: The first mention of Pharamond is in the Gesta +Francorum, assigned to about the year 720. St. Martin, iv. 469. +The modern French writers in general subscribe to the opinion of +Thierry: Faramond fils de Markomir, quo que son nom soit bien +germanique, et son regne possible, ne figure pas dans les +histoires les plus dignes de foi. A. Thierry, Lettres l'Histoire +de France, p. 90. - M.] + + The ruin of the opulent provinces of Gaul may be dated from +the establishment of these Barbarians, whose alliance was +dangerous and oppressive, and who were capriciously impelled, by +interest or passion, to violate the public peace. A heavy and +partial ransom was imposed on the surviving provincials, who had +escaped the calamities of war; the fairest and most fertile lands +were assigned to the rapacious strangers, for the use of their +families, their slaves, and their cattle; and the trembling +natives relinquished with a sigh the inheritance of their +fathers. Yet these domestic misfortunes, which are seldom the +lot of a vanquished people, had been felt and inflicted by the +Romans themselves, not only in the insolence of foreign conquest, +but in the madness of civil discord. The Triumvirs proscribed +eighteen of the most flourishing colonies of Italy; and +distributed their lands and houses to the veterans who revenged +the death of Caesar, and oppressed the liberty of their country. +Two poets of unequal fame have deplored, in similar +circumstances, the loss of their patrimony; but the legionaries +of Augustus appear to have surpassed, in violence and injustice, +the Barbarians who invaded Gaul under the reign of Honorius. It +was not without the utmost difficulty that Virgil escaped from +the sword of the Centurion, who had usurped his farm in the +neighborhood of Mantua; ^170 but Paulinus of Bourdeaux received a +sum of money from his Gothic purchaser, which he accepted with +pleasure and surprise; and though it was much inferior to the +real value of his estate, this act of rapine was disguised by +some colors of moderation and equity. ^171 The odious name of +conquerors was softened into the mild and friendly appellation of +the guests of the Romans; and the Barbarians of Gaul, more +especially the Goths, repeatedly declared, that they were bound +to the people by the ties of hospitality, and to the emperor by +the duty of allegiance and military service. The title of +Honorius and his successors, their laws, and their civil +magistrates, were still respected in the provinces of Gaul, of +which they had resigned the possession to the Barbarian allies; +and the kings, who exercised a supreme and independent authority +over their native subjects, ambitiously solicited the more +honorable rank of master-generals of the Imperial armies. ^172 +Such was the involuntary reverence which the Roman name still +impressed on the minds of those warriors, who had borne away in +triumph the spoils of the Capitol. +[Footnote 170: O Lycida, vivi pervenimus: advena nostri + (Quod nunquam veriti sumus) ut possessor agelli + Diseret: Haec mea sunt; veteres migrate coloni. + Nunc victi tristes, &c. + +See the whole of the ninth eclogue, with the useful Commentary of +Servius. Fifteen miles of the Mantuan territory were assigned to +the veterans, with a reservation, in favor of the inhabitants, of +three miles round the city. Even in this favor they were cheated +by Alfenus Varus, a famous lawyer, and one of the commissioners, +who measured eight hundred paces of water and morass.] + +[Footnote 171: See the remarkable passage of the Eucharisticon of +Paulinus, 575, apud Mascou, l. viii. c. 42.] + +[Footnote 172: This important truth is established by the +accuracy of Tillemont, (Hist. des Emp. tom. v. p. 641,) and by +the ingenuity of the Abbe Dubos, (Hist. de l'Etablissement de la +Monarchie Francoise dans les Gaules, tom. i. p. 259.)] + + Whilst Italy was ravaged by the Goths, and a succession of +feeble tyrants oppressed the provinces beyond the Alps, the +British island separated itself from the body of the Roman +empire. The regular forces, which guarded that remote province, +had been gradually withdrawn; and Britain was abandoned without +defence to the Saxon pirates, and the savages of Ireland and +Caledonia. The Britons, reduced to this extremity, no longer +relied on the tardy and doubtful aid of a declining monarchy. +They assembled in arms, repelled the invaders, and rejoiced in +the important discovery of their own strength. ^173 Afflicted by +similar calamities, and actuated by the same spirit, the +Armorican provinces (a name which comprehended the maritime +countries of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire ^174) resolved +to imitate the example of the neighboring island. They expelled +the Roman magistrates, who acted under the authority of the +usurper Constantine; and a free government was established among +a people who had so long been subject to the arbitrary will of a +master. The independence of Britain and Armorica was soon +confirmed by Honorius himself, the lawful emperor of the West; +and the letters, by which he committed to the new states the care +of their own safety, might be interpreted as an absolute and +perpetual abdication of the exercise and rights of sovereignty. +This interpretation was, in some measure, justified by the event. + +After the usurpers of Gaul had successively fallen, the maritime +provinces were restored to the empire. Yet their obedience was +imperfect and precarious: the vain, inconstant, rebellious +disposition of the people, was incompatible either with freedom +or servitude; ^175 and Armorica, though it could not long +maintain the form of a republic, ^176 was agitated by frequent +and destructive revolts. Britain was irrecoverably lost. ^177 +But as the emperors wisely acquiesced in the independence of a +remote province, the separation was not imbittered by the +reproach of tyranny or rebellion; and the claims of allegiance +and protection were succeeded by the mutual and voluntary offices +of national friendship. ^178 + +[Footnote 173: Zosimus (l. vi. 376, 383) relates in a few words +the revolt of Britain and Armorica. Our antiquarians, even the +great Cambder himself, have been betrayed into many gross errors, +by their imperfect knowledge of the history of the continent.] +[Footnote 174: The limits of Armorica are defined by two national +geographers, Messieurs De Valois and D'Anville, in their Notitias +of Ancient Gaul. The word had been used in a more extensive, and +was afterwards contracted to a much narrower, signification.] +[Footnote 175: Gens inter geminos notissima clauditur amnes, + + Armoricana prius veteri cognomine dicta. + + Torva, ferox, ventosa, procax, incauta, rebellis; + + Inconstans, disparque sibi novitatis amore; + + Prodiga verborum, sed non et prodiga facti. +Erricus, Monach. in Vit. St. Germani. l. v. apud Vales. Notit. +Galliarum, p. 43. Valesius alleges several testimonies to +confirm this character; to which I shall add the evidence of the +presbyter Constantine, (A.D. 488,) who, in the life of St. +Germain, calls the Armorican rebels mobilem et indisciplinatum +populum. See the Historians of France, tom. i. p. 643.] + +[Footnote 176: I thought it necessary to enter my protest against +this part of the system of the Abbe Dubos, which Montesquieu has +so vigorously opposed. See Esprit des Loix, l. xxx. c. 24. + Note: See Memoires de Gallet sur l'Origine des Bretons, +quoted by Daru Histoire de Bretagne, i. p. 57. According to the +opinion of these authors, the government of Armorica was +monarchical from the period of its independence on the Roman +empire. - M.] + +[Footnote 177: The words of Procopius (de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. +2, p. 181, Louvre edition) in a very important passage, which has +been too much neglected Even Bede (Hist. Gent. Anglican. l. i. c. +12, p. 50, edit. Smith) acknowledges that the Romans finally left +Britain in the reign of Honorius. Yet our modern historians and +antiquaries extend the term of their dominion; and there are some +who allow only the interval of a few months between their +departure and the arrival of the Saxons.] + +[Footnote 178: Bede has not forgotten the occasional aid of the +legions against the Scots and Picts; and more authentic proof +will hereafter be produced, that the independent Britons raised +12,000 men for the service of the emperor Anthemius, in Gaul.] + This revolution dissolved the artificial fabric of civil and +military government; and the independent country, during a period +of forty years, till the descent of the Saxons, was ruled by the +authority of the clergy, the nobles, and the municipal towns. +^179 I. Zosimus, who alone has preserved the memory of this +singular transaction, very accurately observes, that the letters +of Honorius were addressed to the cities of Britain. ^180 Under +the protection of the Romans, ninety-two considerable towns had +arisen in the several parts of that great province; and, among +these, thirty-three cities were distinguished above the rest by +their superior privileges and importance. ^181 Each of these +cities, as in all the other provinces of the empire, formed a +legal corporation, for the purpose of regulating their domestic +policy; and the powers of municipal government were distributed +among annual magistrates, a select senate, and the assembly of +the people, according to the original model of the Roman +constitution. ^182 The management of a common revenue, the +exercise of civil and criminal jurisdiction, and the habits of +public counsel and command, were inherent to these petty +republics; and when they asserted their independence, the youth +of the city, and of the adjacent districts, would naturally range +themselves under the standard of the magistrate. But the desire +of obtaining the advantages, and of escaping the burdens, of +political society, is a perpetual and inexhaustible source of +discord; nor can it reasonably be presumed, that the restoration +of British freedom was exempt from tumult and faction. The +preeminence of birth and fortune must have been frequently +violated by bold and popular citizens; and the haughty nobles, +who complained that they were become the subjects of their own +servants, ^183 would sometimes regret the reign of an arbitrary +monarch. II. The jurisdiction of each city over the adjacent +country, was supported by the patrimonial influence of the +principal senators; and the smaller towns, the villages, and the +proprietors of land, consulted their own safety by adhering to +the shelter of these rising republics. The sphere of their +attraction was proportioned to the respective degrees of their +wealth and populousness; but the hereditary lords of ample +possessions, who were not oppressed by the neighborhood of any +powerful city, aspired to the rank of independent princes, and +boldly exercised the rights of peace and war. The gardens and +villas, which exhibited some faint imitation of Italian elegance, +would soon be converted into strong castles, the refuge, in time +of danger, of the adjacent country: ^184 the produce of the land +was applied to purchase arms and horses; to maintain a military +force of slaves, of peasants, and of licentious followers; and +the chieftain might assume, within his own domain, the powers of +a civil magistrate. Several of these British chiefs might be the +genuine posterity of ancient kings; and many more would be +tempted to adopt this honorable genealogy, and to vindicate their +hereditary claims, which had been suspended by the usurpation of +the Caesars. ^185 Their situation and their hopes would dispose +them to affect the dress, the language, and the customs of their +ancestors. If the princes of Britain relapsed into barbarism, +while the cities studiously preserved the laws and manners of +Rome, the whole island must have been gradually divided by the +distinction of two national parties; again broken into a thousand +subdivisions of war and faction, by the various provocations of +interest and resentment. The public strength, instead of being +united against a foreign enemy, was consumed in obscure and +intestine quarrels; and the personal merit which had placed a +successful leader at the head of his equals, might enable him to +subdue the freedom of some neighboring cities; and to claim a +rank among the tyrants, ^186 who infested Britain after the +dissolution of the Roman government. III. The British church +might be composed of thirty or forty bishops, ^187 with an +adequate proportion of the inferior clergy; and the want of +riches (for they seem to have been poor ^188) would compel them +to deserve the public esteem, by a decent and exemplary behavior. + +The interest, as well as the temper of the clergy, was favorable +to the peace and union of their distracted country: those +salutary lessons might be frequently inculcated in their popular +discourses; and the episcopal synods were the only councils that +could pretend to the weight and authority of a national assembly. + +In such councils, where the princes and magistrates sat +promiscuously with the bishops, the important affairs of the +state, as well as of the church, might be freely debated; +differences reconciled, alliances formed, contributions imposed, +wise resolutions often concerted, and sometimes executed; and +there is reason to believe, that, in moments of extreme danger, a +Pendragon, or Dictator, was elected by the general consent of the +Britons. These pastoral cares, so worthy of the episcopal +character, were interrupted, however, by zeal and superstition; +and the British clergy incessantly labored to eradicate the +Pelagian heresy, which they abhorred, as the peculiar disgrace of +their native country. ^189 + +[Footnote 179: I owe it to myself, and to historic truth, to +declare, that some circumstances in this paragraph are founded +only on conjecture and analogy. The stubbornness of our language +has sometimes forced me to deviate from the conditional into the +indicative mood.] + +[Footnote 180: Zosimus, l. vi. p. 383.] + +[Footnote 181: Two cities of Britain were municipia, nine +colonies, ten Latii jure donatoe, twelve stipendiarioe of eminent +note. This detail is taken from Richard of Cirencester, de Situ +Britanniae, p. 36; and though it may not seem probable that he +wrote from the Mss. of a Roman general, he shows a genuine +knowledge of antiquity, very extraordinary for a monk of the +fourteenth century. + + Note: The names may be found in Whitaker's Hist. of +Manchester vol. ii. 330, 379. Turner, Hist. Anglo-Saxons, i. +216. - M.] + +[Footnote 182: See Maffei Verona Illustrata, part i. l. v. p. 83 +- 106.] +[Footnote 183: Leges restituit, libertatemque reducit, + Et servos famulis non sinit esse suis. + + Itinerar. Rutil. l. i. 215.] + +[Footnote 184: An inscription (apud Sirmond, Not. ad Sidon. +Apollinar. p. 59) describes a castle, cum muris et portis, +tutioni omnium, erected by Dardanus on his own estate, near +Sisteron, in the second Narbonnese, and named by him Theopolis.] +[Footnote 185: The establishment of their power would have been +easy indeed, if we could adopt the impracticable scheme of a +lively and learned antiquarian; who supposes that the British +monarchs of the several tribes continued to reign, though with +subordinate jurisdiction, from the time of Claudius to that of +Honorius. See Whitaker's History of Manchester, vol. i. p. 247 - +257.] + +[Footnote 186: Procopius, de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 3, p. 181. +Britannia fertilis provincia tyrannorum, was the expression of +Jerom, in the year 415 (tom. ii. p. 255, ad Ctesiphont.) By the +pilgrims, who resorted every year to the Holy Land, the monk of +Bethlem received the earliest and most accurate intelligence.] +[Footnote 187: See Bingham's Eccles. Antiquities, vol. i. l. ix. +c. 6, p. 394.] + +[Footnote 188: It is reported of three British bishops who +assisted at the council of Rimini, A.D. 359, tam pauperes fuisse +ut nihil haberent. Sulpicius Severus, Hist. Sacra, l. ii. p. 420. + +Some of their brethren however, were in better circumstances.] +[Footnote 189: Consult Usher, de Antiq. Eccles. Britannicar. c. 8 +- 12.] + It is somewhat remarkable, or rather it is extremely +natural, that the revolt of Britain and Armorica should have +introduced an appearance of liberty into the obedient provinces +of Gaul. In a solemn edict, ^190 filled with the strongest +assurances of that paternal affection which princes so often +express, and so seldom feel, the emperor Honorius promulgated his +intention of convening an annual assembly of the seven provinces: +a name peculiarly appropriated to Aquitain and the ancient +Narbonnese, which had long since exchanged their Celtic rudeness +for the useful and elegant arts of Italy. ^191 Arles, the seat of +government and commerce, was appointed for the place of the +assembly; which regularly continued twenty-eight days, from the +fifteenth of August to the thirteenth of September, of every +year. It consisted of the Praetorian praefect of the Gauls; of +seven provincial governors, one consular, and six presidents; of +the magistrates, and perhaps the bishops, of about sixty cities; +and of a competent, though indefinite, number of the most +honorable and opulent possessors of land, who might justly be +considered as the representatives of their country. They were +empowered to interpret and communicate the laws of their +sovereign; to expose the grievances and wishes of their +constituents; to moderate the excessive or unequal weight of +taxes; and to deliberate on every subject of local or national +importance, that could tend to the restoration of the peace and +prosperity of the seven provinces. If such an institution, which +gave the people an interest in their own government, had been +universally established by Trajan or the Antonines, the seeds of +public wisdom and virtue might have been cherished and propagated +in the empire of Rome. The privileges of the subject would have +secured the throne of the monarch; the abuses of an arbitrary +administration might have been prevented, in some degree, or +corrected, by the interposition of these representative +assemblies; and the country would have been defended against a +foreign enemy by the arms of natives and freemen. Under the mild +and generous influence of liberty, the Roman empire might have +remained invincible and immortal; or if its excessive magnitude, +and the instability of human affairs, had opposed such perpetual +continuance, its vital and constituent members might have +separately preserved their vigor and independence. But in the +decline of the empire, when every principle of health and life +had been exhausted, the tardy application of this partial remedy +was incapable of producing any important or salutary effects. +The emperor Honorius expresses his surprise, that he must compel +the reluctant provinces to accept a privilege which they should +ardently have solicited. A fine of three, or even five, pounds +of gold, was imposed on the absent representatives; who seem to +have declined this imaginary gift of a free constitution, as the +last and most cruel insult of their oppressors. + +[Footnote 190: See the correct text of this edict, as published +by Sirmond, (Not. ad Sidon. Apollin. p. 148.) Hincmar of Rheims, +who assigns a place to the bishops, had probably seen (in the +ninth century) a more perfect copy. Dubos, Hist. Critique de la +Monarchie Francoise, tom. i. p. 241 - 255] +[Footnote 191: It is evident from the Notitia, that the seven +provinces were the Viennensis, the maritime Alps, the first and +second Narbonnese Novempopulania, and the first and second +Aquitain. In the room of the first Aquitain, the Abbe Dubos, on +the authority of Hincmar, desires to introduce the first +Lugdunensis, or Lyonnese.] + +Chapter XXXII: Emperors Arcadius, Eutropius, Theodosius II. +Part I. + + Arcadius Emperor Of The East. - Administration And Disgrace +Of Eutropius. - Revolt Of Gainas. - Persecution Of St. John +Chrysostom. - Theodosius II. Emperor Of The East. - His Sister +Pulcheria. - His Wife Eudocia. - The Persian War, And Division Of +Armenia. + + The division of the Roman world between the sons of +Theodosius marks the final establishment of the empire of the +East, which, from the reign of Arcadius to the taking of +Constantinople by the Turks, subsisted one thousand and +fifty-eight years, in a state of premature and perpetual decay. +The sovereign of that empire assumed, and obstinately retained, +the vain, and at length fictitious, title of Emperor of the +Romans; and the hereditary appellation of Caesar and Augustus +continued to declare, that he was the legitimate successor of the +first of men, who had reigned over the first of nations. The +place of Constantinople rivalled, and perhaps excelled, the +magnificence of Persia; and the eloquent sermons of St. +Chrysostom ^1 celebrate, while they condemn, the pompous luxury +of the reign of Arcadius. "The emperor," says he, "wears on his +head either a diadem, or a crown of gold, decorated with precious +stones of inestimable value. These ornaments, and his purple +garments, are reserved for his sacred person alone; and his robes +of silk are embroidered with the figures of golden dragons. His +throne is of massy gold. Whenever he appears in public, he is +surrounded by his courtiers, his guards, and his attendants. +Their spears, their shields, their cuirasses, the bridles and +trappings of their horses, have either the substance or the +appearance of gold; and the large splendid boss in the midst of +their shield is encircled with smaller bosses, which represent +the shape of the human eye. The two mules that drew the chariot +of the monarch are perfectly white, and shining all over with +gold. The chariot itself, of pure and solid gold, attracts the +admiration of the spectators, who contemplate the purple +curtains, the snowy carpet, the size of the precious stones, and +the resplendent plates of gold, that glitter as they are agitated +by the motion of the carriage. The Imperial pictures are white, +on a blue ground; the emperor appears seated on his throne, with +his arms, his horses, and his guards beside him; and his +vanquished enemies in chains at his feet." The successors of +Constantine established their perpetual residence in the royal +city, which he had erected on the verge of Europe and Asia. +Inaccessible to the menaces of their enemies, and perhaps to the +complaints of their people, they received, with each wind, the +tributary productions of every climate; while the impregnable +strength of their capital continued for ages to defy the hostile +attempts of the Barbarians. Their dominions were bounded by the +Adriatic and the Tigris; and the whole interval of twenty-five +days' navigation, which separated the extreme cold of Scythia +from the torrid zone of Aethiopia, ^2 was comprehended within the +limits of the empire of the East. The populous countries of that +empire were the seat of art and learning, of luxury and wealth; +and the inhabitants, who had assumed the language and manners of +Greeks, styled themselves, with some appearance of truth, the +most enlightened and civilized portion of the human species. The +form of government was a pure and simple monarchy; the name of +the Roman Republic, which so long preserved a faint tradition of +freedom, was confined to the Latin provinces; and the princes of +Constantinople measured their greatness by the servile obedience +of their people. They were ignorant how much this passive +disposition enervates and degrades every faculty of the mind. +The subjects, who had resigned their will to the absolute +commands of a master, were equally incapable of guarding their +lives and fortunes against the assaults of the Barbarians, or of +defending their reason from the terrors of superstition. + +[Footnote 1: Father Montfaucon, who, by the command of his +Benedictine superiors, was compelled (see Longueruana, tom. i. p. +205) to execute the laborious edition of St. Chrysostom, in +thirteen volumes in folio, (Paris, 1738,) amused himself with +extracting from that immense collection of morals, some curious +antiquities, which illustrate the manners of the Theodosian age, +(see Chrysostom, Opera, tom. xiii. p. 192 - 196,) and his French +Dissertation, in the Memoires de l'Acad. des Inscriptions, tom. +xiii. p. 474 - 490.] +[Footnote 2: According to the loose reckoning, that a ship could +sail, with a fair wind, 1000 stadia, or 125 miles, in the +revolution of a day and night, Diodorus Siculus computes ten days +from the Palus Moeotis to Rhodes, and four days from Rhodes to +Alexandria. The navigation of the Nile from Alexandria to Syene, +under the tropic of Cancer, required, as it was against the +stream, ten days more. Diodor. Sicul. tom. i. l. iii. p. 200, +edit. Wesseling. He might, without much impropriety, measure the +extreme heat from the verge of the torrid zone; but he speaks of +the Moeotis in the 47th degree of northern latitude, as if it lay +within the polar circle.] + + The first events of the reign of Arcadius and Honorius are +so intimately connected, that the rebellion of the Goths, and the +fall of Rufinus, have already claimed a place in the history of +the West. It has already been observed, that Eutropius, ^3 one +of the principal eunuchs of the palace of Constantinople, +succeeded the haughty minister whose ruin he had accomplished, +and whose vices he soon imitated. Every order of the state bowed +to the new favorite; and their tame and obsequious submission +encouraged him to insult the laws, and, what is still more +difficult and dangerous, the manners of his country. Under the +weakest of the predecessors of Arcadius, the reign of the eunuchs +had been secret and almost invisible. They insinuated themselves +into the confidence of the prince; but their ostensible functions +were confined to the menial service of the wardrobe and Imperial +bed-chamber. They might direct, in a whisper, the public +counsels, and blast, by their malicious suggestions, the fame and +fortunes of the most illustrious citizens; but they never +presumed to stand forward in the front of empire, ^4 or to +profane the public honors of the state. Eutropius was the first +of his artificial sex, who dared to assume the character of a +Roman magistrate and general. ^5 Sometimes, in the presence of +the blushing senate, he ascended the tribunal to pronounce +judgment, or to repeat elaborate harangues; and, sometimes, +appeared on horseback, at the head of his troops, in the dress +and armor of a hero. The disregard of custom and decency always +betrays a weak and ill-regulated mind; nor does Eutropius seem to +have compensated for the folly of the design by any superior +merit or ability in the execution. His former habits of life had +not introduced him to the study of the laws, or the exercises of +the field; his awkward and unsuccessful attempts provoked the +secret contempt of the spectators; the Goths expressed their wish +that such a general might always command the armies of Rome; and +the name of the minister was branded with ridicule, more +pernicious, perhaps, than hatred, to a public character. The +subjects of Arcadius were exasperated by the recollection, that +this deformed and decrepit eunuch, ^6 who so perversely mimicked +the actions of a man, was born in the most abject condition of +servitude; that before he entered the Imperial palace, he had +been successively sold and purchased by a hundred masters, who +had exhausted his youthful strength in every mean and infamous +office, and at length dismissed him, in his old age, to freedom +and poverty. ^7 While these disgraceful stories were circulated, +and perhaps exaggerated, in private conversation, the vanity of +the favorite was flattered with the most extraordinary honors. +In the senate, in the capital, in the provinces, the statues of +Eutropius were erected, in brass, or marble, decorated with the +symbols of his civil and military virtues, and inscribed with the +pompous title of the third founder of Constantinople. He was +promoted to the rank of patrician, which began to signify in a +popular, and even legal, acceptation, the father of the emperor; +and the last year of the fourth century was polluted by the +consulship of a eunuch and a slave. This strange and inexpiable +prodigy ^8 awakened, however, the prejudices of the Romans. The +effeminate consul was rejected by the West, as an indelible stain +to the annals of the republic; and without invoking the shades of +Brutus and Camillus, the colleague of Eutropius, a learned and +respectable magistrate, ^9 sufficiently represented the different +maxims of the two administrations. +[Footnote 3: Barthius, who adored his author with the blind +superstition of a commentator, gives the preference to the two +books which Claudian composed against Eutropius, above all his +other productions, (Baillet Jugemens des Savans, tom. iv. p. +227.) They are indeed a very elegant and spirited satire; and +would be more valuable in an historical light, if the invective +were less vague and more temperate.] + +[Footnote 4: After lamenting the progress of the eunuchs in the +Roman palace, and defining their proper functions, Claudian adds, + + - A fronte recedant. + Imperii. + + In Eutrop. i. 422. + +Yet it does not appear that the eunuchs had assumed any of the +efficient offices of the empire, and he is styled only +Praepositun sacri cubiculi, in the edict of his banishment. See +Cod. Theod. l. leg 17. + + Jamque oblita sui, nec sobria divitiis mens + In miseras leges hominumque negotia ludit + Judicat eunuchus ....... + Arma etiam violare parat ...... + +Claudian, (i. 229 - 270,) with that mixture of indignation and +humor which always pleases in a satiric poet, describes the +insolent folly of the eunuch, the disgrace of the empire, and the +joy of the Goths. + + - Gaudet, cum viderit, hostis, + Et sentit jam deesse viros.] + +[Footnote 6: The poet's lively description of his deformity (i. +110 - 125) is confirmed by the authentic testimony of Chrysostom, +(tom. iii. p. 384, edit Montfaucon;) who observes, that when the +paint was washed away the face of Eutropius appeared more ugly +and wrinkled than that of an old woman. Claudian remarks, (i. +469,) and the remark must have been founded on experience, that +there was scarcely an interval between the youth and the decrepit +age of a eunuch.] + +[Footnote 7: Eutropius appears to have been a native of Armenia +or Assyria. His three services, which Claudian more particularly +describes, were these: 1. He spent many years as the catamite of +Ptolemy, a groom or soldier of the Imperial stables. 2. Ptolemy +gave him to the old general Arintheus, for whom he very skilfully +exercised the profession of a pimp. 3. He was given, on her +marriage, to the daughter of Arintheus; and the future consul was +employed to comb her hair, to present the silver ewer to wash and +to fan his mistress in hot weather. See l. i. 31 - 137.] + +[Footnote 8: Claudian, (l. i. in Eutrop. l. - 22,) after +enumerating the various prodigies of monstrous births, speaking +animals, showers of blood or stones, double suns, &c., adds, with +some exaggeration, + + Omnia cesserunt eunucho consule monstra. + +The first book concludes with a noble speech of the goddess of +Rome to her favorite Honorius, deprecating the new ignominy to +which she was exposed.] +[Footnote 9: Fl. Mallius Theodorus, whose civil honors, and +philosophical works, have been celebrated by Claudian in a very +elegant panegyric.] + The bold and vigorous mind of Rufinus seems to have been +actuated by a more sanguinary and revengeful spirit; but the +avarice of the eunuch was not less insatiate than that of the +praefect. ^10 As long as he despoiled the oppressors, who had +enriched themselves with the plunder of the people, Eutropius +might gratify his covetous disposition without much envy or +injustice: but the progress of his rapine soon invaded the wealth +which had been acquired by lawful inheritance, or laudable +industry. The usual methods of extortion were practised and +improved; and Claudian has sketched a lively and original picture +of the public auction of the state. "The impotence of the +eunuch," says that agreeable satirist, "has served only to +stimulate his avarice: the same hand which in his servile +condition, was exercised in petty thefts, to unlock the coffers +of his master, now grasps the riches of the world; and this +infamous broker of the empire appreciates and divides the Roman +provinces from Mount Haemus to the Tigris. One man, at the +expense of his villa, is made proconsul of Asia; a second +purchases Syria with his wife's jewels; and a third laments that +he has exchanged his paternal estate for the government of +Bithynia. In the antechamber of Eutropius, a large tablet is +exposed to public view, which marks the respective prices of the +provinces. The different value of Pontus, of Galatia, of Lydia, +is accurately distinguished. Lycia may be obtained for so many +thousand pieces of gold; but the opulence of Phrygia will require +a more considerable sum. The eunuch wishes to obliterate, by the +general disgrace, his personal ignominy; and as he has been sold +himself, he is desirous of selling the rest of mankind. In the +eager contention, the balance, which contains the fate and +fortunes of the province, often trembles on the beam; and till +one of the scales is inclined, by a superior weight, the mind of +the impartial judge remains in anxious suspense. ^11 Such," +continues the indignant poet, "are the fruits of Roman valor, of +the defeat of Antiochus, and of the triumph of Pompey." This +venal prostitution of public honors secured the impunity of +future crimes; but the riches, which Eutropius derived from +confiscation, were already stained with injustice; since it was +decent to accuse, and to condemn, the proprietors of the wealth, +which he was impatient to confiscate. Some noble blood was shed +by the hand of the executioner; and the most inhospitable +extremities of the empire were filled with innocent and +illustrious exiles. Among the generals and consuls of the East, +Abundantius ^12 had reason to dread the first effects of the +resentment of Eutropius. He had been guilty of the unpardonable +crime of introducing that abject slave to the palace of +Constantinople; and some degree of praise must be allowed to a +powerful and ungrateful favorite, who was satisfied with the +disgrace of his benefactor. Abundantius was stripped of his ample +fortunes by an Imperial rescript, and banished to Pityus, on the +Euxine, the last frontier of the Roman world; where he subsisted +by the precarious mercy of the Barbarians, till he could obtain, +after the fall of Eutropius, a milder exile at Sidon, in +Phoenicia. The destruction of Timasius ^13 required a more +serious and regular mode of attack. That great officer, the +master-general of the armies of Theodosius, had signalized his +valor by a decisive victory, which he obtained over the Goths of +Thessaly; but he was too prone, after the example of his +sovereign, to enjoy the luxury of peace, and to abandon his +confidence to wicked and designing flatterers. Timasius had +despised the public clamor, by promoting an infamous dependant to +the command of a cohort; and he deserved to feel the ingratitude +of Bargus, who was secretly instigated by the favorite to accuse +his patron of a treasonable conspiracy. The general was +arraigned before the tribunal of Arcadius himself; and the +principal eunuch stood by the side of the throne to suggest the +questions and answers of his sovereign. But as this form of +trial might be deemed partial and arbitrary, the further inquiry +into the crimes of Timasius was delegated to Saturninus and +Procopius; the former of consular rank, the latter still +respected as the father-in-law of the emperor Valens. The +appearances of a fair and legal proceeding were maintained by the +blunt honesty of Procopius; and he yielded with reluctance to the +obsequious dexterity of his colleague, who pronounced a sentence +of condemnation against the unfortunate Timasius. His immense +riches were confiscated in the name of the emperor, and for the +benefit of the favorite; and he was doomed to perpetual exile a +Oasis, a solitary spot in the midst of the sandy deserts of +Libya. ^14 Secluded from all human converse, the master-general +of the Roman armies was lost forever to the world; but the +circumstances of his fate have been related in a various and +contradictory manner. It is insinuated that Eutropius despatched +a private order for his secret execution. ^15 It was reported, +that, in attempting to escape from Oasis, he perished in the +desert, of thirst and hunger; and that his dead body was found on +the sands of Libya. ^16 It has been asserted, with more +confidence, that his son Syagrius, after successfully eluding the +pursuit of the agents and emissaries of the court, collected a +band of African robbers; that he rescued Timasius from the place +of his exile; and that both the father and the son disappeared +from the knowledge of mankind. ^17 But the ungrateful Bargus, +instead of being suffered to possess the reward of guilt was soon +after circumvented and destroyed, by the more powerful villany of +the minister himself, who retained sense and spirit enough to +abhor the instrument of his own crimes. + +[Footnote 10: Drunk with riches, is the forcible expression of +Zosimus, (l. v. p. 301;) and the avarice of Eutropius is equally +execrated in the Lexicon of Suidas and the Chronicle of +Marcellinus Chrysostom had often admonished the favorite of the +vanity and danger of immoderate wealth, tom. iii. p. 381. +- certantum saepe duorum + Diversum suspendit onus: cum pondere judex + Vergit, et in geminas nutat provincia lances. + +Claudian (i. 192 - 209) so curiously distinguishes the +circumstances of the sale, that they all seem to allude to +particular anecdotes.] +[Footnote 12: Claudian (i. 154 - 170) mentions the guilt and +exile of Abundantius; nor could he fail to quote the example of +the artist, who made the first trial of the brazen bull, which he +presented to Phalaris. See Zosimus, l. v. p. 302. Jerom, tom. +i. p. 26. The difference of place is easily reconciled; but the +decisive authority of Asterius of Amasia (Orat. iv. p. 76, apud +Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, tom. v. p. 435) must turn the +scale in favor of Pityus.] + +[Footnote 13: Suidas (most probably from the history of Eunapius) +has given a very unfavorable picture of Timasius. The account of +his accuser, the judges, trial, &c., is perfectly agreeable to +the practice of ancient and modern courts. (See Zosimus, l. v. +p. 298, 299, 300.) I am almost tempted to quote the romance of a +great master, (Fielding's Works, vol. iv. p. 49, &c., 8vo. +edit.,) which may be considered as the history of human nature.] +[Footnote 14: The great Oasis was one of the spots in the sands +of Libya, watered with springs, and capable of producing wheat, +barley, and palm- trees. It was about three days' journey from +north to south, about half a day in breadth, and at the distance +of about five days' march to the west of Abydus, on the Nile. +See D'Anville, Description de l'Egypte, p. 186, 187, 188. The +barren desert which encompasses Oasis (Zosimus, l. v. p. 300) has +suggested the idea of comparative fertility, and even the epithet +of the happy island ] +[Footnote 15: The line of Claudian, in Eutrop. l. i. 180, + + Marmaricus claris violatur caedibus Hammon, + +evidently alludes to his persuasion of the death of Timasius. + + Note: A fragment of Eunapius confirms this account. "Thus +having deprived this great person of his life - a eunuch, a man, +a slave, a consul, a minister of the bed-chamber, one bred in +camps." Mai, p. 283, in Niebuhr. 87 - M.] + +[Footnote 16: Sozomen, l. viii. c. 7. He speaks from report.] +[Footnote 17: Zosimus, l. v. p. 300. Yet he seems to suspect +that this rumor was spread by the friends of Eutropius.] + + The public hatred, and the despair of individuals, +continually threatened, or seemed to threaten, the personal +safety of Eutropius; as well as of the numerous adherents, who +were attached to his fortune, and had been promoted by his venal +favor. For their mutual defence, he contrived the safeguard of a +law, which violated every principal of humanity and justice. ^18 +I. It is enacted, in the name, and by the authority of Arcadius, +that all those who should conspire, either with subjects or with +strangers, against the lives of any of the persons whom the +emperor considers as the members of his own body, shall be +punished with death and confiscation. This species of fictitious +and metaphorical treason is extended to protect, not only the +illustrious officers of the state and army, who were admitted +into the sacred consistory, but likewise the principal domestics +of the palace, the senators of Constantinople, the military +commanders, and the civil magistrates of the provinces; a vague +and indefinite list, which, under the successors of Constantine, +included an obscure and numerous train of subordinate ministers. +II. This extreme severity might perhaps be justified, had it +been only directed to secure the representatives of the sovereign +from any actual violence in the execution of their office. But +the whole body of Imperial dependants claimed a privilege, or +rather impunity, which screened them, in the loosest moments of +their lives, from the hasty, perhaps the justifiable, resentment +of their fellow-citizens; and, by a strange perversion of the +laws, the same degree of guilt and punishment was applied to a +private quarrel, and to a deliberate conspiracy against the +emperor and the empire. The edicts of Arcadius most positively +and most absurdly declares, that in such cases of treason, +thoughts and actions ought to be punished with equal severity; +that the knowledge of a mischievous intention, unless it be +instantly revealed, becomes equally criminal with the intention +itself; ^19 and that those rash men, who shall presume to solicit +the pardon of traitors, shall themselves be branded with public +and perpetual infamy. III. "With regard to the sons of the +traitors," (continues the emperor,) "although they ought to share +the punishment, since they will probably imitate the guilt, of +their parents, yet, by the special effect of our Imperial lenity, +we grant them their lives; but, at the same time, we declare them +incapable of inheriting, either on the father's or on the +mother's side, or of receiving any gift or legacy, from the +testament either of kinsmen or of strangers. Stigmatized with +hereditary infamy, excluded from the hopes of honors or fortune, +let them endure the pangs of poverty and contempt, till they +shall consider life as a calamity, and death as a comfort and +relief." In such words, so well adapted to insult the feelings of +mankind, did the emperor, or rather his favorite eunuch, applaud +the moderation of a law, which transferred the same unjust and +inhuman penalties to the children of all those who had seconded, +or who had not disclosed, their fictitious conspiracies. Some of +the noblest regulations of Roman jurisprudence have been suffered +to expire; but this edict, a convenient and forcible engine of +ministerial tyranny, was carefully inserted in the codes of +Theodosius and Justinian; and the same maxims have been revived +in modern ages, to protect the electors of Germany, and the +cardinals of the church of Rome. ^20 + +[Footnote 18: See the Theodosian Code, l. ix. tit. 14, ad legem +Corneliam de Sicariis, leg. 3, and the Code of Justinian, l. ix. +tit. viii, viii. ad legem Juliam de Majestate, leg. 5. The +alteration of the title, from murder to treason, was an +improvement of the subtle Tribonian. Godefroy, in a formal +dissertation, which he has inserted in his Commentary, +illustrates this law of Arcadius, and explains all the difficult +passages which had been perverted by the jurisconsults of the +darker ages. See tom. iii. p. 88 - 111.] +[Footnote 19: Bartolus understands a simple and naked +consciousness, without any sign of approbation or concurrence. +For this opinion, says Baldus, he is now roasting in hell. For +my own part, continues the discreet Heineccius, (Element. Jur. +Civil l. iv. p. 411,) I must approve the theory of Bartolus; but +in practice I should incline to the sentiments of Baldus. Yet +Bartolus was gravely quoted by the lawyers of Cardinal Richelieu; +and Eutropius was indirectly guilty of the murder of the virtuous +De Thou.] + +[Footnote 20: Godefroy, tom. iii. p. 89. It is, however, +suspected, that this law, so repugnant to the maxims of Germanic +freedom, has been surreptitiously added to the golden bull.] + Yet these sanguinary laws, which spread terror among a +disarmed and dispirited people, were of too weak a texture to +restrain the bold enterprise of Tribigild ^21 the Ostrogoth. The +colony of that warlike nation, which had been planted by +Theodosius in one of the most fertile districts of Phrygia, ^22 +impatiently compared the slow returns of laborious husbandry with +the successful rapine and liberal rewards of Alaric; and their +leader resented, as a personal affront, his own ungracious +reception in the palace of Constantinople. A soft and wealthy +province, in the heart of the empire, was astonished by the sound +of war; and the faithful vassal who had been disregarded or +oppressed, was again respected, as soon as he resumed the hostile +character of a Barbarian. The vineyards and fruitful fields, +between the rapid Marsyas and the winding Maeander, ^23 were +consumed with fire; the decayed walls of the cities crumbled into +dust, at the first stroke of an enemy; the trembling inhabitants +escaped from a bloody massacre to the shores of the Hellespont; +and a considerable part of Asia Minor was desolated by the +rebellion of Tribigild. His rapid progress was checked by the +resistance of the peasants of Pamphylia; and the Ostrogoths, +attacked in a narrow pass, between the city of Selgae, ^24 a deep +morass, and the craggy cliffs of Mount Taurus, were defeated with +the loss of their bravest troops. But the spirit of their chief +was not daunted by misfortune; and his army was continually +recruited by swarms of Barbarians and outlaws, who were desirous +of exercising the profession of robbery, under the more honorable +names of war and conquest. The rumors of the success of Tribigild +might for some time be suppressed by fear, or disguised by +flattery; yet they gradually alarmed both the court and the +capital. Every misfortune was exaggerated in dark and doubtful +hints; and the future designs of the rebels became the subject of +anxious conjecture. Whenever Tribigild advanced into the inland +country, the Romans were inclined to suppose that he meditated +the passage of Mount Taurus, and the invasion of Syria. If he +descended towards the sea, they imputed, and perhaps suggested, +to the Gothic chief, the more dangerous project of arming a fleet +in the harbors of Ionia, and of extending his depredations along +the maritime coast, from the mouth of the Nile to the port of +Constantinople. The approach of danger, and the obstinacy of +Tribigild, who refused all terms of accommodation, compelled +Eutropius to summon a council of war. ^25 After claiming for +himself the privilege of a veteran soldier, the eunuch intrusted +the guard of Thrace and the Hellespont to Gainas the Goth, and +the command of the Asiatic army to his favorite, Leo; two +generals, who differently, but effectually, promoted the cause of +the rebels. Leo, ^26 who, from the bulk of his body, and the +dulness of his mind, was surnamed the Ajax of the East, had +deserted his original trade of a woolcomber, to exercise, with +much less skill and success, the military profession; and his +uncertain operations were capriciously framed and executed, with +an ignorance of real difficulties, and a timorous neglect of +every favorable opportunity. The rashness of the Ostrogoths had +drawn them into a disadvantageous position between the Rivers +Melas and Eurymedon, where they were almost besieged by the +peasants of Pamphylia; but the arrival of an Imperial army, +instead of completing their destruction, afforded the means of +safety and victory. Tribigild surprised the unguarded camp of +the Romans, in the darkness of the night; seduced the faith of +the greater part of the Barbarian auxiliaries, and dissipated, +without much effort, the troops, which had been corrupted by the +relaxation of discipline, and the luxury of the capital. The +discontent of Gainas, who had so boldly contrived and executed +the death of Rufinus, was irritated by the fortune of his +unworthy successor; he accused his own dishonorable patience +under the servile reign of a eunuch; and the ambitious Goth was +convicted, at least in the public opinion, of secretly fomenting +the revolt of Tribigild, with whom he was connected by a +domestic, as well as by a national alliance. ^27 When Gainas +passed the Hellespont, to unite under his standard the remains of +the Asiatic troops, he skilfully adapted his motions to the +wishes of the Ostrogoths; abandoning, by his retreat, the country +which they desired to invade; or facilitating, by his approach, +the desertion of the Barbarian auxiliaries. To the Imperial +court he repeatedly magnified the valor, the genius, the +inexhaustible resources of Tribigild; confessed his own inability +to prosecute the war; and extorted the permission of negotiating +with his invincible adversary. The conditions of peace were +dictated by the haughty rebel; and the peremptory demand of the +head of Eutropius revealed the author and the design of this +hostile conspiracy. + +[Footnote 21: A copious and circumstantial narrative (which he +might have reserved for more important events) is bestowed by +Zosimus (l. v. p. 304 - 312) on the revolt of Tribigild and +Gainas. See likewise Socrates, l. vi. c. 6, and Sozomen, l. +viii. c. 4. The second book of Claudian against Eutropius, is a +fine, though imperfect, piece of history.] + +[Footnote 22: Claudian (in Eutrop. l. ii. 237 - 250) very +accurately observes, that the ancient name and nation of the +Phrygians extended very far on every side, till their limits were +contracted by the colonies of the Bithvnians of Thrace, of the +Greeks, and at last of the Gauls. His description (ii. 257 - +272) of the fertility of Phrygia, and of the four rivers that +produced gold, is just and picturesque.] + +[Footnote 23: Xenophon, Anabasis, l. i. p. 11, 12, edit. +Hutchinson. Strabo, l. xii p. 865, edit. Amstel. Q. Curt. l. +iii. c. 1. Claudian compares the junction of the Marsyas and +Maeander to that of the Saone and the Rhone, with this +difference, however, that the smaller of the Phrygian rivers is +not accelerated, but retarded, by the larger.] + +[Footnote 24: Selgae, a colony of the Lacedaemonians, had +formerly numbered twenty thousand citizens; but in the age of +Zosimus it was reduced to a small town. See Cellarius, Geograph. +Antiq tom. ii. p. 117.] + +[Footnote 25: The council of Eutropius, in Claudian, may be +compared to that of Domitian in the fourth Satire of Juvenal. +The principal members of the former were juvenes protervi +lascivique senes; one of them had been a cook, a second a +woolcomber. The language of their original profession exposes +their assumed dignity; and their trifling conversation about +tragedies, dancers, &c., is made still more ridiculous by the +importance of the debate.] +[Footnote 26: Claudian (l. ii. 376 - 461) has branded him with +infamy; and Zosimus, in more temperate language, confirms his +reproaches. L. v. p. 305.] +[Footnote 27: The conspiracy of Gainas and Tribigild, which is +attested by the Greek historian, had not reached the ears of +Claudian, who attributes the revolt of the Ostrogoth to his own +martial spirit, and the advice of his wife.] + +Chapter XXXII: Emperors Arcadius, Eutropius, Theodosius II. +Part II. + + The bold satirist, who has indulged his discontent by the +partial and passionate censure of the Christian emperors, +violates the dignity, rather than the truth, of history, by +comparing the son of Theodosius to one of those harmless and +simple animals, who scarcely feel that they are the property of +their shepherd. Two passions, however, fear and conjugal +affection, awakened the languid soul of Arcadius: he was +terrified by the threats of a victorious Barbarian; and he +yielded to the tender eloquence of his wife Eudoxia, who, with a +flood of artificial tears, presenting her infant children to +their father, implored his justice for some real or imaginary +insult, which she imputed to the audacious eunuch. ^28 The +emperor's hand was directed to sign the condemnation of +Eutropius; the magic spell, which during four years had bound the +prince and the people, was instantly dissolved; and the +acclamations that so lately hailed the merit and fortune of the +favorite, were converted into the clamors of the soldiers and +people, who reproached his crimes, and pressed his immediate +execution. In this hour of distress and despair, his only refuge +was in the sanctuary of the church, whose privileges he had +wisely or profanely attempted to circumscribe; and the most +eloquent of the saints, John Chrysostom, enjoyed the triumph of +protecting a prostrate minister, whose choice had raised him to +the ecclesiastical throne of Constantinople. The archbishop, +ascending the pulpit of the cathedral, that he might be +distinctly seen and heard by an innumerable crowd of either sex +and of every age, pronounced a seasonable and pathetic discourse +on the forgiveness of injuries, and the instability of human +greatness. The agonies of the pale and affrighted wretch, who +lay grovelling under the table of the altar, exhibited a solemn +and instructive spectacle; and the orator, who was afterwards +accused of insulting the misfortunes of Eutropius, labored to +excite the contempt, that he might assuage the fury, of the +people. ^29 The powers of humanity, of superstition, and of +eloquence, prevailed. The empress Eudoxia was restrained by her +own prejudices, or by those of her subjects, from violating the +sanctuary of the church; and Eutropius was tempted to capitulate, +by the milder arts of persuasion, and by an oath, that his life +should be spared. ^30 Careless of the dignity of their sovereign, +the new ministers of the palace immediately published an edict to +declare, that his late favorite had disgraced the names of consul +and patrician, to abolish his statues, to confiscate his wealth, +and to inflict a perpetual exile in the Island of Cyprus. ^31 A +despicable and decrepit eunuch could no longer alarm the fears of +his enemies; nor was he capable of enjoying what yet remained, +the comforts of peace, of solitude, and of a happy climate. But +their implacable revenge still envied him the last moments of a +miserable life, and Eutropius had no sooner touched the shores of +Cyprus, than he was hastily recalled. The vain hope of eluding, +by a change of place, the obligation of an oath, engaged the +empress to transfer the scene of his trial and execution from +Constantinople to the adjacent suburb of Chalcedon. The consul +Aurelian pronounced the sentence; and the motives of that +sentence expose the jurisprudence of a despotic government. The +crimes which Eutropius had committed against the people might +have justified his death; but he was found guilty of harnessing +to his chariot the sacred animals, who, from their breed or +color, were reserved for the use of the emperor alone. ^32 +[Footnote 28: This anecdote, which Philostorgius alone has +preserved, (l xi. c. 6, and Gothofred. Dissertat. p. 451 - 456) +is curious and important; since it connects the revolt of the +Goths with the secret intrigues of the palace.] +[Footnote 29: See the Homily of Chrysostom, tom. iii. p. 381 - +386, which the exordium is particularly beautiful. Socrates, l. +vi. c. 5. Sozomen, l. viii. c. 7. Montfaucon (in his Life of +Chrysostom, tom. xiii. p. 135) too hastily supposes that +Tribigild was actually in Constantinople; and that he commanded +the soldiers who were ordered to seize Eutropius Even Claudian, a +Pagan poet, (praefat. ad l. ii. in Eutrop. 27,) has mentioned the +flight of the eunuch to the sanctuary. + + Suppliciterque pias humilis prostratus ad aras, + Mitigat iratas voce tremente nurus,] + +[Footnote 30: Chrysostom, in another homily, (tom. iii. p. 386,) +affects to declare that Eutropius would not have been taken, had +he not deserted the church. Zosimus, (l. v. p. 313,) on the +contrary, pretends, that his enemies forced him from the +sanctuary. Yet the promise is an evidence of some treaty; and +the strong assurance of Claudian, (Praefat. ad l. ii. 46,) +Sed tamen exemplo non feriere tuo, + + may be considered as an evidence of some promise.] + +[Footnote 31: Cod. Theod. l. ix. tit. xi. leg. 14. The date of +that law (Jan. 17, A.D. 399) is erroneous and corrupt; since the +fall of Eutropius could not happen till the autumn of the same +year. See Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, tom. v. p. 780.] +[Footnote 32: Zosimus, l. v. p. 313. Philostorgius, l. xi. c. +6.] + While this domestic revolution was transacted, Gainas ^33 +openly revolted from his allegiance; united his forces at +Thyatira in Lydia, with those of Tribigild; and still maintained +his superior ascendant over the rebellious leader of the +Ostrogoths. The confederate armies advanced, without resistance, +to the straits of the Hellespont and the Bosphorus; and Arcadius +was instructed to prevent the loss of his Asiatic dominions, by +resigning his authority and his person to the faith of the +Barbarians. The church of the holy martyr Euphemia, situate on a +lofty eminence near Chalcedon, ^34 was chosen for the place of +the interview. Gainas bowed with reverence at the feet of the +emperor, whilst he required the sacrifice of Aurelian and +Saturninus, two ministers of consular rank; and their naked necks +were exposed, by the haughty rebel, to the edge of the sword, +till he condescended to grant them a precarious and disgraceful +respite. The Goths, according to the terms of the agreement, +were immediately transported from Asia into Europe; and their +victorious chief, who accepted the title of master-general of the +Roman armies, soon filled Constantinople with his troops, and +distributed among his dependants the honors and rewards of the +empire. In his early youth, Gainas had passed the Danube as a +suppliant and a fugitive: his elevation had been the work of +valor and fortune; and his indiscreet or perfidious conduct was +the cause of his rapid downfall. Notwithstanding the vigorous +opposition of the archbishop, he importunately claimed for his +Arian sectaries the possession of a peculiar church; and the +pride of the Catholics was offended by the public toleration of +heresy. ^35 Every quarter of Constantinople was filled with +tumult and disorder; and the Barbarians gazed with such ardor on +the rich shops of the jewellers, and the tables of the bankers, +which were covered with gold and silver, that it was judged +prudent to remove those dangerous temptations from their sight. +They resented the injurious precaution; and some alarming +attempts were made, during the night, to attack and destroy with +fire the Imperial palace. ^36 In this state of mutual and +suspicious hostility, the guards and the people of Constantinople +shut the gates, and rose in arms to prevent or to punish the +conspiracy of the Goths. During the absence of Gainas, his +troops were surprised and oppressed; seven thousand Barbarians +perished in this bloody massacre. In the fury of the pursuit, +the Catholics uncovered the roof, and continued to throw down +flaming logs of wood, till they overwhelmed their adversaries, +who had retreated to the church or conventicle of the Arians. +Gainas was either innocent of the design, or too confident of his +success; he was astonished by the intelligence that the flower of +his army had been ingloriously destroyed; that he himself was +declared a public enemy; and that his countryman, Fravitta, a +brave and loyal confederate, had assumed the management of the +war by sea and land. The enterprises of the rebel, against the +cities of Thrace, were encountered by a firm and well-ordered +defence; his hungry soldiers were soon reduced to the grass that +grew on the margin of the fortifications; and Gainas, who vainly +regretted the wealth and luxury of Asia, embraced a desperate +resolution of forcing the passage of the Hellespont. He was +destitute of vessels; but the woods of the Chersonesus afforded +materials for rafts, and his intrepid Barbarians did not refuse +to trust themselves to the waves. But Fravitta attentively +watched the progress of their undertaking As soon as they had +gained the middle of the stream, the Roman galleys, ^37 impelled +by the full force of oars, of the current, and of a favorable +wind, rushed forwards in compact order, and with irresistible +weight; and the Hellespont was covered with the fragments of the +Gothic shipwreck. After the destruction of his hopes, and the +loss of many thousands of his bravest soldiers, Gainas, who could +no longer aspire to govern or to subdue the Romans, determined to +resume the independence of a savage life. A light and active +body of Barbarian horse, disengaged from their infantry and +baggage, might perform in eight or ten days a march of three +hundred miles from the Hellespont to the Danube; ^38 the +garrisons of that important frontier had been gradually +annihilated; the river, in the month of December, would be deeply +frozen; and the unbounded prospect of Scythia was opened to the +ambition of Gainas. This design was secretly communicated to the +national troops, who devoted themselves to the fortunes of their +leader; and before the signal of departure was given, a great +number of provincial auxiliaries, whom he suspected of an +attachment to their native country, were perfidiously massacred. +The Goths advanced, by rapid marches, through the plains of +Thrace; and they were soon delivered from the fear of a pursuit, +by the vanity of Fravitta, ^* who, instead of extinguishing the +war, hastened to enjoy the popular applause, and to assume the +peaceful honors of the consulship. But a formidable ally +appeared in arms to vindicate the majesty of the empire, and to +guard the peace and liberty of Scythia. ^39 The superior forces +of Uldin, king of the Huns, opposed the progress of Gainas; a +hostile and ruined country prohibited his retreat; he disdained +to capitulate; and after repeatedly attempting to cut his way +through the ranks of the enemy, he was slain, with his desperate +followers, in the field of battle. Eleven days after the naval +victory of the Hellespont, the head of Gainas, the inestimable +gift of the conqueror, was received at Constantinople with the +most liberal expressions of gratitude; and the public deliverance +was celebrated by festivals and illuminations. The triumphs of +Arcadius became the subject of epic poems; ^40 and the monarch, +no longer oppressed by any hostile terrors, resigned himself to +the mild and absolute dominion of his wife, the fair and artful +Eudoxia, who was sullied her fame by the persecution of St. John +Chrysostom. +[Footnote 33: Zosimus, l. v. p. 313 - 323,) Socrates, (l. vi. c. +4,) Sozomen, (l. viii. c. 4,) and Theodoret, (l. v. c. 32, 33,) +represent, though with some various circumstances, the +conspiracy, defeat, and death of Gainas.] +[Footnote 34: It is the expression of Zosimus himself, (l. v. p. +314,) who inadvertently uses the fashionable language of the +Christians. Evagrius describes (l. ii. c. 3) the situation, +architecture, relics, and miracles, of that celebrated church, in +which the general council of Chalcedon was afterwards held.] +[Footnote 35: The pious remonstrances of Chrysostom, which do not +appear in his own writings, are strongly urged by Theodoret; but +his insinuation, that they were successful, is disproved by +facts. Tillemont (Hist. des Empereurs, tom. v. p. 383) has +discovered that the emperor, to satisfy the rapacious demands of +Gainas, was obliged to melt the plate of the church of the +apostles.] + +[Footnote 36: The ecclesiastical historians, who sometimes guide, +and sometimes follow, the public opinion, most confidently +assert, that the palace of Constantinople was guarded by legions +of angels.] + +[Footnote 37: Zosmius (l. v. p. 319) mentions these galleys by +the name of Liburnians, and observes that they were as swift +(without explaining the difference between them) as the vessels +with fifty oars; but that they were far inferior in speed to the +triremes, which had been long disused. Yet he reasonably +concludes, from the testimony of Polybius, that galleys of a +still larger size had been constructed in the Punic wars. Since +the establishment of the Roman empire over the Mediterranean, the +useless art of building large ships of war had probably been +neglected, and at length forgotten.] +[Footnote 38: Chishull (Travels, p. 61 - 63, 72 - 76) proceeded +from Gallipoli, through Hadrianople to the Danube, in about +fifteen days. He was in the train of an English ambassador, +whose baggage consisted of seventy-one wagons. That learned +traveller has the merit of tracing a curious and unfrequented +route.] + +[Footnote *: Fravitta, according to Zosimus, though a Pagan, +received the honors of the consulate. Zosim, v. c. 20. On +Fravitta, see a very imperfect fragment of Eunapius. Mai. ii. +290, in Niebuhr. 92. - M.] +[Footnote 39: The narrative of Zosimus, who actually leads Gainas +beyond the Danube, must be corrected by the testimony of +Socrates, aud Sozomen, that he was killed in Thrace; and by the +precise and authentic dates of the Alexandrian, or Paschal, +Chronicle, p. 307. The naval victory of the Hellespont is fixed +to the month Apellaeus, the tenth of the Calends of January, +(December 23;) the head of Gainas was brought to Constantinople +the third of the nones of January, (January 3,) in the month +Audynaeus.] +[Footnote 40: Eusebius Scholasticus acquired much fame by his +poem on the Gothic war, in which he had served. Near forty years +afterwards Ammonius recited another poem on the same subject, in +the presence of the emperor Theodosius. See Socrates, l. vi. c. +6.] + + After the death of the indolent Nectarius, the successor of +Gregory Nazianzen, the church of Constantinople was distracted by +the ambition of rival candidates, who were not ashamed to +solicit, with gold or flattery, the suffrage of the people, or of +the favorite. On this occasion Eutropius seems to have deviated +from his ordinary maxims; and his uncorrupted judgment was +determined only by the superior merit of a stranger. In a late +journey into the East, he had admired the sermons of John, a +native and presbyter of Antioch, whose name has been +distinguished by the epithet of Chrysostom, or the Golden Mouth. +^41 A private order was despatched to the governor of Syria; and +as the people might be unwilling to resign their favorite +preacher, he was transported, with speed and secrecy in a post- +chariot, from Antioch to Constantinople. The unanimous and +unsolicited consent of the court, the clergy, and the people, +ratified the choice of the minister; and, both as a saint and as +an orator, the new archbishop surpassed the sanguine expectations +of the public. Born of a noble and opulent family, in the +capital of Syria, Chrysostom had been educated, by the care of a +tender mother, under the tuition of the most skilful masters. He +studied the art of rhetoric in the school of Libanius; and that +celebrated sophist, who soon discovered the talents of his +disciple, ingenuously confessed that John would have deserved to +succeed him, had he not been stolen away by the Christians. His +piety soon disposed him to receive the sacrament of baptism; to +renounce the lucrative and honorable profession of the law; and +to bury himself in the adjacent desert, where he subdued the +lusts of the flesh by an austere penance of six years. His +infirmities compelled him to return to the society of mankind; +and the authority of Meletius devoted his talents to the service +of the church: but in the midst of his family, and afterwards on +the archiepiscopal throne, Chrysostom still persevered in the +practice of the monastic virtues. The ample revenues, which his +predecessors had consumed in pomp and luxury, he diligently +applied to the establishment of hospitals; and the multitudes, +who were supported by his charity, preferred the eloquent and +edifying discourses of their archbishop to the amusements of the +theatre or the circus. The monuments of that eloquence, which +was admired near twenty years at Antioch and Constantinople, have +been carefully preserved; and the possession of near one thousand +sermons, or homilies has authorized the critics ^42 of succeeding +times to appreciate the genuine merit of Chrysostom. They +unanimously attribute to the Christian orator the free command of +an elegant and copious language; the judgment to conceal the +advantages which he derived from the knowledge of rhetoric and +philosophy; an inexhaustible fund of metaphors and similitudes of +ideas and images, to vary and illustrate the most familiar +topics; the happy art of engaging the passions in the service of +virtue; and of exposing the folly, as well as the turpitude, of +vice, almost with the truth and spirit of a dramatic +representation. + +[Footnote 41: The sixth book of Socrates, the eighth of Sozomen, +and the fifth of Theodoret, afford curious and authentic +materials for the life of John Chrysostom. Besides those general +historians, I have taken for my guides the four principal +biographers of the saint. 1. The author of a partial and +passionate Vindication of the archbishop of Constantinople, +composed in the form of a dialogue, and under the name of his +zealous partisan, Palladius, bishop of Helenopolis, (Tillemont, +Mem. Eccles. tom. xi. p. 500 - 533.) It is inserted among the +works of Chrysostom. tom. xiii. p. 1 - 90, edit. Montfaucon. 2. +The moderate Erasmus, (tom. iii. epist. Mcl. p. 1331 - 1347, +edit. Lugd. Bat.) His vivacity and good sense were his own; his +errors, in the uncultivated state of ecclesiastical antiquity, +were almost inevitable. 3. The learned Tillemont, (Mem. +Ecclesiastiques, tom. xi. p. 1 - 405, 547 - 626, &c. &c.,) who +compiles the lives of the saints with incredible patience and +religious accuracy. He has minutely searched the voluminous +works of Chrysostom himself. 4. Father Montfaucon, who has +perused those works with the curious diligence of an editor, +discovered several new homilies, and again reviewed and composed +the Life of Chrysostom, (Opera Chrysostom. tom. xiii. p. 91 - +177.)] + +[Footnote 42: As I am almost a stranger to the voluminous sermons +of Chrysostom, I have given my confidence to the two most +judicious and moderate of the ecclesiastical critics, Erasmus +(tom. iii. p. 1344) and Dupin, (Bibliotheque Ecclesiastique, tom. +iii. p. 38:) yet the good taste of the former is sometimes +vitiated by an excessive love of antiquity; and the good sense of +the latter is always restrained by prudential considerations.] + + The pastoral labors of the archbishop of Constantinople +provoked, and gradually united against him, two sorts of enemies; +the aspiring clergy, who envied his success, and the obstinate +sinners, who were offended by his reproofs. When Chrysostom +thundered, from the pulpit of St. Sophia, against the degeneracy +of the Christians, his shafts were spent among the crowd, without +wounding, or even marking, the character of any individual. When +he declaimed against the peculiar vices of the rich, poverty +might obtain a transient consolation from his invectives; but the +guilty were still sheltered by their numbers; and the reproach +itself was dignified by some ideas of superiority and enjoyment. +But as the pyramid rose towards the summit, it insensibly +diminished to a point; and the magistrates, the ministers, the +favorite eunuchs, the ladies of the court, ^43 the empress +Eudoxia herself, had a much larger share of guilt to divide among +a smaller proportion of criminals. The personal applications of +the audience were anticipated, or confirmed, by the testimony of +their own conscience; and the intrepid preacher assumed the +dangerous right of exposing both the offence and the offender to +the public abhorrence. The secret resentment of the court +encouraged the discontent of the clergy and monks of +Constantinople, who were too hastily reformed by the fervent zeal +of their archbishop. He had condemned, from the pulpit, the +domestic females of the clergy of Constantinople, who, under the +name of servants, or sisters, afforded a perpetual occasion +either of sin or of scandal. The silent and solitary ascetics, +who had secluded themselves from the world, were entitled to the +warmest approbation of Chrysostom; but he despised and +stigmatized, as the disgrace of their holy profession, the crowd +of degenerate monks, who, from some unworthy motives of pleasure +or profit, so frequently infested the streets of the capital. To +the voice of persuasion, the archbishop was obliged to add the +terrors of authority; and his ardor, in the exercise of +ecclesiastical jurisdiction, was not always exempt from passion; +nor was it always guided by prudence. Chrysostom was naturally +of a choleric disposition. ^44 Although he struggled, according +to the precepts of the gospel, to love his private enemies, he +indulged himself in the privilege of hating the enemies of God +and of the church; and his sentiments were sometimes delivered +with too much energy of countenance and expression. He still +maintained, from some considerations of health or abstinence, his +former habits of taking his repasts alone; and this inhospitable +custom, ^45 which his enemies imputed to pride, contributed, at +least, to nourish the infirmity of a morose and unsocial humor. +Separated from that familiar intercourse, which facilitates the +knowledge and the despatch of business, he reposed an +unsuspecting confidence in his deacon Serapion; and seldom +applied his speculative knowledge of human nature to the +particular character, either of his dependants, or of his equals. + +Conscious of the purity of his intentions, and perhaps of the +superiority of his genius, the archbishop of Constantinople +extended the jurisdiction of the Imperial city, that he might +enlarge the sphere of his pastoral labors; and the conduct which +the profane imputed to an ambitious motive, appeared to +Chrysostom himself in the light of a sacred and indispensable +duty. In his visitation through the Asiatic provinces, he +deposed thirteen bishops of Lydia and Phrygia; and indiscreetly +declared that a deep corruption of simony and licentiousness had +infected the whole episcopal order. ^46 If those bishops were +innocent, such a rash and unjust condemnation must excite a well- +grounded discontent. If they were guilty, the numerous +associates of their guilt would soon discover that their own +safety depended on the ruin of the archbishop; whom they studied +to represent as the tyrant of the Eastern church. + +[Footnote 43: The females of Constantinople distinguished +themselves by their enmity or their attachment to Chrysostom. +Three noble and opulent widows, Marsa, Castricia, and Eugraphia, +were the leaders of the persecution, (Pallad. Dialog. tom. xiii. +p. 14.) It was impossible that they should forgive a preacher who +reproached their affectation to conceal, by the ornaments of +dress, their age and ugliness, (Pallad p. 27.) Olympias, by equal +zeal, displayed in a more pious cause, has obtained the title of +saint. See Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. xi p. 416 - 440.] +[Footnote 44: Sozomen, and more especially Socrates, have defined +the real character of Chrysostom with a temperate and impartial +freedom, very offensive to his blind admirers. Those historians +lived in the next generation, when party violence was abated, and +had conversed with many persons intimately acquainted with the +virtues and imperfections of the saint.] +[Footnote 45: Palladius (tom. xiii. p. 40, &c.) very seriously +defends the archbishop 1. He never tasted wine. 2. The weakness +of his stomach required a peculiar diet. 3. Business, or study, +or devotion, often kept him fasting till sunset. 4. He detested +the noise and levity of great dinners. 5. He saved the expense +for the use of the poor. 6. He was apprehensive, in a capital +like Constantinople, of the envy and reproach of partial +invitations.] +[Footnote 46: Chrysostom declares his free opinion (tom. ix. hom. +iii in Act. Apostol. p. 29) that the number of bishops, who might +be saved, bore a very small proportion to those who would be +damned.] + + This ecclesiastical conspiracy was managed by Theophilus, +^47 archbishop of Alexandria, an active and ambitious prelate, +who displayed the fruits of rapine in monuments of ostentation. +His national dislike to the rising greatness of a city which +degraded him from the second to the third rank in the Christian +world, was exasperated by some personal dispute with Chrysostom +himself. ^48 By the private invitation of the empress, Theophilus +landed at Constantinople with a stou body of Egyptian mariners, +to encounter the populace; and a train of dependent bishops, to +secure, by their voices, the majority of a synod. The synod ^49 +was convened in the suburb of Chalcedon, surnamed the Oak, where +Rufinus had erected a stately church and monastery; and their +proceedings were continued during fourteen days, or sessions. A +bishop and a deacon accused the archbishop of Constantinople; but +the frivolous or improbable nature of the forty-seven articles +which they presented against him, may justly be considered as a +fair and unexceptional panegyric. Four successive summons were +signified to Chrysostom; but he still refused to trust either his +person or his reputation in the hands of his implacable enemies, +who, prudently declining the examination of any particular +charges, condemned his contumacious disobedience, and hastily +pronounced a sentence of deposition. The synod of the Oak +immediately addressed the emperor to ratify and execute their +judgment, and charitably insinuated, that the penalties of +treason might be inflicted on the audacious preacher, who had +reviled, under the name of Jezebel, the empress Eudoxia herself. +The archbishop was rudely arrested, and conducted through the +city, by one of the Imperial messengers, who landed him, after a +short navigation, near the entrance of the Euxine; from whence, +before the expiration of two days, he was gloriously recalled. +[Footnote 47: See Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. xi. p. 441 - 500.] + +[Footnote 48: I have purposely omitted the controversy which +arose among the monks of Egypt, concerning Origenism and +Anthropomorphism; the dissimulation and violence of Theophilus; +his artful management of the simplicity of Epiphanius; the +persecution and flight of the long, or tall, brothers; the +ambiguous support which they received at Constantinople from +Chrysostom, &c. &c.] + +[Footnote 49: Photius (p. 53 - 60) has preserved the original +acts of the synod of the Oak; which destroys the false assertion, +that Chrysostom was condemned by no more than thirty-six bishops, +of whom twenty-nine were Egyptians. Forty-five bishops +subscribed his sentence. See Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. xi. p. +595. + + Note: Tillemont argues strongly for the number of thirty-six +- M] + The first astonishment of his faithful people had been mute +and passive: they suddenly rose with unanimous and irresistible +fury. Theophilus escaped, but the promiscuous crowd of monks and +Egyptian mariners was slaughtered without pity in the streets of +Constantinople. ^50 A seasonable earthquake justified the +interposition of Heaven; the torrent of sedition rolled forwards +to the gates of the palace; and the empress, agitated by fear or +remorse, threw herself at the feet of Arcadius, and confessed +that the public safety could be purchased only by the restoration +of Chrysostom. The Bosphorus was covered with innumerable +vessels; the shores of Europe and Asia were profusely +illuminated; and the acclamations of a victorious people +accompanied, from the port to the cathedral, the triumph of the +archbishop; who, too easily, consented to resume the exercise of +his functions, before his sentence had been legally reversed by +the authority of an ecclesiastical synod. Ignorant, or careless, +of the impending danger, Chrysostom indulged his zeal, or perhaps +his resentment; declaimed with peculiar asperity against female +vices; and condemned the profane honors which were addressed, +almost in the precincts of St. Sophia, to the statue of the +empress. His imprudence tempted his enemies to inflame the +haughty spirit of Eudoxia, by reporting, or perhaps inventing, +the famous exordium of a sermon, "Herodias is again furious; +Herodias again dances; she once more requires the head of John;" +an insolent allusion, which, as a woman and a sovereign, it was +impossible for her to forgive. ^51 The short interval of a +perfidious truce was employed to concert more effectual measures +for the disgrace and ruin of the archbishop. A numerous council +of the Eastern prelates, who were guided from a distance by the +advice of Theophilus, confirmed the validity, without examining +the justice, of the former sentence; and a detachment of +Barbarian troops was introduced into the city, to suppress the +emotions of the people. On the vigil of Easter, the solemn +administration of baptism was rudely interrupted by the soldiers, +who alarmed the modesty of the naked catechumens, and violated, +by their presence, the awful mysteries of the Christian worship. +Arsacius occupied the church of St. Sophia, and the +archiepiscopal throne. The Catholics retreated to the baths of +Constantine, and afterwards to the fields; where they were still +pursued and insulted by the guards, the bishops, and the +magistrates. The fatal day of the second and final exile of +Chrysostom was marked by the conflagration of the cathedral, of +the senate-house, and of the adjacent buildings; and this +calamity was imputed, without proof, but not without probability, +to the despair of a persecuted faction. ^52 + +[Footnote 50: Palladius owns (p. 30) that if the people of +Constantinople had found Theophilus, they would certainly have +thrown him into the sea. Socrates mentions (l. vi. c. 17) a +battle between the mob and the sailors of Alexandria, in which +many wounds were given, and some lives were lost. The massacre of +the monks is observed only by the Pagan Zosimus, (l. v. p. 324,) +who acknowledges that Chrysostom had a singular talent to lead +the illiterate multitude.] + +[Footnote 51: See Socrates, l. vi. c. 18. Sozomen, l. viii. c. +20. Zosimus (l. v. p 324, 327) mentions, in general terms, his +invectives against Eudoxia. The homily, which begins with those +famous words, is rejected as spurious. Montfaucon, tom. xiii. p. +151. Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom xi. p. 603.] +[Footnote 52: We might naturally expect such a charge from +Zosimus, (l. v. p. 327;) but it is remarkable enough, that it +should be confirmed by Socrates, (l. vi. c. 18,) and the Paschal +Chronicle, (p. 307.)] + + Cicero might claim some merit, if his voluntary banishment +preserved the peace of the republic; ^53 but the submission of +Chrysostom was the indispensable duty of a Christian and a +subject. Instead of listening to his humble prayer, that he +might be permitted to reside at Cyzicus, or Nicomedia, the +inflexible empress assigned for his exile the remote and desolate +town of Cucusus, among the ridges of Mount Taurus, in the Lesser +Armenia. A secret hope was entertained, that the archbishop +might perish in a difficult and dangerous march of seventy days, +in the heat of summer, through the provinces of Asia Minor, where +he was continually threatened by the hostile attacks of the +Isaurians, and the more implacable fury of the monks. Yet +Chrysostom arrived in safety at the place of his confinement; and +the three years which he spent at Cucusus, and the neighboring +town of Arabissus, were the last and most glorious of his life. +His character was consecrated by absence and persecution; the +faults of his administration were no longer remembered; but every +tongue repeated the praises of his genius and virtue: and the +respectful attention of the Christian world was fixed on a desert +spot among the mountains of Taurus. From that solitude the +archbishop, whose active mind was invigorated by misfortunes, +maintained a strict and frequent correspondence ^54 with the most +distant provinces; exhorted the separate congregation of his +faithful adherents to persevere in their allegiance; urged the +destruction of the temples of Phoenicia, and the extirpation of +heresy in the Isle of Cyprus; extended his pastoral care to the +missions of Persia and Scythia; negotiated, by his ambassadors, +with the Roman pontiff and the emperor Honorius; and boldly +appealed, from a partial synod, to the supreme tribunal of a free +and general council. The mind of the illustrious exile was still +independent; but his captive body was exposed to the revenge of +the oppressors, who continued to abuse the name and authority of +Arcadius. ^55 An order was despatched for the instant removal of +Chrysostom to the extreme desert of Pityus: and his guards so +faithfully obeyed their cruel instructions, that, before he +reached the sea-coast of the Euxine, he expired at Comana, in +Pontus, in the sixtieth year of his age. The succeeding +generation acknowledged his innocence and merit. The archbishops +of the East, who might blush that their predecessors had been the +enemies of Chrysostom, were gradually disposed, by the firmness +of the Roman pontiff, to restore the honors of that venerable +name. ^56 At the pious solicitation of the clergy and people of +Constantinople, his relics, thirty years after his death, were +transported from their obscure sepulchre to the royal city. ^57 +The emperor Theodosius advanced to receive them as far as +Chalcedon; and, falling prostrate on the coffin, implored, in the +name of his guilty parents, Arcadius and Eudoxia, the forgiveness +of the injured saint. ^58 + +[Footnote 53: He displays those specious motives (Post Reditum, +c. 13, 14) in the language of an orator and a politician.] +[Footnote 54: Two hundred and forty-two of the epistles of +Chrysostom are still extant, (Opera, tom. iii. p. 528 - 736.) +They are addressed to a great variety of persons, and show a +firmness of mind much superior to that of Cicero in his exile. +The fourteenth epistle contains a curious narrative of the +dangers of his journey.] + +[Footnote 55: After the exile of Chrysostom, Theophilus published +an enormous and horrible volume against him, in which he +perpetually repeats the polite expressions of hostem humanitatis, +sacrilegorum principem, immundum daemonem; he affirms, that John +Chrysostom had delivered his soul to be adulterated by the devil; +and wishes that some further punishment, adequate (if possible) +to the magnitude of his crimes, may be inflicted on him. St. +Jerom, at the request of his friend Theophilus, translated this +edifying performance from Greek into Latin. See Facundus +Hermian. Defens. pro iii. Capitul. l. vi. c. 5 published by +Sirmond. Opera, tom. ii. p. 595, 596, 597.] +[Footnote 56: His name was inserted by his successor Atticus in +the Dyptics of the church of Constantinople, A.D. 418. Ten years +afterwards he was revered as a saint. Cyril, who inherited the +place, and the passions, of his uncle Theophilus, yielded with +much reluctance. See Facund. Hermian. l. 4, c. 1. Tillemont, +Mem. Eccles. tom. xiv. p. 277 - 283.] + +[Footnote 57: Socrates, l. vii. c. 45. Theodoret, l. v. c. 36. +This event reconciled the Joannites, who had hitherto refused to +acknowledge his successors. During his lifetime, the Joannites +were respected, by the Catholics, as the true and orthodox +communion of Constantinople. Their obstinacy gradually drove +them to the brink of schism.] + +[Footnote 58: According to some accounts, (Baronius, Annal. +Eccles. A.D. 438 No. 9, 10,) the emperor was forced to send a +letter of invitation and excuses, before the body of the +ceremonious saint could be moved from Comana.] + +Chapter XXXII: Emperors Arcadius, Eutropius, Theodosius II. +Part III. + + Yet a reasonable doubt may be entertained, whether any stain +of hereditary guilt could be derived from Arcadius to his +successor. Eudoxia was a young and beautiful woman, who indulged +her passions, and despised her husband; Count John enjoyed, at +least, the familiar confidence of the empress; and the public +named him as the real father of Theodosius the younger. ^59 The +birth of a son was accepted, however, by the pious husband, as an +event the most fortunate and honorable to himself, to his family, +and to the Eastern world: and the royal infant, by an +unprecedented favor, was invested with the titles of Caesar and +Augustus. In less than four years afterwards, Eudoxia, in the +bloom of youth, was destroyed by the consequences of a +miscarriage; and this untimely death confounded the prophecy of a +holy bishop, ^60 who, amidst the universal joy, had ventured to +foretell, that she should behold the long and auspicious reign of +her glorious son. The Catholics applauded the justice of Heaven, +which avenged the persecution of St. Chrysostom; and perhaps the +emperor was the only person who sincerely bewailed the loss of +the haughty and rapacious Eudoxia. Such a domestic misfortune +afflicted him more deeply than the public calamities of the East; +^61 the licentious excursions, from Pontus to Palestine, of the +Isaurian robbers, whose impunity accused the weakness of the +government; and the earthquakes, the conflagrations, the famine, +and the flights of locusts, ^62 which the popular discontent was +equally disposed to attribute to the incapacity of the monarch. +At length, in the thirty-first year of his age, after a reign (if +we may abuse that word) of thirteen years, three months, and +fifteen days, Arcadius expired in the palace of Constantinople. +It is impossible to delineate his character; since, in a period +very copiously furnished with historical materials, it has not +been possible to remark one action that properly belongs to the +son of the great Theodosius. + +[Footnote 59: Zosimus, l. v. p. 315. The chastity of an empress +should not be impeached without producing a witness; but it is +astonishing, that the witness should write and live under a +prince whose legitimacy he dared to attack. We must suppose that +his history was a party libel, privately read and circulated by +the Pagans. Tillemont (Hist. des Empereurs, tom. v. p. 782) is +not averse to brand the reputation of Eudoxia.] + +[Footnote 60: Porphyry of Gaza. His zeal was transported by the +order which he had obtained for the destruction of eight Pagan +temples of that city. See the curious details of his life, +(Baronius, A.D. 401, No. 17 - 51,) originally written in Greek, +or perhaps in Syriac, by a monk, one of his favorite deacons.] +[Footnote 61: Philostorg. l. xi. c. 8, and Godefroy, Dissertat. +p. 457.] +[Footnote 62: Jerom (tom. vi. p. 73, 76) describes, in lively +colors, the regular and destructive march of the locusts, which +spread a dark cloud, between heaven and earth, over the land of +Palestine. Seasonable winds scattered them, partly into the Dead +Sea, and partly into the Mediterranean.] + The historian Procopius ^63 has indeed illuminated the mind +of the dying emperor with a ray of human prudence, or celestial +wisdom. Arcadius considered, with anxious foresight, the +helpless condition of his son Theodosius, who was no more than +seven years of age, the dangerous factions of a minority, and the +aspiring spirit of Jezdegerd, the Persian monarch. Instead of +tempting the allegiance of an ambitious subject, by the +participation of supreme power, he boldly appealed to the +magnanimity of a king; and placed, by a solemn testament, the +sceptre of the East in the hands of Jezdegerd himself. The royal +guardian accepted and discharged this honorable trust with +unexampled fidelity; and the infancy of Theodosius was protected +by the arms and councils of Persia. Such is the singular +narrative of Procopius; and his veracity is not disputed by +Agathias, ^64 while he presumes to dissent from his judgment, and +to arraign the wisdom of a Christian emperor, who, so rashly, +though so fortunately, committed his son and his dominions to the +unknown faith of a stranger, a rival, and a heathen. At the +distance of one hundred and fifty years, this political question +might be debated in the court of Justinian; but a prudent +historian will refuse to examine the propriety, till he has +ascertained the truth, of the testament of Arcadius. As it +stands without a parallel in the history of the world, we may +justly require, that it should be attested by the positive and +unanimous evidence of contemporaries. The strange novelty of the +event, which excites our distrust, must have attracted their +notice; and their universal silence annihilates the vain +tradition of the succeeding age. + +[Footnote 63: Procopius, de Bell. Persic. l. i. c. 2, p. 8, edit. + +Louvre.] +[[Footnote 64: Agathias, l. iv. p. 136, 137. Although he +confesses the prevalence of the tradition, he asserts, that +Procopius was the first who had committed it to writing. +Tillemont (Hist. des Empereurs, tom. vi. p. 597) argues very +sensibly on the merits of this fable. His criticism was not +warped by any ecclesiastical authority: both Procopius and +Agathias are half Pagans. + + Note: See St Martin's article on Jezdegerd, in the +Biographie Universelle de Michand. - M.] + + The maxims of Roman jurisprudence, if they could fairly be +transferred from private property to public dominion, would have +adjudged to the emperor Honorius the guardianship of his nephew, +till he had attained, at least, the fourteenth year of his age. +But the weakness of Honorius, and the calamities of his reign, +disqualified him from prosecuting this natural claim; and such +was the absolute separation of the two monarchies, both in +interest and affection, that Constantinople would have obeyed, +with less reluctance, the orders of the Persian, than those of +the Italian, court. Under a prince whose weakness is disguised by +the external signs of manhood and discretion, the most worthless +favorites may secretly dispute the empire of the palace; and +dictate to submissive provinces the commands of a master, whom +they direct and despise. But the ministers of a child, who is +incapable of arming them with the sanction of the royal name, +must acquire and exercise an independent authority. The great +officers of the state and army, who had been appointed before the +death of Arcadius, formed an aristocracy, which might have +inspired them with the idea of a free republic; and the +government of the Eastern empire was fortunately assumed by the +praefect Anthemius, ^65 who obtained, by his superior abilities, +a lasting ascendant over the minds of his equals. The safety of +the young emperor proved the merit and integrity of Anthemius; +and his prudent firmness sustained the force and reputation of an +infant reign. Uldin, with a formidable host of Barbarians, was +encamped in the heart of Thrace; he proudly rejected all terms of +accommodation; and, pointing to the rising sun, declared to the +Roman ambassadors, that the course of that planet should alone +terminate the conquest of the Huns. But the desertion of his +confederates, who were privately convinced of the justice and +liberality of the Imperial ministers, obliged Uldin to repass the +Danube: the tribe of the Scyrri, which composed his rear-guard, +was almost extirpated; and many thousand captives were dispersed +to cultivate, with servile labor, the fields of Asia. ^66 In the +midst of the public triumph, Constantinople was protected by a +strong enclosure of new and more extensive walls; the same +vigilant care was applied to restore the fortifications of the +Illyrian cities; and a plan was judiciously conceived, which, in +the space of seven years, would have secured the command of the +Danube, by establishing on that river a perpetual fleet of two +hundred and fifty armed vessels. ^67 + +[Footnote 65: Socrates, l. vii. c. l. Anthemius was the grandson +of Philip, one of the ministers of Constantius, and the +grandfather of the emperor Anthemius. After his return from the +Persian embassy, he was appointed consul and Praetorian praefect +of the East, in the year 405 and held the praefecture about ten +years. See his honors and praises in Godefroy, Cod. Theod. tom. +vi. p. 350. Tillemont, Hist. des Emptom. vi. p. 1. &c.] + +[Footnote 66: Sozomen, l. ix. c. 5. He saw some Scyrri at work +near Mount Olympus, in Bithynia, and cherished the vain hope that +those captives were the last of the nation.] + +[Footnote 67: Cod. Theod. l. vii. tit. xvi. l. xv. tit. i. leg. +49.] + But the Romans had so long been accustomed to the authority +of a monarch, that the first, even among the females, of the +Imperial family, who displayed any courage or capacity, was +permitted to ascend the vacant throne of Theodosius. His sister +Pulcheria, ^68 who was only two years older than himself, +received, at the age of sixteen, the title of Augusta; and though +her favor might be sometimes clouded by caprice or intrigue, she +continued to govern the Eastern empire near forty years; during +the long minority of her brother, and after his death, in her own +name, and in the name of Marcian, her nominal husband. From a +motive either of prudence or religion, she embraced a life of +celibacy; and notwithstanding some aspersions on the chastity of +Pulcheria, ^69 this resolution, which she communicated to her +sisters Arcadia and Marina, was celebrated by the Christian +world, as the sublime effort of heroic piety. In the presence of +the clergy and people, the three daughters of Arcadius ^70 +dedicated their virginity to God; and the obligation of their +solemn vow was inscribed on a tablet of gold and gems; which they +publicly offered in the great church of Constantinople. Their +palace was converted into a monastery; and all males, except the +guides of their conscience, the saints who had forgotten the +distinction of sexes, were scrupulously excluded from the holy +threshold. Pulcheria, her two sisters, and a chosen train of +favorite damsels, formed a religious community: they denounced +the vanity of dress; interrupted, by frequent fasts, their simple +and frugal diet; allotted a portion of their time to works of +embroidery; and devoted several hours of the day and night to the +exercises of prayer and psalmody. The piety of a Christian +virgin was adorned by the zeal and liberality of an empress. +Ecclesiastical history describes the splendid churches, which +were built at the expense of Pulcheria, in all the provinces of +the East; her charitable foundations for the benefit of strangers +and the poor; the ample donations which she assigned for the +perpetual maintenance of monastic societies; and the active +severity with which she labored to suppress the opposite heresies +of Nestorius and Eutyches. Such virtues were supposed to deserve +the peculiar favor of the Deity: and the relics of martyrs, as +well as the knowledge of future events, were communicated in +visions and revelations to the Imperial saint. ^71 Yet the +devotion of Pulcheria never diverted her indefatigable attention +from temporal affairs; and she alone, among all the descendants +of the great Theodosius, appears to have inherited any share of +his manly spirit and abilities. The elegant and familiar use +which she had acquired, both of the Greek and Latin languages, +was readily applied to the various occasions of speaking or +writing, on public business: her deliberations were maturely +weighed; her actions were prompt and decisive; and, while she +moved, without noise or ostentation, the wheel of government, she +discreetly attributed to the genius of the emperor the long +tranquillity of his reign. In the last years of his peaceful +life, Europe was indeed afflicted by the arms of war; but the +more extensive provinces of Asia still continued to enjoy a +profound and permanent repose. Theodosius the younger was never +reduced to the disgraceful necessity of encountering and +punishing a rebellious subject: and since we cannot applaud the +vigor, some praise may be due to the mildness and prosperity, of +the administration of Pulcheria. + +[Footnote 68: Sozomen has filled three chapters with a +magnificent panegyric of Pulcheria, (l. ix. c. 1, 2, 3;) and +Tillemont (Memoires Eccles. tom. xv. p. 171 - 184) has dedicated +a separate article to the honor of St. Pulcheria, virgin and +empress. + + Note: The heathen Eunapius gives a frightful picture of the +venality and a justice of the court of Pulcheria. Fragm. Eunap. +in Mai, ii. 293, in p. 97. - M.] + +[Footnote 69: Suidas, (Excerpta, p. 68, in Script. Byzant.) +pretends, on the credit of the Nestorians, that Pulcheria was +exasperated against their founder, because he censured her +connection with the beautiful Paulinus, and her incest with her +brother Theodosius.] + +[Footnote 70: See Ducange, Famil. Byzantin. p. 70. Flaccilla, +the eldest daughter, either died before Arcadius, or, if she +lived till the year 431, (Marcellin. Chron.,) some defect of mind +or body must have excluded her from the honors of her rank.] +[Footnote 71: She was admonished, by repeated dreams, of the +place where the relics of the forty martyrs had been buried. The +ground had successively belonged to the house and garden of a +woman of Constantinople, to a monastery of Macedonian monks, and +to a church of St. Thyrsus, erected by Caesarius, who was consul +A.D. 397; and the memory of the relics was almost obliterated. +Notwithstanding the charitable wishes of Dr. Jortin, (Remarks, +tom. iv. p. 234,) it is not easy to acquit Pulcheria of some +share in the pious fraud; which must have been transacted when +she was more than five-and-thirty years of age.] + + The Roman world was deeply interested in the education of +its master. A regular course of study and exercise was +judiciously instituted; of the military exercises of riding, and +shooting with the bow; of the liberal studies of grammar, +rhetoric, and philosophy: the most skilful masters of the East +ambitiously solicited the attention of their royal pupil; and +several noble youths were introduced into the palace, to animate +his diligence by the emulation of friendship. Pulcheria alone +discharged the important task of instructing her brother in the +arts of government; but her precepts may countenance some +suspicions of the extent of her capacity, or of the purity of her +intentions. She taught him to maintain a grave and majestic +deportment; to walk, to hold his robes, to seat himself on his +throne, in a manner worthy of a great prince; to abstain from +laughter; to listen with condescension; to return suitable +answers; to assume, by turns, a serious or a placid countenance: +in a word, to represent with grace and dignity the external +figure of a Roman emperor. But Theodosius ^72 was never excited +to support the weight and glory of an illustrious name: and, +instead of aspiring to support his ancestors, he degenerated (if +we may presume to measure the degrees of incapacity) below the +weakness of his father and his uncle. Arcadius and Honorius had +been assisted by the guardian care of a parent, whose lessons +were enforced by his authority and example. But the unfortunate +prince, who is born in the purple, must remain a stranger to the +voice of truth; and the son of Arcadius was condemned to pass his +perpetual infancy encompassed only by a servile train of women +and eunuchs. The ample leisure which he acquired by neglecting +the essential duties of his high office, was filled by idle +amusements and unprofitable studies. Hunting was the only active +pursuit that could tempt him beyond the limits of the palace; but +he most assiduously labored, sometimes by the light of a midnight +lamp, in the mechanic occupations of painting and carving; and +the elegance with which he transcribed religious books entitled +the Roman emperor to the singular epithet of Calligraphes, or a +fair writer. Separated from the world by an impenetrable veil, +Theodosius trusted the persons whom he loved; he loved those who +were accustomed to amuse and flatter his indolence; and as he +never perused the papers that were presented for the royal +signature, the acts of injustice the most repugnant to his +character were frequently perpetrated in his name. The emperor +himself was chaste, temperate, liberal, and merciful; but these +qualities, which can only deserve the name of virtues when they +are supported by courage and regulated by discretion, were seldom +beneficial, and they sometimes proved mischievous, to mankind. +His mind, enervated by a royal education, was oppressed and +degraded by abject superstition: he fasted, he sung psalms, he +blindly accepted the miracles and doctrines with which his faith +was continually nourished. Theodosius devoutly worshipped the +dead and living saints of the Catholic church; and he once +refused to eat, till an insolent monk, who had cast an +excommunication on his sovereign, condescended to heal the +spiritual wound which he had inflicted. ^73 + +[Footnote 72: There is a remarkable difference between the two +ecclesiastical historians, who in general bear so close a +resemblance. Sozomen (l. ix. c. 1) ascribes to Pulcheria the +government of the empire, and the education of her brother, whom +he scarcely condescends to praise. Socrates, though he affectedly +disclaims all hopes of favor or fame, composes an elaborate +panegyric on the emperor, and cautiously suppresses the merits of +his sister, (l. vii. c. 22, 42.) Philostorgius (l. xii. c. 7) +expresses the influence of Pulcheria in gentle and courtly +language. Suidas (Excerpt. p. 53) gives a true character of +Theodosius; and I have followed the example of Tillemont (tom. +vi. p. 25) in borrowing some strokes from the modern Greeks.] +[Footnote 73: Theodoret, l. v. c. 37. The bishop of Cyrrhus, one +of the first men of his age for his learning and piety, applauds +the obedience of Theodosius to the divine laws.] + + The story of a fair and virtuous maiden, exalted from a +private condition to the Imperial throne, might be deemed an +incredible romance, if such a romance had not been verified in +the marriage of Theodosius. The celebrated Athenais ^74 was +educated by her father Leontius in the religion and sciences of +the Greeks; and so advantageous was the opinion which the +Athenian philosopher entertained of his contemporaries, that he +divided his patrimony between his two sons, bequeathing to his +daughter a small legacy of one hundred pieces of gold, in the +lively confidence that her beauty and merit would be a sufficient +portion. The jealousy and avarice of her brothers soon compelled +Athenais to seek a refuge at Constantinople; and, with some +hopes, either of justice or favor, to throw herself at the feet +of Pulcheria. That sagacious princess listened to her eloquent +complaint; and secretly destined the daughter of the philosopher +Leontius for the future wife of the emperor of the East, who had +now attained the twentieth year of his age. She easily excited +the curiosity of her brother, by an interesting picture of the +charms of Athenais; large eyes, a well- proportioned nose, a fair +complexion, golden locks, a slender person, a graceful demeanor, +an understanding improved by study, and a virtue tried by +distress. Theodosius, concealed behind a curtain in the +apartment of his sister, was permitted to behold the Athenian +virgin: the modest youth immediately declared his pure and +honorable love; and the royal nuptials were celebrated amidst the +acclamations of the capital and the provinces. Athenais, who was +easily persuaded to renounce the errors of Paganism, received at +her baptism the Christian name of Eudocia; but the cautious +Pulcheria withheld the title of Augusta, till the wife of +Theodosius had approved her fruitfulness by the birth of a +daughter, who espoused, fifteen years afterwards, the emperor of +the West. The brothers of Eudocia obeyed, with some anxiety, her +Imperial summons; but as she could easily forgive their +unfortunate unkindness, she indulged the tenderness, or perhaps +the vanity, of a sister, by promoting them to the rank of consuls +and praefects. In the luxury of the palace, she still cultivated +those ingenuous arts which had contributed to her greatness; and +wisely dedicated her talents to the honor of religion, and of her +husband. Eudocia composed a poetical paraphrase of the first +eight books of the Old Testament, and of the prophecies of Daniel +and Zechariah; a cento of the verses of Homer, applied to the +life and miracles of Christ, the legend of St. Cyprian, and a +panegyric on the Persian victories of Theodosius; and her +writings, which were applauded by a servile and superstitious +age, have not been disdained by the candor of impartial +criticism. ^75 The fondness of the emperor was not abated by time +and possession; and Eudocia, after the marriage of her daughter, +was permitted to discharge her grateful vows by a solemn +pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Her ostentatious progress through the +East may seem inconsistent with the spirit of Christian humility; +she pronounced, from a throne of gold and gems, an eloquent +oration to the senate of Antioch, declared her royal intention of +enlarging the walls of the city, bestowed a donative of two +hundred pounds of gold to restore the public baths, and accepted +the statues, which were decreed by the gratitude of Antioch. In +the Holy Land, her alms and pious foundations exceeded the +munificence of the great Helena, and though the public treasure +might be impoverished by this excessive liberality, she enjoyed +the conscious satisfaction of returning to Constantinople with +the chains of St. Peter, the right arm of St. Stephen, and an +undoubted picture of the Virgin, painted by St. Luke. ^76 But +this pilgrimage was the fatal term of the glories of Eudocia. +Satiated with empty pomp, and unmindful, perhaps, of her +obligations to Pulcheria, she ambitiously aspired to the +government of the Eastern empire; the palace was distracted by +female discord; but the victory was at last decided, by the +superior ascendant of the sister of Theodosius. The execution of +Paulinus, master of the offices, and the disgrace of Cyrus, +Praetorian praefect of the East, convinced the public that the +favor of Eudocia was insufficient to protect her most faithful +friends; and the uncommon beauty of Paulinus encouraged the +secret rumor, that his guilt was that of a successful lover. ^77 +As soon as the empress perceived that the affection of Theodosius +was irretrievably lost, she requested the permission of retiring +to the distant solitude of Jerusalem. She obtained her request; +but the jealousy of Theodosius, or the vindictive spirit of +Pulcheria, pursued her in her last retreat; and Saturninus, count +of the domestics, was directed to punish with death two +ecclesiastics, her most favored servants. Eudocia instantly +revenged them by the assassination of the count; the furious +passions which she indulged on this suspicious occasion, seemed +to justify the severity of Theodosius; and the empress, +ignominiously stripped of the honors of her rank, ^78 was +disgraced, perhaps unjustly, in the eyes of the world. The +remainder of the life of Eudocia, about sixteen years, was spent +in exile and devotion; and the approach of age, the death of +Theodosius, the misfortunes of her only daughter, who was led a +captive from Rome to Carthage, and the society of the Holy Monks +of Palestine, insensibly confirmed the religious temper of her +mind. After a full experience of the vicissitudes of human life, +the daughter of the philosopher Leontius expired, at Jerusalem, +in the sixty-seventh year of her age; protesting, with her dying +breath, that she had never transgressed the bounds of innocence +and friendship. ^79 + +[Footnote 74: Socrates (l. vii. c. 21) mentions her name, +(Athenais, the daughter of Leontius, an Athenian sophist,) her +baptism, marriage, and poetical genius. The most ancient account +of her history is in John Malala (part ii. p. 20, 21, edit. +Venet. 1743) and in the Paschal Chronicle, (p. 311, 312.) Those +authors had probably seen original pictures of the empress +Eudocia. The modern Greeks, Zonaras, Cedrenus, &c., have +displayed the love, rather than the talent of fiction. From +Nicephorus, indeed, I have ventured to assume her age. The +writer of a romance would not have imagined, that Athenais was +near twenty eight years old when she inflamed the heart of a +young emperor.] + +[Footnote 75: Socrates, l. vii. c. 21, Photius, p. 413 - 420. +The Homeric cento is still extant, and has been repeatedly +printed: but the claim of Eudocia to that insipid performance is +disputed by the critics. See Fabricius, Biblioth. Graec. tom. +i. p. 357. The Ionia, a miscellaneous dictionary of history and +fable, was compiled by another empress of the name of Eudocia, +who lived in the eleventh century: and the work is still extant +in manuscript.] + +[Footnote 76: Baronius (Annal. Eccles. A.D. 438, 439) is copious +and florid, but he is accused of placing the lies of different +ages on the same level of authenticity.] + +[Footnote 77: In this short view of the disgrace of Eudocia, I +have imitated the caution of Evagrius (l. i. c. 21) and Count +Marcellinus, (in Chron A.D. 440 and 444.) The two authentic dates +assigned by the latter, overturn a great part of the Greek +fictions; and the celebrated story of the apple, &c., is fit only +for the Arabian Nights, where something not very unlike it may be +found.] +[Footnote 78: Priscus, (in Excerpt. Legat. p. 69,) a +contemporary, and a courtier, dryly mentions her Pagan and +Christian names, without adding any title of honor or respect.] +[Footnote 79: For the two pilgrimages of Eudocia, and her long +residence at Jerusalem, her devotion, alms, &c., see Socrates (l. +vii. c. 47) and Evagrius, (l. i. c. 21, 22.) The Paschal +Chronicle may sometimes deserve regard; and in the domestic +history of Antioch, John Malala becomes a writer of good +authority. The Abbe Guenee, in a memoir on the fertility of +Palestine, of which I have only seen an extract, calculates the +gifts of Eudocia at 20,488 pounds of gold, above 800,000 pounds +sterling.] + + The gentle mind of Theodosius was never inflamed by the +ambition of conquest, or military renown; and the slight alarm of +a Persian war scarcely interrupted the tranquillity of the East. +The motives of this war were just and honorable. In the last +year of the reign of Jezdegerd, the supposed guardian of +Theodosius, a bishop, who aspired to the crown of martyrdom, +destroyed one of the fire-temples of Susa. ^80 His zeal and +obstinacy were revenged on his brethren: the Magi excited a cruel +persecution; and the intolerant zeal of Jezdegerd was imitated by +his son Varanes, or Bahram, who soon afterwards ascended the +throne. Some Christian fugitives, who escaped to the Roman +frontier, were sternly demanded, and generously refused; and the +refusal, aggravated by commercial disputes, soon kindled a war +between the rival monarchies. The mountains of Armenia, and the +plains of Mesopotamia, were filled with hostile armies; but the +operations of two successive campaigns were not productive of any +decisive or memorable events. Some engagements were fought, some +towns were besieged, with various and doubtful success: and if +the Romans failed in their attempt to recover the long-lost +possession of Nisibis, the Persians were repulsed from the walls +of a Mesopotamian city, by the valor of a martial bishop, who +pointed his thundering engine in the name of St. Thomas the +Apostle. Yet the splendid victories which the incredible speed +of the messenger Palladius repeatedly announced to the palace of +Constantinople, were celebrated with festivals and panegyrics. +From these panegyrics the historians ^81 of the age might borrow +their extraordinary, and, perhaps, fabulous tales; of the proud +challenge of a Persian hero, who was entangled by the net, and +despatched by the sword, of Areobindus the Goth; of the ten +thousand Immortals, who were slain in the attack of the Roman +camp; and of the hundred thousand Arabs, or Saracens, who were +impelled by a panic terror to throw themselves headlong into the +Euphrates. Such events may be disbelieved or disregarded; but the +charity of a bishop, Acacius of Amida, whose name might have +dignified the saintly calendar, shall not be lost in oblivion. +Boldly declaring, that vases of gold and silver are useless to a +God who neither eats nor drinks, the generous prelate sold the +plate of the church of Amida; employed the price in the +redemption of seven thousand Persian captives; supplied their +wants with affectionate liberality; and dismissed them to their +native country, to inform their king of the true spirit of the +religion which he persecuted. The practice of benevolence in the +midst of war must always tend to assuage the animosity of +contending nations; and I wish to persuade myself, that Acacius +contributed to the restoration of peace. In the conference which +was held on the limits of the two empires, the Roman ambassadors +degraded the personal character of their sovereign, by a vain +attempt to magnify the extent of his power; when they seriously +advised the Persians to prevent, by a timely accommodation, the +wrath of a monarch, who was yet ignorant of this distant war. A +truce of one hundred years was solemnly ratified; and although +the revolutions of Armenia might threaten the public +tranquillity, the essential conditions of this treaty were +respected near fourscore years by the successors of Constantine +and Artaxerxes. + +[Footnote 80: Theodoret, l. v. c. 39 Tillemont. Mem. Eccles tom. +xii. 356 - 364. Assemanni, Bibliot. Oriental. tom. iii. p. 396, +tom. iv. p. 61. Theodoret blames the rashness of Abdas, but +extols the constancy of his martyrdom. Yet I do not clearly +understand the casuistry which prohibits our repairing the damage +which we have unlawfully committed.] + +[Footnote 81: Socrates (l. vii. c. 18, 19, 20, 21) is the best +author for the Persian war. We may likewise consult the three +Chronicles, the Paschal and those of Marcellinus and Malala.] + Since the Roman and Parthian standards first encountered on +the banks of the Euphrates, the kingdom of Armenia ^82 was +alternately oppressed by its formidable protectors; and in the +course of this History, several events, which inclined the +balance of peace and war, have been already related. A +disgraceful treaty had resigned Armenia to the ambition of Sapor; +and the scale of Persia appeared to preponderate. But the royal +race of Arsaces impatiently submitted to the house of Sassan; the +turbulent nobles asserted, or betrayed, their hereditary +independence; and the nation was still attached to the Christian +princes of Constantinople. In the beginning of the fifth +century, Armenia was divided by the progress of war and faction; +^83 and the unnatural division precipitated the downfall of that +ancient monarchy. Chosroes, the Persian vassal, reigned over the +Eastern and most extensive portion of the country; while the +Western province acknowledged the jurisdiction of Arsaces, and +the supremacy of the emperor Arcadius. ^* After the death of +Arsaces, the Romans suppressed the regal government, and imposed +on their allies the condition of subjects. The military command +was delegated to the count of the Armenian frontier; the city of +Theodosiopolis ^84 was built and fortified in a strong situation, +on a fertile and lofty ground, near the sources of the Euphrates; +and the dependent territories were ruled by five satraps, whose +dignity was marked by a peculiar habit of gold and purple. The +less fortunate nobles, who lamented the loss of their king, and +envied the honors of their equals, were provoked to negotiate +their peace and pardon at the Persian court; and returning, with +their followers, to the palace of Artaxata, acknowledged Chosroes +^! for their lawful sovereign. About thirty years afterwards, +Artasires, the nephew and successor of Chosroes, fell under the +displeasure of the haughty and capricious nobles of Armenia; and +they unanimously desired a Persian governor in the room of an +unworthy king. The answer of the archbishop Isaac, whose +sanction they earnestly solicited, is expressive of the character +of a superstitious people. He deplored the manifest and +inexcusable vices of Artasires; and declared, that he should not +hesitate to accuse him before the tribunal of a Christian +emperor, who would punish, without destroying, the sinner. "Our +king," continued Isaac, "is too much addicted to licentious +pleasures, but he has been purified in the holy waters of +baptism. He is a lover of women, but he does not adore the fire +or the elements. He may deserve the reproach of lewdness, but he +is an undoubted Catholic; and his faith is pure, though his +manners are flagitious. I will never consent to abandon my sheep +to the rage of devouring wolves; and you would soon repent your +rash exchange of the infirmities of a believer, for the specious +virtues of a heathen." ^85 Exasperated by the firmness of Isaac, +the factious nobles accused both the king and the archbishop as +the secret adherents of the emperor; and absurdly rejoiced in the +sentence of condemnation, which, after a partial hearing, was +solemnly pronounced by Bahram himself. The descendants of +Arsaces were degraded from the royal dignity, ^86 which they had +possessed above five hundred and sixty years; ^87 and the +dominions of the unfortunate Artasires, ^* under the new and +significant appellation of Persarmenia, were reduced into the +form of a province. This usurpation excited the jealousy of the +Roman government; but the rising disputes were soon terminated by +an amicable, though unequal, partition of the ancient kingdom of +Armenia: ^** and a territorial acquisition, which Augustus might +have despised, reflected some lustre on the declining empire of +the younger Theodosius. + +[Footnote 82: This account of the ruin and division of the +kingdom of Armenia is taken from the third book of the Armenian +history of Moses of Chorene. Deficient as he is in every +qualification of a good historian, his local information, his +passions, and his prejudices are strongly expressive of a native +and contemporary. Procopius (de Edificiis, l. iii. c. 1, 5) +relates the same facts in a very different manner; but I have +extracted the circumstances the most probable in themselves, and +the least inconsistent with Moses of Chorene.] + +[Footnote 83: The western Armenians used the Greek language and +characters in their religious offices; but the use of that +hostile tongue was prohibited by the Persians in the Eastern +provinces, which were obliged to use the Syriac, till the +invention of the Armenian letters by Mesrobes, in the beginning +of the fifth century, and the subsequent version of the Bible +into the Armenian language; an event which relaxed to the +connection of the church and nation with Constantinople.] + +[Footnote 84: Moses Choren. l. iii. c. 59, p. 309, and p. 358. +Procopius, de Edificiis, l. iii. c. 5. Theodosiopolis stands, or +rather stood, about thirty-five miles to the east of Arzeroum, +the modern capital of Turkish Armenia. See D'Anville, Geographie +Ancienne, tom. ii. p. 99, 100.] +[Footnote *: The division of Armenia, according to M. St. Martin, +took place much earlier, A. C. 390. The Eastern or Persian +division was four times as large as the Western or Roman. This +partition took place during the reigns of Theodosius the First, +and Varanes (Bahram) the Fourth. St. Martin, Sup. to Le Beau, +iv. 429. This partition was but imperfectly accomplished, as +both parts were afterwards reunited under Chosroes, who paid +tribute both to the Roman emperor and to the Persian king. v. +439. - M.] + +[Footnote !: Chosroes, according to Procopius (who calls him +Arsaces, the common name of the Armenian kings) and the Armenian +writers, bequeathed to his two sons, to Tigranes the Persian, to +Arsaces the Roman, division of Armenia, A. C. 416. With the +assistance of the discontented nobles the Persian king placed his +son Sapor on the throne of the Eastern division; the Western at +the same time was united to the Roman empire, and called the +Greater Armenia. It was then that Theodosiopolis was built. +Sapor abandoned the throne of Armenia to assert his rights to +that of Persia; he perished in the struggle, and after a period +of anarchy, Bahram V., who had ascended the throne of Persia, +placed the last native prince, Ardaschir, son of Bahram +Schahpour, on the throne of the Persian division of Armenia. St. +Martin, v. 506. This Ardaschir was the Artasires of Gibbon. The +archbishop Isaac is called by the Armenians the Patriarch Schag. +St. Martin, vi. 29. - M.] + +[Footnote 85: Moses Choren, l. iii. c. 63, p. 316. According to +the institution of St. Gregory, the Apostle of Armenia, the +archbishop was always of the royal family; a circumstance which, +in some degree, corrected the influence of the sacerdotal +character, and united the mitre with the crown.] +[Footnote 86: A branch of the royal house of Arsaces still +subsisted with the rank and possessions (as it should seem) of +Armenian satraps. See Moses Choren. l. iii. c. 65, p. 321.] +[Footnote 87: Valarsaces was appointed king of Armenia by his +brother the Parthian monarch, immediately after the defeat of +Antiochus Sidetes, (Moses Choren. l. ii. c. 2, p. 85,) one +hundred and thirty years before Christ. Without depending on the +various and contradictory periods of the reigns of the last +kings, we may be assured, that the ruin of the Armenian kingdom +happened after the council of Chalcedon, A.D. 431, (l. iii. c. +61, p. 312;) and under Varamus, or Bahram, king of Persia, (l. +iii. c. 64, p. 317,) who reigned from A.D. 420 to 440. See +Assemanni, Bibliot. Oriental. tom. iii. p. 396. + + Note: Five hundred and eighty. St. Martin, ibid. He places +this event A. C 429. - M.] + + Note: According to M. St. Martin, vi. 32, Vagharschah, or +Valarsaces, was appointed king by his brother Mithridates the +Great, king of Parthia. - M.] +[Footnote *: Artasires or Ardaschir was probably sent to the +castle of Oblivion. St. Martin, vi. 31. - M.] + +[Footnote **: The duration of the Armenian kingdom according to +M. St. Martin, was 580 years. - M] + +Chapter XXXIII: Conquest Of Africa By The Vandals. + +Part I. + + Death Of Honorius. - Valentinian III. - Emperor Of The East. +- Administration Of His Mother Placidia - Aetius And Boniface. - +Conquest Of Africa By The Vandals. + + During a long and disgraceful reign of twenty-eight years, +Honorius, emperor of the West, was separated from the friendship +of his brother, and afterwards of his nephew, who reigned over +the East; and Constantinople beheld, with apparent indifference +and secret joy, the calamities of Rome. The strange adventures of +Placidia ^1 gradually renewed and cemented the alliance of the +two empires. The daughter of the great Theodosius had been the +captive, and the queen, of the Goths; she lost an affectionate +husband; she was dragged in chains by his insulting assassin; she +tasted the pleasure of revenge, and was exchanged, in the treaty +of peace, for six hundred thousand measures of wheat. After her +return from Spain to Italy, Placidia experienced a new +persecution in the bosom of her family. She was averse to a +marriage, which had been stipulated without her consent; and the +brave Constantius, as a noble reward for the tyrants whom he had +vanquished, received, from the hand of Honorius himself, the +struggling and the reluctant hand of the widow of Adolphus. But +her resistance ended with the ceremony of the nuptials: nor did +Placidia refuse to become the mother of Honoria and Valentinian +the Third, or to assume and exercise an absolute dominion over +the mind of her grateful husband. The generous soldier, whose +time had hitherto been divided between social pleasure and +military service, was taught new lessons of avarice and ambition: +he extorted the title of Augustus: and the servant of Honorius +was associated to the empire of the West. The death of +Constantius, in the seventh month of his reign, instead of +diminishing, seemed to inerease the power of Placidia; and the +indecent familiarity ^2 of her brother, which might be no more +than the symptoms of a childish affection, were universally +attributed to incestuous love. On a sudden, by some base +intrigues of a steward and a nurse, this excessive fondness was +converted into an irreconcilable quarrel: the debates of the +emperor and his sister were not long confined within the walls of +the palace; and as the Gothic soldiers adhered to their queen, +the city of Ravenna was agitated with bloody and dangerous +tumults, which could only be appeased by the forced or voluntary +retreat of Placidia and her children. The royal exiles landed at +Constantinople, soon after the marriage of Theodosius, during the +festival of the Persian victories. They were treated with +kindness and magnificence; but as the statues of the emperor +Constantius had been rejected by the Eastern court, the title of +Augusta could not decently be allowed to his widow. Within a few +months after the arrival of Placidia, a swift messenger announced +the death of Honorius, the consequence of a dropsy; but the +important secret was not divulged, till the necessary orders had +been despatched for the march of a large body of troops to the +sea-coast of Dalmatia. The shops and the gates of Constantinople +remained shut during seven days; and the loss of a foreign +prince, who could neither be esteemed nor regretted, was +celebrated with loud and affected demonstrations of the public +grief. +[Footnote 1: See vol. iii. p. 296.] + +[Footnote 2: It is the expression of Olympiodorus (apud Phetium +p. 197;) who means, perhaps, to describe the same caresses which +Mahomet bestowed on his daughter Phatemah. Quando, (says the +prophet himself,) quando subit mihi desiderium Paradisi, osculor +eam, et ingero linguam meam in os ejus. But this sensual +indulgence was justified by miracle and mystery; and the anecdote +has been communicated to the public by the Reverend Father +Maracci in his Version and Confutation of the Koran, tom. i. p. +32.] + + While the ministers of Constantinople deliberated, the +vacant throne of Honorius was usurped by the ambition of a +stranger. The name of the rebel was John; he filled the +confidential office of Primicerius, or principal secretary, and +history has attributed to his character more virtues, than can +easily be reconciled with the violation of the most sacred duty. +Elated by the submission of Italy, and the hope of an alliance +with the Huns, John presumed to insult, by an embassy, the +majesty of the Eastern emperor; but when he understood that his +agents had been banished, imprisoned, and at length chased away +with deserved ignominy, John prepared to assert, by arms, the +injustice of his claims. In such a cause, the grandson of the +great Theodosius should have marched in person: but the young +emperor was easily diverted, by his physicians, from so rash and +hazardous a design; and the conduct of the Italian expedition was +prudently intrusted to Ardaburius, and his son Aspar, who had +already signalized their valor against the Persians. It was +resolved, that Ardaburius should embark with the infantry; whilst +Aspar, at the head of the cavalry, conducted Placidia and her son +Valentinian along the sea-coast of the Adriatic. The march of +the cavalry was performed with such active diligence, that they +surprised, without resistance, the important city of Aquileia: +when the hopes of Aspar were unexpectedly confounded by the +intelligence, that a storm had dispersed the Imperial fleet; and +that his father, with only two galleys, was taken and carried a +prisoner into the port of Ravenna. Yet this incident, +unfortunate as it might seem, facilitated the conquest of Italy. +Ardaburius employed, or abused, the courteous freedom which he +was permitted to enjoy, to revive among the troops a sense of +loyalty and gratitude; and as soon as the conspiracy was ripe for +execution, he invited, by private messages, and pressed the +approach of, Aspar. A shepherd, whom the popular credulity +transformed into an angel, guided the eastern cavalry by a +secret, and, it was thought, an impassable road, through the +morasses of the Po: the gates of Ravenna, after a short struggle, +were thrown open; and the defenceless tyrant was delivered to the +mercy, or rather to the cruelty, of the conquerors. His right +hand was first cut off; and, after he had been exposed, mounted +on an ass, to the public derision, John was beheaded in the +circus of Aquileia. The emperor Theodosius, when he received the +news of the victory, interrupted the horse-races; and singing, as +he marched through the streets, a suitable psalm, conducted his +people from the Hippodrome to the church, where he spent the +remainder of the day in grateful devotion. ^3 + +[Footnote 3: For these revolutions of the Western empire, consult +Olympiodor, apud Phot. p. 192, 193, 196, 197, 200; Sozomen, l. +ix. c. 16; Socrates, l. vii. 23, 24; Philostorgius, l. xii. c. +10, 11, and Godefroy, Dissertat p. 486; Procopius, de Bell. +Vandal. l. i. c. 3, p. 182, 183, in Chronograph, p. 72, 73, and +the Chronicles.] + + In a monarchy, which, according to various precedents, might +be considered as elective, or hereditary, or patrimonial, it was +impossible that the intricate claims of female and collateral +succession should be clearly defined; ^4 and Theodosius, by the +right of consanguinity or conquest, might have reigned the sole +legitimate emperor of the Romans. For a moment, perhaps, his eyes +were dazzled by the prospect of unbounded sway; but his indolent +temper gradually acquiesced in the dictates of sound policy. He +contented himself with the possession of the East; and wisely +relinquished the laborious task of waging a distant and doubtful +war against the Barbarians beyond the Alps; or of securing the +obedience of the Italians and Africans, whose minds were +alienated by the irreconcilable difference of language and +interest. Instead of listening to the voice of ambition, +Theodosius resolved to imitate the moderation of his grandfather, +and to seat his cousin Valentinian on the throne of the West. +The royal infant was distinguished at Constantinople by the title +of Nobilissimus: he was promoted, before his departure from +Thessalonica, to the rank and dignity of Caesar; and after the +conquest of Italy, the patrician Helion, by the authority of +Theodosius, and in the presence of the senate, saluted +Valentinian the Third by the name of Augustus, and solemnly +invested him with the diadem and the Imperial purple. ^5 By the +agreement of the three females who governed the Roman world, the +son of Placidia was betrothed to Eudoxia, the daughter of +Theodosius and Athenais; and as soon as the lover and his bride +had attained the age of puberty, this honorable alliance was +faithfully accomplished. At the same time, as a compensation, +perhaps, for the expenses of the war, the Western Illyricum was +detached from the Italian dominions, and yielded to the throne of +Constantinople. ^6 The emperor of the East acquired the useful +dominion of the rich and maritime province of Dalmatia, and the +dangerous sovereignty of Pannonia and Noricum, which had been +filled and ravaged above twenty years by a promiscuous crowd of +Huns, Ostrogoths, Vandals, and Bavarians. Theodosius and +Valentinian continued to respect the obligations of their public +and domestic alliance; but the unity of the Roman government was +finally dissolved. By a positive declaration, the validity of +all future laws was limited to the dominions of their peculiar +author; unless he should think proper to communicate them, +subscribed with his own hand, for the approbation of his +independent colleague. ^7 + +[Footnote 4: See Grotius de Jure Belli et Pacis, l. ii. c. 7. He +has laboriously out vainly, attempted to form a reasonable system +of jurisprudence from the various and discordant modes of royal +succession, which have been introduced by fraud or force, by time +or accident.] + +[Footnote 5: The original writers are not agreed (see Muratori, +Annali d'Italia tom. iv. p. 139) whether Valentinian received the +Imperial diadem at Rome or Ravenna. In this uncertainty, I am +willing to believe, that some respect was shown to the senate.] +[Footnote 6: The count de Buat (Hist. des Peup es de l'Europe, +tom. vii. p. 292 - 300) has established the reality, explained +the motives, and traced the consequences, of this remarkable +cession.] + +[Footnote 7: See the first Novel of Theodosius, by which he +ratifies and communicates (A.D. 438) the Theodosian Code. About +forty years before that time, the unity of legislation had been +proved by an exception. The Jews, who were numerous in the +cities of Apulia and Calabria, produced a law of the East to +justify their exemption from municipal offices, (Cod. Theod. l. +xvi. tit. viii. leg. 13;) and the Western emperor was obliged to +invalidate, by a special edict, the law, quam constat meis +partibus esse damnosam. Cod. Theod. l. xi. tit. i. leg. 158.] + Valentinian, when he received the title of Augustus, was no +more than six years of age; and his long minority was intrusted +to the guardian care of a mother, who might assert a female claim +to the succession of the Western empire. Placidia envied, but +she could not equal, the reputation and virtues of the wife and +sister of Theodosius, the elegant genius of Eudocia, the wise and +successful policy of Pulcheria. The mother of Valentinian was +jealous of the power which she was incapable of exercising; ^8 +she reigned twenty-five years, in the name of her son; and the +character of that unworthy emperor gradually countenanced the +suspicion that Placidia had enervated his youth by a dissolute +education, and studiously diverted his attention from every manly +and honorable pursuit. Amidst the decay of military spirit, her +armies were commanded by two generals, Aetius ^9 and Boniface, +^10 who may be deservedly named as the last of the Romans. Their +union might have supported a sinking empire; their discord was +the fatal and immediate cause of the loss of Africa. The invasion +and defeat of Attila have immortalized the fame of Aetius; and +though time has thrown a shade over the exploits of his rival, +the defence of Marseilles, and the deliverance of Africa, attest +the military talents of Count Boniface. In the field of battle, +in partial encounters, in single combats, he was still the terror +of the Barbarians: the clergy, and particularly his friend +Augustin, were edified by the Christian piety which had once +tempted him to retire from the world; the people applauded his +spotless integrity; the army dreaded his equal and inexorable +justice, which may be displayed in a very singular example. A +peasant, who complained of the criminal intimacy between his wife +and a Gothic soldier, was directed to attend his tribunal the +following day: in the evening the count, who had diligently +informed himself of the time and place of the assignation, +mounted his horse, rode ten miles into the country, surprised the +guilty couple, punished the soldier with instant death, and +silenced the complaints of the husband by presenting him, the +next morning, with the head of the adulterer. The abilities of +Aetius and Boniface might have been usefully employed against the +public enemies, in separate and important commands; but the +experience of their past conduct should have decided the real +favor and confidence of the empress Placidia. In the melancholy +season of her exile and distress, Boniface alone had maintained +her cause with unshaken fidelity: and the troops and treasures of +Africa had essentially contributed to extinguish the rebellion. +The same rebellion had been supported by the zeal and activity of +Aetius, who brought an army of sixty thousand Huns from the +Danube to the confines of Italy, for the service of the usurper. +The untimely death of John compelled him to accept an +advantageous treaty; but he still continued, the subject and the +soldier of Valentinian, to entertain a secret, perhaps a +treasonable, correspondence with his Barbarian allies, whose +retreat had been purchased by liberal gifts, and more liberal +promises. But Aetius possessed an advantage of singular moment +in a female reign; he was present: he besieged, with artful and +assiduous flattery, the palace of Ravenna; disguised his dark +designs with the mask of loyalty and friendship; and at length +deceived both his mistress and his absent rival, by a subtle +conspiracy, which a weak woman and a brave man could not easily +suspect. He had secretly persuaded ^11 Placidia to recall +Boniface from the government of Africa; he secretly advised +Boniface to disobey the Imperial summons: to the one, he +represented the order as a sentence of death; to the other, he +stated the refusal as a signal of revolt; and when the credulous +and unsuspectful count had armed the province in his defence, +Aetius applauded his sagacity in foreseeing the rebellion, which +his own perfidy had excited. A temperate inquiry into the real +motives of Boniface would have restored a faithful servant to his +duty and to the republic; but the arts of Aetius still continued +to betray and to inflame, and the count was urged, by +persecution, to embrace the most desperate counsels. The success +with which he eluded or repelled the first attacks, could not +inspire a vain confidence, that at the head of some loose, +disorderly Africans, he should be able to withstand the regular +forces of the West, commanded by a rival, whose military +character it was impossible for him to despise. After some +hesitation, the last struggles of prudence and loyalty, Boniface +despatched a trusty friend to the court, or rather to the camp, +of Gonderic, king of the Vandals, with the proposal of a strict +alliance, and the offer of an advantageous and perpetual +settlement. +[Footnote 8: Cassiodorus (Variar. l. xi. Epist. i. p. 238) has +compared the regencies of Placidia and Amalasuntha. He arraigns +the weakness of the mother of Valentinian, and praises the +virtues of his royal mistress. On this occasion, flattery seems +to have spoken the language of truth.] +[Footnote 9: Philostorgius, l. xii. c. 12, and Godefroy's +Dissertat. p. 493, &c.; and Renatus Frigeridus, apud Gregor. +Turon. l. ii. c. 8, in tom. ii. p. 163. The father of Aetius was +Gaudentius, an illustrious citizen of the province of Scythia, +and master-general of the cavalry; his mother was a rich and +noble Italian. From his earliest youth, Aetius, as a soldier and +a hostage, had conversed with the Barbarians.] + +[Footnote 10: For the character of Boniface, see Olympiodorus, +apud Phot. p. 196; and St. Augustin apud Tillemont, Memoires +Eccles. tom. xiii. p. 712 - 715, 886. The bishop of Hippo at +length deplored the fall of his friend, who, after a solemn vow +of chastity, had married a second wife of the Arian sect, and who +was suspected of keeping several concubines in his house.] +[Footnote 11: Procopius (de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 3, 4, p. 182 - +186) relates the fraud of Aetius, the revolt of Boniface, and the +loss of Africa. This anecdote, which is supported by some +collateral testimony, (see Ruinart, Hist. Persecut. Vandal. p. +420, 421,) seems agreeable to the practice of ancient and modern +courts, and would be naturally revealed by the repentance of +Boniface.] + After the retreat of the Goths, the authority of Honorius +had obtained a precarious establishment in Spain; except only in +the province of Gallicia, where the Suevi and the Vandals had +fortified their camps, in mutual discord and hostile +independence. The Vandals prevailed; and their adversaries were +besieged in the Nervasian hills, between Leon and Oviedo, till +the approach of Count Asterius compelled, or rather provoked, the +victorious Barbarians to remove the scene of the war to the +plains of Boetica. The rapid progress of the Vandals soon +acquired a more effectual opposition; and the master-general +Castinus marched against them with a numerous army of Romans and +Goths. Vanquished in battle by an inferior army, Castinus fled +with dishonor to Tarragona; and this memorable defeat, which has +been represented as the punishment, was most probably the effect, +of his rash presumption. ^12 Seville and Carthagena became the +reward, or rather the prey, of the ferocious conquerors; and the +vessels which they found in the harbor of Carthagena might easily +transport them to the Isles of Majorca and Minorca, where the +Spanish fugitives, as in a secure recess, had vainly concealed +their families and their fortunes. The experience of navigation, +and perhaps the prospect of Africa, encouraged the Vandals to +accept the invitation which they received from Count Boniface; +and the death of Gonderic served only to forward and animate the +bold enterprise. In the room of a prince not conspicuous for any +superior powers of the mind or body, they acquired his bastard +brother, the terrible Genseric; ^13 a name, which, in the +destruction of the Roman empire, has deserved an equal rank with +the names of Alaric and Attila. The king of the Vandals is +described to have been of a middle stature, with a lameness in +one leg, which he had contracted by an accidental fall from his +horse. His slow and cautious speech seldom declared the deep +purposes of his soul; he disdained to imitate the luxury of the +vanquished; but he indulged the sterner passions of anger and +revenge. The ambition of Genseric was without bounds and without +scruples; and the warrior could dexterously employ the dark +engines of policy to solicit the allies who might be useful to +his success, or to scatter among his enemies the seeds of hatred +and contention. Almost in the moment of his departure he was +informed that Hermanric, king of the Suevi, had presumed to +ravage the Spanish territories, which he was resolved to abandon. + +Impatient of the insult, Genseric pursued the hasty retreat of +the Suevi as far as Merida; precipitated the king and his army +into the River Anas, and calmly returned to the sea-shore to +embark his victorious troops. The vessels which transported the +Vandals over the modern Straits of Gibraltar, a channel only +twelve miles in breadth, were furnished by the Spaniards, who +anxiously wished their departure; and by the African general, who +had implored their formidable assistance. ^14 + +[Footnote 12: See the Chronicles of Prosper and Idatius. Salvian +(de Gubernat. Dei, l. vii. p. 246, Paris, 1608) ascribes the +victory of the Vandals to their superior piety. They fasted, +they prayed, they carried a Bible in the front of the Host, with +the design, perhaps, of reproaching the perfidy and sacrilege of +their enemies.] + +[Footnote 13: Gizericus (his name is variously expressed) statura +mediocris et equi casu claudicans, animo profundus, sermone +rarus, luxuriae contemptor, ira turbidus, habendi cupidus, ad +solicitandas gentes providentissimus, semina contentionum jacere, +odia miscere paratus. Jornandes, de Rebus Geticis, c. 33, p. 657. + +This portrait, which is drawn with some skill, and a strong +likeness, must have been copied from the Gothic history of +Cassiodorus.] +[Footnote 14: See the Chronicle of Idatius. That bishop, a +Spaniard and a contemporary, places the passage of the Vandals in +the month of May, of the year of Abraham, (which commences in +October,) 2444. This date, which coincides with A.D. 429, is +confirmed by Isidore, another Spanish bishop, and is justly +preferred to the opinion of those writers who have marked for +that event one of the two preceding years. See Pagi Critica, +tom. ii. p. 205, &c.] + Our fancy, so long accustomed to exaggerate and multiply the +martial swarms of Barbarians that seemed to issue from the North, +will perhaps be surprised by the account of the army which +Genseric mustered on the coast of Mauritania. The Vandals, who +in twenty years had penetrated from the Elbe to Mount Atlas, were +united under the command of their warlike king; and he reigned +with equal authority over the Alani, who had passed, within the +term of human life, from the cold of Scythia to the excessive +heat of an African climate. The hopes of the bold enterprise had +excited many brave adventurers of the Gothic nation; and many +desperate provincials were tempted to repair their fortunes by +the same means which had occasioned their ruin. Yet this various +multitude amounted only to fifty thousand effective men; and +though Genseric artfully magnified his apparent strength, by +appointing eighty chinarchs, or commanders of thousands, the +fallacious increase of old men, of children, and of slaves, would +scarcely have swelled his army to the number of four-score +thousand persons. ^15 But his own dexterity, and the discontents +of Africa, soon fortified the Vandal powers, by the accession of +numerous and active allies. The parts of Mauritania which border +on the Great Desert and the Atlantic Ocean, were filled with a +fierce and untractable race of men, whose savage temper had been +exasperated, rather than reclaimed, by their dread of the Roman +arms. The wandering Moors, ^16 as they gradually ventured to +approach the seashore, and the camp of the Vandals, must have +viewed with terror and astonishment the dress, the armor, the +martial pride and discipline of the unknown strangers who had +landed on their coast; and the fair complexions of the blue-eyed +warriors of Germany formed a very singular contrast with the +swarthy or olive hue which is derived from the neighborhood of +the torrid zone. After the first difficulties had in some +measure been removed, which arose from the mutual ignorance of +their respective language, the Moors, regardless of any future +consequence, embraced the alliance of the enemies of Rome; and a +crowd of naked savages rushed from the woods and valleys of Mount +Atlas, to satiate their revenge on the polished tyrants, who had +injuriously expelled them from the native sovereignty of the +land. +[Footnote 15: Compare Procopius (de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 5, p. +190) and Victor Vitensis, (de Persecutione Vandal. l. i. c. 1, p. +3, edit. Ruinart.) We are assured by Idatius, that Genseric +evacuated Spain, cum Vandalis omnibus eorumque familiis; and +Possidius (in Vit. Augustin. c. 28, apud Ruinart, p. 427) +describes his army as manus ingens immanium gentium Vandalorum et +Alanorum, commixtam secum babens Gothorum gentem, aliarumque +diversarum personas.] + +[Footnote 16: For the manners of the Moors, see Procopius, (de +Bell. Vandal. l. ii. c. 6, p. 249;) for their figure and +complexion, M. de Buffon, (Histoire Naturelle, tom. iii. p. 430.) +Procopius says in general, that the Moors had joined the Vandals +before the death of Valentinian, (de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 5, p. +190;) and it is probable that the independent tribes did not +embrace any uniform system of policy.] + + The persecution of the Donatists ^17 was an event not less +favorable to the designs of Genseric. Seventeen years before he +landed in Africa, a public conference was held at Carthage, by +the order of the magistrate. The Catholics were satisfied, that, +after the invincible reasons which they had alleged, the +obstinacy of the schismatics must be inexcusable and voluntary; +and the emperor Honorius was persuaded to inflict the most +rigorous penalties on a faction which had so long abused his +patience and clemency. Three hundred bishops, ^18 with many +thousands of the inferior clergy, were torn from their churches, +stripped of their ecclesiastical possessions, banished to the +islands, and proscribed by the laws, if they presumed to conceal +themselves in the provinces of Africa. Their numerous +congregations, both in cities and in the country, were deprived +of the rights of citizens, and of the exercise of religious +worship. A regular scale of fines, from ten to two hundred +pounds of silver, was curiously ascertained, according to the +distinction of rank and fortune, to punish the crime of assisting +at a schismatic conventicle; and if the fine had been levied five +times, without subduing the obstinacy of the offender, his future +punishment was referred to the discretion of the Imperial court. +^19 By these severities, which obtained the warmest approbation +of St. Augustin, ^20 great numbers of Donatists were reconciled +to the Catholic Church; but the fanatics, who still persevered in +their opposition, were provoked to madness and despair; the +distracted country was filled with tumult and bloodshed; the +armed troops of Circumcellions alternately pointed their rage +against themselves, or against their adversaries; and the +calendar of martyrs received on both sides a considerable +augmentation. ^21 Under these circumstances, Genseric, a +Christian, but an enemy of the orthodox communion, showed himself +to the Donatists as a powerful deliverer, from whom they might +reasonably expect the repeal of the odious and oppressive edicts +of the Roman emperors. ^22 The conquest of Africa was facilitated +by the active zeal, or the secret favor, of a domestic faction; +the wanton outrages against the churches and the clergy of which +the Vandals are accused, may be fairly imputed to the fanaticism +of their allies; and the intolerant spirit which disgraced the +triumph of Christianity, contributed to the loss of the most +important province of the West. ^23 + +[Footnote 17: See Tillemont, Memoires Eccles. tom. xiii. p. 516 - +558; and the whole series of the persecution, in the original +monuments, published by Dupin at the end of Optatus, p. 323 - +515.] + +[Footnote 18: The Donatist Bishops, at the conference of +Carthage, amounted to 279; and they asserted that their whole +number was not less than 400. The Catholics had 286 present, 120 +absent, besides sixty four vacant bishoprics.] +[Footnote 19: The fifth title of the sixteenth book of the +Theodosian Code exhibits a series of the Imperial laws against +the Donatists, from the year 400 to the year 428. Of these the +54th law, promulgated by Honorius, A.D. 414, is the most severe +and effectual.] + +[Footnote 20: St. Augustin altered his opinion with regard tosthe +proper treatment of heretics. His pathetic declaration of pity +and indulgence for the Manichaeans, has been inserted by Mr. +Locke (vol. iii. p. 469) among the choice specimens of his +common-place book. Another philosopher, the celebrated Bayle, +(tom. ii. p. 445 - 496,) has refuted, with superfluous diligence +and ingenuity, the arguments by which the bishop of Hippo +justified, in his old age, the persecution of the Donatists.] +[Footnote 21: See Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. xiii. p. 586 - +592, 806. The Donatists boasted of thousands of these voluntary +martyrs. Augustin asserts, and probably with truth, that these +numbers were much exaggerated; but he sternly maintains, that it +was better that some should burn themselves in this world, than +that all should burn in hell flames.] + +[Footnote 22: According to St. Augustin and Theodoret, the +Donatists were inclined to the principles, or at least to the +party, of the Arians, which Genseric supported. Tillemont, Mem. +Eccles. tom. vi. p. 68.] +[Footnote 23: See Baronius, Annal. Eccles. A.D. 428, No. 7, A.D. +439, No. 35. The cardinal, though more inclined to seek the cause +of great events in heaven than on the earth, has observed the +apparent connection of the Vandals and the Donatists. Under the +reign of the Barbarians, the schismatics of Africa enjoyed an +obscure peace of one hundred years; at the end of which we may +again trace them by the fight of the Imperial persecutions. See +Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. vi. p. 192. &c.] + + The court and the people were astonished by the strange +intelligence, that a virtuous hero, after so many favors, and so +many services, had renounced his allegiance, and invited the +Barbarians to destroy the province intrusted to his command. The +friends of Boniface, who still believed that his criminal +behavior might be excused by some honorable motive, solicited, +during the absence of Aetius, a free conference with the Count of +Africa; and Darius, an officer of high distinction, was named for +the important embassy. ^24 In their first interview at Carthage, +the imaginary provocations were mutually explained; the opposite +letters of Aetius were produced and compared; and the fraud was +easily detected. Placidia and Boniface lamented their fatal +error; and the count had sufficient magnanimity to confide in the +forgiveness of his sovereign, or to expose his head to her future +resentment. His repentance was fervent and sincere; but he soon +discovered that it was no longer in his power to restore the +edifice which he had shaken to its foundations. Carthage and the +Roman garrisons returned with their general to the allegiance of +Valentinian; but the rest of Africa was still distracted with war +and faction; and the inexorable king of the Vandals, disdaining +all terms of accommodation, sternly refused to relinquish the +possession of his prey. The band of veterans who marched under +the standard of Boniface, and his hasty levies of provincial +troops, were defeated with considerable loss; the victorious +Barbarians insulted the open country; and Carthage, Cirta, and +Hippo Regius, were the only cities that appeared to rise above +the general inundation. + +[Footnote 24: In a confidential letter to Count Boniface, St. +Augustin, without examining the grounds of the quarrel, piously +exhorts him to discharge the duties of a Christian and a subject: +to extricate himself without delay from his dangerous and guilty +situation; and even, if he could obtain the consent of his wife, +to embrace a life of celibacy and penance, (Tillemont, Mem. +Eccles. tom. xiii. p. 890.) The bishop was intimately connected +with Darius, the minister of peace, (Id. tom. xiii. p. 928.)] + The long and narrow tract of the African coast was filled +with frequent monuments of Roman art and magnificence; and the +respective degrees of improvement might be accurately measured by +the distance from Carthage and the Mediterranean. A simple +reflection will impress every thinking mind with the clearest +idea of fertility and cultivation: the country was extremely +populous; the inhabitants reserved a liberal subsistence for +their own use; and the annual exportation, particularly of wheat, +was so regular and plentiful, that Africa deserved the name of +the common granary of Rome and of mankind. On a sudden the seven +fruitful provinces, from Tangier to Tripoli, were overwhelmed by +the invasion of the Vandals; whose destructive rage has perhaps +been exaggerated by popular animosity, religious zeal, and +extravagant declamation. War, in its fairest form, implies a +perpetual violation of humanity and justice; and the hostilities +of Barbarians are inflamed by the fierce and lawless spirit which +incessantly disturbs their peaceful and domestic society. The +Vandals, where they found resistance, seldom gave quarter; and +the deaths of their valiant countrymen were expiated by the ruin +of the cities under whose walls they had fallen. Careless of the +distinctions of age, or sex, or rank, they employed every species +of indignity and torture, to force from the captives a discovery +of their hidden wealth. The stern policy of Genseric justified +his frequent examples of military execution: he was not always +the master of his own passions, or of those of his followers; and +the calamities of war were aggravated by the licentiousness of +the Moors, and the fanaticism of the Donatists. Yet I shall not +easily be persuaded, that it was the common practice of the +Vandals to extirpate the olives, and other fruit trees, of a +country where they intended to settle: nor can I believe that it +was a usual stratagem to slaughter great numbers of their +prisoners before the walls of a besieged city, for the sole +purpose of infecting the air, and producing a pestilence, of +which they themselves must have been the first victims. ^25 +[Footnote 25: The original complaints of the desolation of Africa +are contained 1. In a letter from Capreolus, bishop of Carthage, +to excuse his absence from the council of Ephesus, (ap. Ruinart, +p. 427.) 2. In the life of St. Augustin, by his friend and +colleague Possidius, (ap. Ruinart, p. 427.) 3. In the history of +the Vandalic persecution, by Victor Vitensis, (l. i. c. 1, 2, 3, +edit. Ruinart.) The last picture, which was drawn sixty years +after the event, is more expressive of the author's passions than +of the truth of facts.] + + The generous mind of Count Boniface was tortured by the +exquisite distress of beholding the ruin which he had occasioned, +and whose rapid progress he was unable to check. After the loss +of a battle he retired into Hippo Regius; where he was +immediately besieged by an enemy, who considered him as the real +bulwark of Africa. The maritime colony of Hippo, ^26 about two +hundred miles westward of Carthage, had formerly acquired the +distinguishing epithet of Regius, from the residence of Numidian +kings; and some remains of trade and populousness still adhere to +the modern city, which is known in Europe by the corrupted name +of Bona. The military labors, and anxious reflections, of Count +Boniface, were alleviated by the edifying conversation of his +friend St. Augustin; ^27 till that bishop, the light and pillar +of the Catholic church, was gently released, in the third month +of the siege, and in the seventy-sixth year of his age, from the +actual and the impending calamities of his country. The youth of +Augustin had been stained by the vices and errors which he so +ingenuously confesses; but from the moment of his conversion to +that of his death, the manners of the bishop of Hippo were pure +and austere: and the most conspicuous of his virtues was an +ardent zeal against heretics of every denomination; the +Manichaeans, the Donatists, and the Pelagians, against whom he +waged a perpetual controversy. When the city, some months after +his death, was burnt by the Vandals, the library was fortunately +saved, which contained his voluminous writings; two hundred and +thirty-two separate books or treatises on theological subjects, +besides a complete exposition of the psalter and the gospel, and +a copious magazine of epistles and homilies. ^28 According to the +judgment of the most impartial critics, the superficial learning +of Augustin was confined to the Latin language; ^29 and his +style, though sometimes animated by the eloquence of passion, is +usually clouded by false and affected rhetoric. But he possessed +a strong, capacious, argumentative mind; he boldly sounded the +dark abyss of grace, predestination, free will, and original sin; +and the rigid system of Christianity which he framed or restored, +^30 has been entertained, with public applause, and secret +reluctance, by the Latin church. ^31 +[Footnote 26: See Cellarius, Geograph. Antiq. tom. ii. part ii. +p. 112. Leo African. in Ramusio, tom. i. fol. 70. L'Afrique de +Marmol, tom. ii. p. 434, 437. Shaw's Travels, p. 46, 47. The +old Hippo Regius was finally destroyed by the Arabs in the +seventh century; but a new town, at the distance of two miles, +was built with the materials; and it contained, in the sixteenth +century, about three hundred families of industrious, but +turbulent manufacturers. The adjacent territory is renowned for +a pure air, a fertile soil, and plenty of exquisite fruits.] +[Footnote 27: The life of St. Augustin, by Tillemont, fills a +quarto volume (Mem. Eccles. tom. xiii.) of more than one thousand +pages; and the diligence of that learned Jansenist was excited, +on this occasion, by factious and devout zeal for the founder of +his sect.] + +[Footnote 28: Such, at least, is the account of Victor Vitensis, +(de Persecut. Vandal. l. i. c. 3;) though Gennadius seems to +doubt whether any person had read, or even collected, all the +works of St. Augustin, (see Hieronym. Opera, tom. i. p. 319, in +Catalog. Scriptor. Eccles.) They have been repeatedly printed; +and Dupin (Bibliotheque Eccles. tom. iii. p. 158 - 257) has given +a large and satisfactory abstract of them as they stand in the +last edition of the Benedictines. My personal acquaintance with +the bishop of Hippo does not extend beyond the Confessions, and +the City of God.] + +[Footnote 29: In his early youth (Confess. i. 14) St. Augustin +disliked and neglected the study of Greek; and he frankly owns +that he read the Platonists in a Latin version, (Confes. vii. 9.) +Some modern critics have thought, that his ignorance of Greek +disqualified him from expounding the Scriptures; and Cicero or +Quintilian would have required the knowledge of that language in +a professor of rhetoric.] + +[Footnote 30: These questions were seldom agitated, from the time +of St. Paul to that of St. Augustin. I am informed that the +Greek fathers maintain the natural sentiments of the +Semi-Pelagians; and that the orthodoxy of St. Augustin was +derived from the Manichaean school.] + +[Footnote 31: The church of Rome has canonized Augustin, and +reprobated Calvin. Yet as the real difference between them is +invisible even to a theological microscope, the Molinists are +oppressed by the authority of the saint, and the Jansenists are +disgraced by their resemblance to the heretic. In the mean while, +the Protestant Arminians stand aloof, and deride the mutual +perplexity of the disputants, (see a curious Review of the +Controversy, by Le Clerc, Bibliotheque Universelle, (tom. xiv. p. +144 - 398.) Perhaps a reasoner still more independent may smile +in his turn, when he peruses an Arminian Commentary on the +Epistle to the Romans.] + +Chapter XXXIII: Conquest Of Africa By The Vandals. + +Part II. + + By the skill of Boniface, and perhaps by the ignorance of +the Vandals, the siege of Hippo was protracted above fourteen +months: the sea was continually open; and when the adjacent +country had been exhausted by irregular rapine, the besiegers +themselves were compelled by famine to relinquish their +enterprise. The importance and danger of Africa were deeply felt +by the regent of the West. Placidia implored the assistance of +her eastern ally; and the Italian fleet and army were reenforced +by Asper, who sailed from Constantinople with a powerful +armament. As soon as the force of the two empires was united +under the command of Boniface, he boldly marched against the +Vandals; and the loss of a second battle irretrievably decided +the fate of Africa. He embarked with the precipitation of +despair; and the people of Hippo were permitted, with their +families and effects, to occupy the vacant place of the soldiers, +the greatest part of whom were either slain or made prisoners by +the Vandals. The count, whose fatal credulity had wounded the +vitals of the republic, might enter the palace of Ravenna with +some anxiety, which was soon removed by the smiles of Placidia. +Boniface accepted with gratitude the rank of patrician, and the +dignity of master-general of the Roman armies; but he must have +blushed at the sight of those medals, in which he was represented +with the name and attributes of victory. ^32 The discovery of his +fraud, the displeasure of the empress, and the distinguished +favor of his rival, exasperated the haughty and perfidious soul +of Aetius. He hastily returned from Gaul to Italy, with a +retinue, or rather with an army, of Barbarian followers; and such +was the weakness of the government, that the two generals decided +their private quarrel in a bloody battle. Boniface was +successful; but he received in the conflict a mortal wound from +the spear of his adversary, of which he expired within a few +days, in such Christian and charitable sentiments, that he +exhorted his wife, a rich heiress of Spain, to accept Aetius for +her second husband. But Aetius could not derive any immediate +advantage from the generosity of his dying enemy: he was +proclaimed a rebel by the justice of Placidia; and though he +attempted to defend some strong fortresses, erected on his +patrimonial estate, the Imperial power soon compelled him to +retire into Pannonia, to the tents of his faithful Huns. The +republic was deprived, by their mutual discord, of the service of +her two most illustrious champions. ^33 + +[Footnote 32: Ducange, Fam. Byzant. p. 67. On one side, the head +of Valentinian; on the reverse, Boniface, with a scourge in one +hand, and a palm in the other, standing in a triumphal car, which +is drawn by four horses, or, in another medal, by four stags; an +unlucky emblem! I should doubt whether another example can be +found of the head of a subject on the reverse of an Imperial +medal. See Science des Medailles, by the Pere Jobert, tom. i. p. +132 - 150, edit. of 1739, by the haron de la Bastie. + + Note: Lord Mahon, Life of Belisarius, p. 133, mentions one +of Belisarius on the authority of Cedrenus - M.] + +[Footnote 33: Procopius (de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 3, p. 185) +continues the history of Boniface no further than his return to +Italy. His death is mentioned by Prosper and Marcellinus; the +expression of the latter, that Aetius, the day before, had +provided himself with a longer spear, implies something like a +regular duel.] + + It might naturally be expected, after the retreat of +Boniface, that the Vandals would achieve, without resistance or +delay, the conquest of Africa. Eight years, however, elapsed, +from the evacuation of Hippo to the reduction of Carthage. In +the midst of that interval, the ambitious Genseric, in the full +tide of apparent prosperity, negotiated a treaty of peace, by +which he gave his son Hunneric for a hostage; and consented to +leave the Western emperor in the undisturbed possession of the +three Mauritanias. ^34 This moderation, which cannot be imputed +to the justice, must be ascribed to the policy, of the conqueror. + +His throne was encompassed with domestic enemies, who accused the +baseness of his birth, and asserted the legitimate claims of his +nephews, the sons of Gonderic. Those nephews, indeed, he +sacrificed to his safety; and their mother, the widow of the +deceased king, was precipitated, by his order, into the river +Ampsaga. But the public discontent burst forth in dangerous and +frequent conspiracies; and the warlike tyrant is supposed to have +shed more Vandal blood by the hand of the executioner, than in +the field of battle. ^35 The convulsions of Africa, which had +favored his attack, opposed the firm establishment of his power; +and the various seditions of the Moors and Germans, the Donatists +and Catholics, continually disturbed, or threatened, the +unsettled reign of the conqueror. As he advanced towards +Carthage, he was forced to withdraw his troops from the Western +provinces; the sea-coast was exposed to the naval enterprises of +the Romans of Spain and Italy; and, in the heart of Numidia, the +strong inland city of Corta still persisted in obstinate +independence. ^36 These difficulties were gradually subdued by +the spirit, the perseverance, and the cruelty of Genseric; who +alternately applied the arts of peace and war to the +establishment of his African kingdom. He subscribed a solemn +treaty, with the hope of deriving some advantage from the term of +its continuance, and the moment of its violation. The vigilance +of his enemies was relaxed by the protestations of friendship, +which concealed his hostile approach; and Carthage was at length +surprised by the Vandals, five hundred and eighty-five years +after the destruction of the city and republic by the younger +Scipio. ^37 +[Footnote 34: See Procopius, de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 4, p. 186. +Valentinian published several humane laws, to relieve the +distress of his Numidian and Mauritanian subjects; he discharged +them, in a great measure, from the payment of their debts, +reduced their tribute to one eighth, and gave them a right of +appeal from their provincial magistrates to the praefect of Rome. + +Cod. Theod. tom. vi. Novell. p. 11, 12.] + +[Footnote 35: Victor Vitensis, de Persecut. Vandal. l. ii. c. 5, +p. 26. The cruelties of Genseric towards his subjects are +strongly expressed in Prosper's Chronicle, A.D. 442.] + +[Footnote 36: Possidius, in Vit. Augustin. c. 28, apud Ruinart, +p. 428.] +[Footnote 37: See the Chronicles of Idatius, Isidore, Prosper, +and Marcellinus. They mark the same year, but different days, +for the surprisal of Carthage.] + + A new city had arisen from its ruins, with the title of a +colony; and though Carthage might yield to the royal prerogatives +of Constantinople, and perhaps to the trade of Alexandria, or the +splendor of Antioch, she still maintained the second rank in the +West; as the Rome (if we may use the style of contemporaries) of +the African world. That wealthy and opulent metropolis ^38 +displayed, in a dependent condition, the image of a flourishing +republic. Carthage contained the manufactures, the arms, and the +treasures of the six provinces. A regular subordination of civil +honors gradually ascended from the procurators of the streets and +quarters of the city, to the tribunal of the supreme magistrate, +who, with the title of proconsul, represented the state and +dignity of a consul of ancient Rome. Schools and gymnasia were +instituted for the education of the African youth; and the +liberal arts and manners, grammar, rhetoric, and philosophy, were +publicly taught in the Greek and Latin languages. The buildings +of Carthage were uniform and magnificent; a shady grove was +planted in the midst of the capital; the new port, a secure and +capacious harbor, was subservient to the commercial indus try of +citizens and strangers; and the splendid games of the circus and +theatre were exhibited almost in the presence of the Barbarians. +The reputation of the Carthaginians was not equal to that of +their country, and the reproach of Punic faith still adhered to +their subtle and faithless character. ^39 The habits of trade, +and the abuse of luxury, had corrupted their manners; but their +impious contempt of monks, and the shameless practice of +unnatural lusts, are the two abominations which excite the pious +vehemence of Salvian, the preacher of the age. ^40 The king of +the Vandals severely reformed the vices of a voluptuous people; +and the ancient, noble, ingenuous freedom of Carthage (these +expressions of Victor are not without energy) was reduced by +Genseric into a state of ignominious servitude. After he had +permitted his licentious troops to satiate their rage and +avarice, he instituted a more regular system of rapine and +oppression. An edict was promulgated, which enjoined all +persons, without fraud or delay, to deliver their gold, silver, +jewels, and valuable furniture or apparel, to the royal officers; +and the attempt to secrete any part of their patrimony was +inexorably punished with death and torture, as an act of treason +against the state. The lands of the proconsular province, which +formed the immediate district of Carthage, were accurately +measured, and divided among the Barbarians; and the conqueror +reserved for his peculiar domain the fertile territory of +Byzacium, and the adjacent parts of Numidia and Getulia. ^41 +[Footnote 38: The picture of Carthage; as it flourished in the +fourth and fifth centuries, is taken from the Expositio totius +Mundi, p. 17, 18, in the third volume of Hudson's Minor +Geographers, from Ausonius de Claris Urbibus, p. 228, 229; and +principally from Salvian, de Gubernatione Dei, l. vii. p. 257, +258.] + +[Footnote 39: The anonymous author of the Expositio totius Mundi +compares in his barbarous Latin, the country and the inhabitants; +and, after stigmatizing their want of faith, he coolly concludes, +Difficile autem inter eos invenitur bonus, tamen in multis pauci +boni esse possunt P. 18.] + +[Footnote 40: He declares, that the peculiar vices of each +country were collected in the sink of Carthage, (l. vii. p. 257.) +In the indulgence of vice, the Africans applauded their manly +virtue. Et illi se magis virilis fortitudinis esse crederent, +qui maxime vires foeminei usus probositate fregissent, (p. 268.) +The streets of Carthage were polluted by effeminate wretches, who +publicly assumed the countenance, the dress, and the character of +women, (p. 264.) If a monk appeared in the city, the holy man was +pursued with impious scorn and ridicule; de testantibus ridentium +cachinnis, (p. 289.)] + +[Footnote 41: Compare Procopius de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 5, p. +189, 190, and Victor Vitensis, de Persecut Vandal. l. i. c. 4.] + It was natural enough that Genseric should hate those whom +he had injured: the nobility and senators of Carthage were +exposed to his jealousy and resentment; and all those who refused +the ignominious terms, which their honor and religion forbade +them to accept, were compelled by the Arian tyrant to embrace the +condition of perpetual banishment. Rome, Italy, and the +provinces of the East, were filled with a crowd of exiles, of +fugitives, and of ingenuous captives, who solicited the public +compassion; and the benevolent epistles of Theod oret still +preserve the names and misfortunes of Caelestian and Maria. ^42 +The Syrian bishop deplores the misfortunes of Caelestian, who, +from the state of a noble and opulent senator of Carthage, was +reduced, with his wife and family, and servants, to beg his bread +in a foreign country; but he applauds the resignation of the +Christian exile, and the philosophic temper, which, under the +pressure of such calamities, could enjoy more real happiness than +was the ordinary lot of wealth and prosperity. The story of +Maria, the daughter of the magnificent Eudaemon, is singular and +interesting. In the sack of Carthage, she was purchased from the +Vandals by some merchants of Syria, who afterwards sold her as a +slave in their native country. A female attendant, transported +in the same ship, and sold in the same family, still continued to +respect a mistress whom fortune had reduced to the common level +of servitude; and the daughter of Eudaemon received from her +grateful affection the domestic services which she had once +required from her obedience. This remarkable behavior divulged +the real condition of Maria, who, in the absence of the bishop of +Cyrrhus, was redeemed from slavery oy the generosity of some +soldiers of the garrison. The liberality of Theodoret provided +for her decent maintenance; and she passed ten months among the +deaconesses of the church; till she was unexpectedly informed, +that her father, who had escaped from the ruin of Carthage, +exercised an honorable office in one of the Western provinces. +Her filial impatience was seconded by the pious bishop: +Theodoret, in a letter still extant, recommends Maria to the +bishop of Aegae, a maritime city of Cilicia, which was +frequented, during the annual fair, by the vessels of the West; +most earnestly requesting, that his colleague would use the +maiden with a tenderness suitable to her birth; and that he would +intrust her to the care of such faithful merchants, as would +esteem it a sufficient gain, if they restored a daughter, lost +beyond all human hope, to the arms of her afflicted parent. +[Footnote 42: Ruinart (p. 441 - 457) has collected from +Theodoret, and other authors, the misfortunes, real and fabulous, +of the inhabitants of Carthage.] + Among the insipid legends of ecclesiastical history, I am +tempted to distinguish the memorable fable of the Seven Sleepers; +^43 whose imaginary date corresponds with the reign of the +younger Theodosius, and the conquest of Africa by the Vandals. +^44 When the emperor Decius persecuted the Christians, seven +noble youths of Ephesus concealed themselves in a spacious cavern +in the side of an adjacent mountain; where they were doomed to +perish by the tyrant, who gave orders that the entrance should be +firmly secured by the a pile of huge stones. They immediately +fell into a deep slumber, which was miraculously prolonged +without injuring the powers of life, during a period of one +hundred and eighty-seven years. At the end of that time, the +slaves of Adolius, to whom the inheritance of the mountain had +descended, removed the stones to supply materials for some rustic +edifice: the light of the sun darted into the cavern, and the +Seven Sleepers were permitted to awake. After a slumber, as they +thought of a few hours, they were pressed by the calls of hunger; +and resolved that Jamblichus, one of their number, should +secretly return to the city to purchase bread for the use of his +companions. The youth (if we may still employ that appellation) +could no longer recognize the once familiar aspect of his native +country; and his surprise was increased by the appearance of a +large cross, triumphantly erected over the principal gate of +Ephesus. His singular dress, and obsolete language, confounded +the baker, to whom he offered an ancient medal of Decius as the +current coin of the empire; and Jamblichus, on the suspicion of a +secret treasure, was dragged before the judge. Their mutual +inquiries produced the amazing discovery, that two centuries were +almost elapsed since Jamblichus and his friends had escaped from +the rage of a Pagan tyrant. The bishop of Ephesus, the clergy, +the magistrates, the people, and, as it is said, the emperor +Theodosius himself, hastened to visit the cavern of the Seven +Sleepers; who bestowed their benediction, related their story, +and at the same instant peaceably expired. The origin of this +marvellous fable cannot be ascribed to the pious fraud and +credulity of the modern Greeks, since the authentic tradition may +be traced within half a century of the supposed miracle. James of +Sarug, a Syrian bishop, who was born only two years after the +death of the younger Theodosius, has devoted one of his two +hundred and thirty homilies to the praise of the young men of +Ephesus. ^45 Their legend, before the end of the sixth century, +was translated from the Syriac into the Latin language, by the +care of Gregory of Tours. The hostile communions of the East +preserve their memory with equal reverence; and their names are +honorably inscribed in the Roman, the Abyssinian, and the Russian +calendar. ^46 Nor has their reputation been confined to the +Christian world. This popular tale, which Mahomet might learn +when he drove his camels to the fairs of Syria, is introduced as +a divine revelation, into the Koran. ^47 The story of the Seven +Sleepers has been adopted and adorned by the nations, from Bengal +to Africa, who profess the Mahometan religion; ^48 and some +vestiges of a similar tradition have been discovered in the +remote extremities of Scandinavia. ^49 This easy and universal +belief, so expressive of the sense of mankind, may be ascribed to +the genuine merit of the fable itself. We imperceptibly advance +from youth to age, without observing the gradual, but incessant, +change of human affairs; and even in our larger experience of +history, the imagination is accustomed, by a perpetual series of +causes and effects, to unite the most distant revolutions. But +if the interval between two memorable aeras could be instantly +annihilated; if it were possible, after a momentary slumber of +two hundred years, to display the new world to the eyes of a +spectator, who still retained a lively and recent impression of +the old, his surprise and his reflections would furnish the +pleasing subject of a philosophical romance. The scene could not +be more advantageously placed, than in the two centuries which +elapsed between the reigns of Decius and of Theodosius the +Younger. During this period, the seat of government had been +transported from Rome to a new city on the banks of the Thracian +Bosphorus; and the abuse of military spirit had been suppressed +by an artificial system of tame and ceremonious servitude. The +throne of the persecuting Decius was filled by a succession of +Christian and orthodox princes, who had extirpated the fabulous +gods of antiquity: and the public devotion of the age was +impatient to exalt the saints and martyrs of the Catholic church, +on the altars of Diana and Hercules. The union of the Roman +empire was dissolved; its genius was humbled in the dust; and +armies of unknown Barbarians, issuing from the frozen regions of +the North, had established their victorious reign over the +fairest provinces of Europe and Africa. + +[Footnote 43: The choice of fabulous circumstances is of small +importance; yet I have confined myself to the narrative which was +translated from the Syriac by the care of Gregory of Tours, (de +Gloria Martyrum, l. i. c. 95, in Max. Bibliotheca Patrum, tom. +xi. p. 856,) to the Greek acts of their martyrdom (apud Photium, +p. 1400, 1401) and to the Annals of the Patriarch Eutychius, +(tom. i. p. 391, 531, 532, 535, Vers. Pocock.)] + +[Footnote 44: Two Syriac writers, as they are quoted by +Assemanni, (Bibliot. Oriental. tom. i. p. 336, 338,) place the +resurrection of the Seven Sleepers in the year 736 (A.D. 425) or +748, (A.D. 437,) of the aera of the Seleucides. Their Greek acts, +which Photius had read, assign the date of the thirty-eighth year +of the reign of Theodosius, which may coincide either with A.D. +439, or 446. The period which had elapsed since the persecution +of Decius is easily ascertained; and nothing less than the +ignorance of Mahomet, or the legendaries, could suppose an +internal of three or four hundred years.] +[Footnote 45: James, one of the orthodox fathers of the Syrian +church, was born A.D. 452; he began to compose his sermons A.D. +474; he was made bishop of Batnae, in the district of Sarug, and +province of Mesopotamia, A.D. 519, and died A.D. 521. +(Assemanni, tom. i. p. 288, 289.) For the homily de Pueris +Ephesinis, see p. 335 - 339: though I could wish that Assemanni +had translated the text of James of Sarug, instead of answering +the objections of Baronius.] +[Footnote 46: See the Acta Sanctorum of the Bollandists, Mensis +Julii, tom. vi. p. 375 - 397. This immense calendar of Saints, +in one hundred and twenty-six years, (1644 - 1770,) and in fifty +volumes in folio, has advanced no further than the 7th day of +October. The suppression of the Jesuits has most probably +checked an undertaking, which, through the medium of fable and +superstition, communicates much historical and philosophical +instruction.] +[Footnote 47: See Maracci Alcoran. Sura xviii. tom. ii. p. 420 - +427, and tom. i. part iv. p. 103. With such an ample privilege, +Mahomet has not shown much taste or ingenuity. He has invented +the dog (Al Rakim) the Seven Sleepers; the respect of the sun, +who altered his course twice a day, that he might not shine into +the cavern; and the care of God himself, who preserved their +bodies from putrefaction, by turning them to the right and left.] + +[Footnote 48: See D'Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 139; and +Renaudot, Hist. Patriarch. Alexandrin. p. 39, 40.] + +[Footnote 49: Paul, the deacon of Aquileia, (de Gestis +Langobardorum, l. i. c. 4, p. 745, 746, edit. Grot.,) who lived +towards the end of the eight century, has placed in a cavern, +under a rock, on the shore of the ocean, the Seven Sleepers of +the North, whose long repose was respected by the Barbarians. +Their dress declared them to be Romans and the deacon +conjectures, that they were reserved by Providence as the future +apostles of those unbelieving countries.] + +Chapter XXXIV: Attila. + + +Part I. + + The Character, Conquests, And Court Of Attila, King Of The +Huns. - Death Of Theodosius The Younger. - Elevation Of Marcian +To The Empire Of The East. + + The Western world was oppressed by the Goths and Vandals, +who fled before the Huns; but the achievements of the Huns +themselves were not adequate to their power and prosperity. +Their victorious hordes had spread from the Volga to the Danube; +but the public force was exhausted by the discord of independent +chieftains; their valor was idly consumed in obscure and +predatory excursions; and they often degraded their national +dignity, by condescending, for the hopes of spoil, to enlist +under the banners of their fugitive enemies. In the reign of +Attila, ^1 the Huns again became the terror of the world; and I +shall now describe the character and actions of that formidable +Barbarian; who alternately insulted and invaded the East and the +West, and urged the rapid downfall of the Roman empire. + +[Footnote 1: The authentic materials for the history of Attila, +may be found in Jornandes (de Rebus Geticis, c. 34-50, p. +668-688, edit. Grot.) and Priscus (Excerpta de Legationibus, p. +33-76, Paris, 1648.) I have not seen the Lives of Attila, +composed by Juvencus Caelius Calanus Dalmatinus, in the twelfth +century, or by Nicholas Olahus, archbishop of Gran, in the +sixteenth. See Mascou's History of the Germans, ix., and Maffei +Osservazioni Litterarie, tom. i. p. 88, 89. Whatever the modern +Hungarians have added must be fabulous; and they do not seem to +have excelled in the art of fiction. They suppose, that when +Attila invaded Gaul and Italy, married innumerable wives, &c., he +was one hundred and twenty years of age. Thewrocz Chron. c. i. p. +22, in Script. Hunger. tom. i. p. 76.] + + In the tide of emigration which impetuously rolled from the +confines of China to those of Germany, the most powerful and +populous tribes may commonly be found on the verge of the Roman +provinces. The accumulated weight was sustained for a while by +artificial barriers; and the easy condescension of the emperors +invited, without satisfying, the insolent demands of the +Barbarians, who had acquired an eager appetite for the luxuries +of civilized life. The Hungarians, who ambitiously insert the +name of Attila among their native kings, may affirm with truth +that the hordes, which were subject to his uncle Roas, or +Rugilas, had formed their encampments within the limits of modern +Hungary, ^2 in a fertile country, which liberally supplied the +wants of a nation of hunters and shepherds. In this advantageous +situation, Rugilas, and his valiant brothers, who continually +added to their power and reputation, commanded the alternative of +peace or war with the two empires. His alliance with the Romans +of the West was cemented by his personal friendship for the great +Aetius; who was always secure of finding, in the Barbarian camp, +a hospitable reception and a powerful support. At his +solicitation, and in the name of John the usurper, sixty thousand +Huns advanced to the confines of Italy; their march and their +retreat were alike expensive to the state; and the grateful +policy of Aetius abandoned the possession of Pannonia to his +faithful confederates. The Romans of the East were not less +apprehensive of the arms of Rugilas, which threatened the +provinces, or even the capital. Some ecclesiastical historians +have destroyed the Barbarians with lightning and pestilence; ^3 +but Theodosius was reduced to the more humble expedient of +stipulating an annual payment of three hundred and fifty pounds +of gold, and of disguising this dishonorable tribute by the title +of general, which the king of the Huns condescended to accept. +The public tranquillity was frequently interrupted by the fierce +impatience of the Barbarians, and the perfidious intrigues of the +Byzantine court. Four dependent nations, among whom we may +distinguish the Barbarians, disclaimed the sovereignty of the +Huns; and their revolt was encouraged and protected by a Roman +alliance; till the just claims, and formidable power, of Rugilas, +were effectually urged by the voice of Eslaw his ambassador. +Peace was the unanimous wish of the senate: their decree was +ratified by the emperor; and two ambassadors were named, +Plinthas, a general of Scythian extraction, but of consular rank; +and the quaestor Epigenes, a wise and experienced statesman, who +was recommended to that office by his ambitious colleague. +[Footnote 2: Hungary has been successively occupied by three +Scythian colonies. 1. The Huns of Attila; 2. The Abares, in the +sixth century; and, 3. The Turks or Magiars, A.D. 889; the +immediate and genuine ancestors of the modern Hungarians, whose +connection with the two former is extremely faint and remote. +The Prodromus and Notitia of Matthew Belius appear to contain a +rich fund of information concerning ancient and modern Hungary. I +have seen the extracts in Bibli otheque Ancienne et Moderne, tom. +xxii. p. 1 - 51, and Bibliotheque Raisonnee, tom. xvi. p. 127 - +175. + + Note: Mailath (in his Geschichte der Magyaren) considers the +question of the origin of the Magyars as still undecided. The +old Hungarian chronicles unanimously derived them from the Huns +of Attila See note, vol. iv. pp. 341, 342. The later opinion, +adopted by Schlozer, Belnay, and Dankowsky, ascribes them, from +their language, to the Finnish race. Fessler, in his history of +Hungary, agrees with Gibbon in supposing them Turks. Mailath has +inserted an ingenious dissertation of Fejer, which attempts to +connect them with the Parthians. Vol. i. Ammerkungen p. 50 - M.] + +[Footnote 3: Socrates, l. vii. c. 43. Theodoret, l. v. c. 36. +Tillemont, who always depends on the faith of his ecclesiastical +authors, strenuously contends (Hist. des Emp. tom. vi. p. 136, +607) that the wars and personages were not the same.] + + The death of Rugilas suspended the progress of the treaty. +His two nephews, Attila and Bleda, who succeeded to the throne of +their uncle, consented to a personal interview with the +ambassadors of Constantinople; but as they proudly refused to +dismount, the business was transacted on horseback, in a spacious +plain near the city of Margus, in the Upper Maesia. The kings of +the Huns assumed the solid benefits, as well as the vain honors, +of the negotiation. They dictated the conditions of peace, and +each condition was an insult on the majesty of the empire. +Besides the freedom of a safe and plentiful market on the banks +of the Danube, they required that the annual contribution should +be augmented from three hundred and fifty to seven hundred pounds +of gold; that a fine or ransom of eight pieces of gold should be +paid for every Roman captive who had escaped from his Barbarian +master; that the emperor should renounce all treaties and +engagements with the enemies of the Huns; and that all the +fugitives who had taken refuge in the court or provinces of +Theodosius, should be delivered to the justice of their offended +sovereign. This justice was rigorously inflicted on some +unfortunate youths of a royal race. They were crucified on the +territories of the empire, by the command of Attila: and as soon +as the king of the Huns had impressed the Romans with the terror +of his name, he indulged them in a short and arbitrary respite, +whilst he subdued the rebellious or independent nations of +Scythia and Germany. ^4 + +[Footnote 4: See Priscus, p. 47, 48, and Hist. de Peuples de +l'Europe, tom. v. i. c. xii, xiii, xiv, xv.] + + Attila, the son of Mundzuk, deduced his noble, perhaps his +regal, descent ^5 from the ancient Huns, who had formerly +contended with the monarchs of China. His features, according to +the observation of a Gothic historian, bore the stamp of his +national origin; and the portrait of Attila exhibits the genuine +deformity of a modern Calmuk; ^6 a large head, a swarthy +complexion, small, deep-seated eyes, a flat nose, a few hairs in +the place of a beard, broad shoulders, and a short square body, +of nervous strength, though of a disproportioned form. The +haughty step and demeanor of the king of the Huns expressed the +consciousness of his superiority above the rest of mankind; and +he had a custom of fiercely rolling his eyes, as if he wished to +enjoy the terror which he inspired. Yet this savage hero was not +inaccessible to pity; his suppliant enemies might confide in the +assurance of peace or pardon; and Attila was considered by his +subjects as a just and indulgent master. He delighted in war; +but, after he had ascended the throne in a mature age, his head, +rather than his hand, achieved the conquest of the North; and the +fame of an adventurous soldier was usefully exchanged for that of +a prudent and successful general. The effects of personal valor +are so inconsiderable, except in poetry or romance, that victory, +even among Barbarians, must depend on the degree of skill with +which the passions of the multitude are combined and guided for +the service of a single man. The Scythian conquerors, Attila and +Zingis, surpassed their rude countrymen in art rather than in +courage; and it may be observed that the monarchies, both of the +Huns and of the Moguls, were erected by their founders on the +basis of popular superstition The miraculous conception, which +fraud and credulity ascribed to the virgin-mother of Zingis, +raised him above the level of human nature; and the naked +prophet, who in the name of the Deity invested him with the +empire of the earth, pointed the valor of the Moguls with +irresistible enthusiasm. ^7 The religious arts of Attila were not +less skillfully adapted to the character of his age and country. +It was natural enough that the Scythians should adore, with +peculiar devotion, the god of war; but as they were incapable of +forming either an abstract idea, or a corporeal representation, +they worshipped their tutelar deity under the symbol of an iron +cimeter. ^8 One of the shepherds of the Huns perceived, that a +heifer, who was grazing, had wounded herself in the foot, and +curiously followed the track of the blood, till he discovered, +among the long grass, the point of an ancient sword, which he dug +out of the ground and presented to Attila. That magnanimous, or +rather that artful, prince accepted, with pious gratitude, this +celestial favor; and, as the rightful possessor of the sword of +Mars, asserted his divine and indefeasible claim to the dominion +of the earth. ^9 If the rites of Scythia were practised on this +solemn occasion, a lofty altar, or rather pile of fagots, three +hundred yards in length and in breadth, was raised in a spacious +plain; and the sword of Mars was placed erect on the summit of +this rustic altar, which was annually consecrated by the blood of +sheep, horses, and of the hundredth captive. ^10 Whether human +sacrifices formed any part of the worship of Attila, or whether +he propitiated the god of war with the victims which he +continually offered in the field of battle, the favorite of Mars +soon acquired a sacred character, which rended his conquests more +easy and more permanent; and the Barbarian princes confessed, in +the language of devotion or flattery, that they could not presume +to gaze, with a steady eye, on the divine majesty of the king of +the Huns. ^11 His brother Bleda, who reigned over a considerable +part of the nation, was compelled to resign his sceptre and his +life. Yet even this cruel act was attributed to a supernatural +impulse; and the vigor with which Attila wielded the sword of +Mars, convinced the world that it had been reserved alone for his +invincible arm. ^12 But the extent of his empire affords the only +remaining evidence of the number and importance of his victories; +and the Scythian monarch, however ignorant of the value of +science and philosophy, might perhaps lament that his illiterate +subjects were destitute of the art which could perpetuate the +memory of his exploits. + +[Footnote 5: Priscus, p. 39. The modern Hungarians have deduced +his genealogy, which ascends, in the thirty-fifth degree, to Ham, +the son of Noah; yet they are ignorant of his father's real name. + +(De Guignes, Hist. des Huns, tom. ii. p. 297.)] + +[Footnote 6: Compare Jornandes (c. 35, p. 661) with Buffon, Hist. +Naturelle, tom. iii. p. 380. The former had a right to observe, +originis suae sigua restituens. The character and portrait of +Attila are probably transcribed from Cassiodorus.] + +[Footnote 7: Abulpharag. Pocock, p. 281. Genealogical History of +the Tartars, by Abulghazi Bahader Khan, part iii c. 15, part iv +c. 3. Vie de Gengiscan, par Petit de la Croix, l. 1, c. 1, 6. +The relations of the missionaries, who visited Tartary in the +thirteenth century, (see the seventh volume of the Histoire des +Voyages,) express the popular language and opinions; Zingis is +styled the son of God, &c. &c.] + +[Footnote 8: Nec templum apud eos visitur, aut delubrum, ne +tugurium quidem culmo tectum cerni usquam potest; sed gladius +Barbarico ritu humi figitur nudus, eumque ut Martem regionum quas +circumcircant praesulem verecundius colunt. Ammian. Marcellin. +xxxi. 2, and the learned Notes of Lindenbrogius and Valesius.] +[Footnote 9: Priscus relates this remarkable story, both in his +own text (p. 65) and in the quotation made by Jornandes, (c. 35, +p. 662.) He might have explained the tradition, or fable, which +characterized this famous sword, and the name, as well as +attributes, of the Scythian deity, whom he has translated into +the Mars of the Greeks and Romans.] + +[Footnote 10: Herodot. l. iv. c. 62. For the sake of economy, I +have calculated by the smallest stadium. In the human +sacrifices, they cut off the shoulder and arm of the victim, +which they threw up into the air, and drew omens and presages +from the manner of their falling on the pile] +[Footnote 11: Priscus, p. 65. A more civilized hero, Augustus +himself, was pleased, if the person on whom he fixed his eyes +seemed unable to support their divine lustre. Sueton. in August. +c. 79.] + +[Footnote 12: The Count de Buat (Hist. des Peuples de l'Europe, +tom. vii. p. 428, 429) attempts to clear Attila from the murder +of his brother; and is almost inclined to reject the concurrent +testimony of Jornandes, and the contemporary Chronicles.] + + If a line of separation were drawn between the civilized and +the savage climates of the globe; between the inhabitants of +cities, who cultivated the earth, and the hunters and shepherds, +who dwelt in tents, Attila might aspire to the title of supreme +and sole monarch of the Barbarians. ^13 He alone, among the +conquerors of ancient and modern times, united the two mighty +kingdoms of Germany and Scythia; and those vague appellations, +when they are applied to his reign, may be understood with an +ample latitude. Thuringia, which stretched beyond its actual +limits as far as the Danube, was in the number of his provinces; +he interposed, with the weight of a powerful neighbor, in the +domestic affairs of the Franks; and one of his lieutenants +chastised, and almost exterminated, the Burgundians of the Rhine. + +He subdued the islands of the ocean, the kingdoms of Scandinavia, +encompassed and divided by the waters of the Baltic; and the Huns +might derive a tribute of furs from that northern region, which +has been protected from all other conquerors by the severity of +the climate, and the courage of the natives. Towards the East, +it is difficult to circumscribe the dominion of Attila over the +Scythian deserts; yet we may be assured, that he reigned on the +banks of the Volga; that the king of the Huns was dreaded, not +only as a warrior, but as a magician; ^14 that he insulted and +vanquished the khan of the formidable Geougen; and that he sent +ambassadors to negotiate an equal alliance with the empire of +China. In the proud review of the nations who acknowledged the +sovereignty of Attila, and who never entertained, during his +lifetime, the thought of a revolt, the Gepidae and the Ostrogoths +were distinguished by their numbers, their bravery, and the +personal merits of their chiefs. The renowned Ardaric, king of +the Gepidae, was the faithful and sagacious counsellor of the +monarch, who esteemed his intrepid genius, whilst he loved the +mild and discreet virtues of the noble Walamir, king of the +Ostrogoths. The crowd of vulgar kings, the leaders of so many +martial tribes, who served under the standard of Attila, were +ranged in the submissive order of guards and domestics round the +person of their master. They watched his nod; they trembled at +his frown; and at the first signal of his will, they executed, +without murmur or hesitation, his stern and absolute commands. +In time of peace, the dependent princes, with their national +troops, attended the royal camp in regular succession; but when +Attila collected his military force, he was able to bring into +the field an army of five, or, according to another account, of +seven hundred thousand Barbarians. ^15 + +[Footnote 13: Fortissimarum gentium dominus, qui inaudita ante se +potentia colus Scythica et Germanica regna possedit. Jornandes, +c. 49, p. 684. Priscus, p. 64, 65. M. de Guignes, by his +knowledge of the Chinese, has acquired (tom. ii. p. 295 - 301) an +adequate idea of the empire of Attila.] +[Footnote 14: See Hist. des Huns, tom. ii. p. 296. The Geougen +believed that the Huns could excite, at pleasure, storms of wind +and rain. This phenomenon was produced by the stone Gezi; to +whose magic power the loss of a battle was ascribed by the +Mahometan Tartars of the fourteenth century. See Cherefeddin Ali, +Hist. de Timur Bec, tom. i. p. 82, 83.] + +[Footnote 15: Jornandes, c. 35, p. 661, c. 37, p. 667. See +Tillemont, Hist. dea Empereurs, tom. vi. p. 129, 138. Corneille +has represented the pride of Attila to his subject kings, and his +tragedy opens with these two ridiculous lines: - + +Ils ne sont pas venus, nos deux rois! qu'on leur die Qu'ils se +font trop attendre, et qu'Attila s'ennuie. + +The two kings of the Gepidae and the Ostrogoths are profound +politicians and sentimental lovers, and the whole piece exhibits +the defects without the genius, of the poet.] + + The ambassadors of the Huns might awaken the attention of +Theodosius, by reminding him that they were his neighbors both in +Europe and Asia; since they touched the Danube on one hand, and +reached, with the other, as far as the Tanais. In the reign of +his father Arcadius, a band of adventurous Huns had ravaged the +provinces of the East; from whence they brought away rich spoils +and innumerable captives. ^16 They advanced, by a secret path, +along the shores of the Caspian Sea; traversed the snowy +mountains of Armenia; passed the Tigris, the Euphrates, and the +Halys; recruited their weary cavalry with the generous breed of +Cappadocian horses; occupied the hilly country of Cilicia, and +disturbed the festal songs and dances of the citizens of Antioch. +Egypt trembled at their approach; and the monks and pilgrims of +the Holy Land prepared to escaped their fury by a speedy +embarkation. The memory of this invasion was still recent in the +minds of the Orientals. The subjects of Attila might execute, +with superior forces, the design which these adventurers had so +boldly attempted; and it soon became the subject of anxious +conjecture, whether the tempest would fall on the dominions of +Rome, or of Persia. Some of the great vassals of the king of the +Huns, who were themselves in the rank of powerful princes, had +been sent to ratify an alliance and society of arms with the +emperor, or rather with the general of the West. They related, +during their residence at Rome, the circumstances of an +expedition, which they had lately made into the East. After +passing a desert and a morass, supposed by the Romans to be the +Lake Maeotis, they penetrated through the mountains, and arrived, +at the end of fifteen days' march, on the confines of Media; +where they advanced as far as the unknown cities of Basic and +Cursic. ^* They encountered the Persian army in the plains of +Media and the air, according to their own expression, was +darkened by a cloud of arrows. But the Huns were obliged to +retire before the numbers of the enemy. Their laborious retreat +was effected by a different road; they lost the greatest part of +their booty; and at length returned to the royal camp, with some +knowledge of the country, and an impatient desire of revenge. In +the free conversation of the Imperial ambassadors, who discussed, +at the court of Attila, the character and designs of their +formidable enemy, the ministers of Constantinople expressed their +hope, that his strength might be diverted and employed in a long +and doubtful contest with the princes of the house of Sassan. +The more sagacious Italians admonished their Eastern brethren of +the folly and danger of such a hope; and convinced them, that the +Medes and Persians were incapable of resisting the arms of the +Huns; and that the easy and important acquisition would exalt the +pride, as well as power, of the conqueror. Instead of contenting +himself with a moderate contribution, and a military title, which +equalled him only to the generals of Theodosius, Attila would +proceed to impose a disgraceful and intolerable yoke on the necks +of the prostrate and captive Romans, who would then be +encompassed, on all sides, by the empire of the Huns. ^17 +[Footnote 16: - alii per Caspia claustra + Armeniasque nives, inopino tramite ducti + + Invadunt Orientis opes: jam pascua fumant + + Cappadocum, volucrumque parens Argaeus equorum. + + Jam rubet altus Halys, nec se defendit iniquo + + Monte Cilix; Syriae tractus vestantur amoeni + + Assuetumque choris, et laeta plebe canorum, + + Proterit imbellem sonipes hostilis Orontem. + Claudian, in Rufin. l. ii. 28 - 35. + +See likewise, in Eutrop. l. i. 243 - 251, and the strong +description of Jerom, who wrote from his feelings, tom. i. p. 26, +ad Heliodor. p. 200 ad Ocean. Philostorgius (l. ix. c. 8) +mentions this irruption.] + +[Footnote *: Gibbon has made a curious mistake; Basic and Cursic +were the names of the commanders of the Huns. Priscus, edit. +Bonn, p. 200. - M.] +[Footnote 17: See the original conversation in Priscus, p. 64, +65.] + While the powers of Europe and Asia were solicitous to avert +the impending danger, the alliance of Attila maintained the +Vandals in the possession of Africa. An enterprise had been +concerted between the courts of Ravenna and Constantinople, for +the recovery of that valuable province; and the ports of Sicily +were already filled with the military and naval forces of +Theodosius. But the subtle Genseric, who spread his negotiations +round the world, prevented their designs, by exciting the king of +the Huns to invade the Eastern empire; and a trifling incident +soon became the motive, or pretence, of a destructive war. ^18 +Under the faith of the treaty of Margus, a free market was held +on the Northern side of the Danube, which was protected by a +Roman fortress surnamed Constantia. A troop of Barbarians +violated the commercial security; killed, or dispersed, the +unsuspecting traders; and levelled the fortress with the ground. +The Huns justified this outrage as an act of reprisal; alleged, +that the bishop of Margus had entered their territories, to +discover and steal a secret treasure of their kings; and sternly +demanded the guilty prelate, the sacrilegious spoil, and the +fugitive subjects, who had escaped from the justice of Attila. +The refusal of the Byzantine court was the signal of war; and the +Maesians at first applauded the generous firmness of their +sovereign. But they were soon intimidated by the destruction of +Viminiacum and the adjacent towns; and the people was persuaded +to adopt the convenient maxim, that a private citizen, however +innocent or respectable, may be justly sacrificed to the safety +of his country. The bishop of Margus, who did not possess the +spirit of a martyr, resolved to prevent the designs which he +suspected. He boldly treated with the princes of the Huns: +secured, by solemn oaths, his pardon and reward; posted a +numerous detachment of Barbarians, in silent ambush, on the banks +of the Danube; and, at the appointed hour, opened, with his own +hand, the gates of his episcopal city. This advantage, which had +been obtained by treachery, served as a prelude to more honorable +and decisive victories. The Illyrian frontier was covered by a +line of castles and fortresses; and though the greatest part of +them consisted only of a single tower, with a small garrison, +they were commonly sufficient to repel, or to intercept, the +inroads of an enemy, who was ignorant of the art, and impatient +of the delay, of a regular siege. But these slight obstacles +were instantly swept away by the inundation of the Huns. ^19 They +destroyed, with fire and sword, the populous cities of Sirmium +and Singidunum, of Ratiaria and Marcianopolis, of Naissus and +Sardica; where every circumstance of the discipline of the +people, and the construction of the buildings, had been gradually +adapted to the sole purpose of defence. The whole breadth of +Europe, as it extends above five hundred miles from the Euxine to +the Hadriatic, was at once invaded, and occupied, and desolated, +by the myriads of Barbarians whom Attila led into the field. The +public danger and distress could not, however, provoke Theodosius +to interrupt his amusements and devotion, or to appear in person +at the head of the Roman legions. But the troops, which had been +sent against Genseric, were hastily recalled from Sicily; the +garrisons, on the side of Persia, were exhausted; and a military +force was collected in Europe, formidable by their arms and +numbers, if the generals had understood the science of command, +and the soldiers the duty of obedience. The armies of the +Eastern empire were vanquished in three successive engagements; +and the progress of Attila may be traced by the fields of battle. + +The two former, on the banks of the Utus, and under the walls of +Marcianopolis, were fought in the extensive plains between the +Danube and Mount Haemus. As the Romans were pressed by a +victorious enemy, they gradually, and unskilfully, retired +towards the Chersonesus of Thrace; and that narrow peninsula, the +last extremity of the land, was marked by their third, and +irreparable, defeat. By the destruction of this army, Attila +acquired the indisputable possession of the field. From the +Hellespont to Thermopylae, and the suburbs of Constantinople, he +ravaged, without resistance, and without mercy, the provinces of +Thrace and Macedonia. Heraclea and Hadrianople might, perhaps, +escape this dreadful irruption of the Huns; but the words, the +most expressive of total extirpation and erasure, are applied to +the calamities which they inflicted on seventy cities of the +Eastern empire. ^20 Theodosius, his court, and the unwarlike +people, were protected by the walls of Constantinople; but those +walls had been shaken by a recent earthquake, and the fall of +fifty-eight towers had opened a large and tremendous breach. The +damage indeed was speedily repaired; but this accident was +aggravated by a superstitious fear, that Heaven itself had +delivered the Imperial city to the shepherds of Scythia, who were +strangers to the laws, the language, and the religion, of the +Romans. ^21 + +[Footnote 18: Priscus, p. 331. His history contained a copious +and elegant account of the war, (Evagrius, l. i. c. 17;) but the +extracts which relate to the embassies are the only parts that +have reached our times. The original work was accessible, +however, to the writers from whom we borrow our imperfect +knowledge, Jornandes, Theophanes, Count Marcellinus, Prosper- +Tyro, and the author of the Alexandrian, or Paschal, Chronicle. +M. de Buat (Hist. des Peuples de l'Europe, tom. vii. c. xv.) has +examined the cause, the circumstances, and the duration of this +war; and will not allow it to extend beyond the year 44.] + +[Footnote 19: Procopius, de Edificiis, l. 4, c. 5. These +fortresses were afterwards restored, strengthened, and enlarged +by the emperor Justinian, but they were soon destroyed by the +Abares, who succeeded to the power and possessions of the Huns.] +[Footnote 20: Septuaginta civitates (says Prosper-Tyro) +depredatione vastatoe. The language of Count Marcellinus is still +more forcible. Pene totam Europam, invasis excisisque +civitatibus atque castellis, conrasit.] +[Footnote 21: Tillemont (Hist des Empereurs, tom. vi. p. 106, +107) has paid great attention to this memorable earthquake; which +was felt as far from Constantinople as Antioch and Alexandria, +and is celebrated by all the ecclesiastical writers. In the +hands of a popular preacher, an earthquake is an engine of +admirable effect.] + + In all their invasions of the civilized empires of the +South, the Scythian shepherds have been uniformly actuated by a +savage and destructive spirit. The laws of war, that restrain +the exercise of national rapine and murder, are founded on two +principles of substantial interest: the knowledge of the +permanent benefits which may be obtained by a moderate use of +conquest; and a just apprehension, lest the desolation which we +inflict on the enemy's country may be retaliated on our own. But +these considerations of hope and fear are almost unknown in the +pastoral state of nations. The Huns of Attila may, without +injustice, be compared to the Moguls and Tartars, before their +primitive manners were changed by religion and luxury; and the +evidence of Oriental history may reflect some light on the short +and imperfect annals of Rome. After the Moguls had subdued the +northern provinces of China, it was seriously proposed, not in +the hour of victory and passion, but in calm deliberate council, +to exterminate all the inhabitants of that populous country, that +the vacant land might be converted to the pasture of cattle. The +firmness of a Chinese mandarin, ^22 who insinuated some +principles of rational policy into the mind of Zingis, diverted +him from the execution of this horrid design. But in the cities +of Asia, which yielded to the Moguls, the inhuman abuse of the +rights of war was exercised with a regular form of discipline, +which may, with equal reason, though not with equal authority, be +imputed to the victorious Huns. The inhabitants, who had +submitted to their discretion, were ordered to evacuate their +houses, and to assemble in some plain adjacent to the city; where +a division was made of the vanquished into three parts. The +first class consisted of the soldiers of the garrison, and of the +young men capable of bearing arms; and their fate was instantly +decided they were either enlisted among the Moguls, or they were +massacred on the spot by the troops, who, with pointed spears and +bended bows, had formed a circle round the captive multitude. +The second class, composed of the young and beautiful women, of +the artificers of every rank and profession, and of the more +wealthy or honorable citizens, from whom a private ransom might +be expected, was distributed in equal or proportionable lots. +The remainder, whose life or death was alike useless to the +conquerors, were permitted to return to the city; which, in the +mean while, had been stripped of its valuable furniture; and a +tax was imposed on those wretched inhabitants for the indulgence +of breathing their native air. Such was the behavior of the +Moguls, when they were not conscious of any extraordinary rigor. +^23 But the most casual provocation, the slightest motive of +caprice or convenience, often provoked them to involve a whole +people in an indiscriminate massacre; and the ruin of some +flourishing cities was executed with such unrelenting +perseverance, that, according to their own expression, horses +might run, without stumbling, over the ground where they had once +stood. The three great capitals of Khorasan, Maru, Neisabour, +and Herat, were destroyed by the armies of Zingis; and the exact +account which was taken of the slain amounted to four millions +three hundred and forty-seven thousand persons. ^24 Timur, or +Tamerlane, was educated in a less barbarous age, and in the +profession of the Mahometan religion; yet, if Attila equalled the +hostile ravages of Tamerlane, ^25 either the Tartar or the Hun +might deserve the epithet of the Scourge of God. ^26 + +[Footnote 22: He represented to the emperor of the Moguls that +the four provinces, (Petcheli, Chantong, Chansi, and +Leaotong,)which he already possessed, might annually produce, +under a mild administration, 500,000 ounces of silver, 400,000 +measures of rice, and 800,000 pieces of silk. Gaubil, Hist. de la +Dynastie des Mongous, p. 58, 59. Yelut chousay (such was the +name of the mandarin) was a wise and virtuous minister, who saved +his country, and civilized the conquerors. + + Note: Compare the life of this remarkable man, translated +from the Chinese by M. Abel Remusat. Nouveaux Melanges +Asiatiques, t. ii. p. 64. - M] +[Footnote 23: Particular instances would be endless; but the +curious reader may consult the life of Gengiscan, by Petit de la +Croix, the Histoire des Mongous, and the fifteenth book of the +History of the Huns.] +[Footnote 24: At Maru, 1,300,000; at Herat, 1,600,000; at +Neisabour, 1,747,000. D'Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale, p. +380, 381. I use the orthography of D'Anville's maps. It must, +however, be allowed, that the Persians were disposed to +exaggerate their losses and the Moguls to magnify their +exploits.] + +[Footnote 25: Cherefeddin Ali, his servile panegyrist, would +afford us many horrid examples. In his camp before Delhi, Timour +massacred 100,000 Indian prisoners, who had smiled when the army +of their countrymen appeared in sight, (Hist. de Timur Bec, tom. +iii. p. 90.) The people of Ispahan supplied 70,000 human skulls +for the structure of several lofty towers, (id. tom. i. p. 434.) +A similar tax was levied on the revolt of Bagdad, (tom. iii. p. +370;) and the exact account, which Cherefeddin was not able to +procure from the proper officers, is stated by another historian +(Ahmed Arabsiada, tom. ii. p. 175, vera Manger) at 90,000 heads.] + +[Footnote 26: The ancients, Jornandes, Priscus, &c., are ignorant +of this epithet. The modern Hungarians have imagined, that it +was applied, by a hermit of Gaul, to Attila, who was pleased to +insert it among the titles of his royal dignity. Mascou, ix. 23, +and Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, tom. vi. p. 143.] + +Chapter XXXIV: Attila. + + +Part II. + + It may be affirmed, with bolder assurance, that the Huns +depopulated the provinces of the empire, by the number of Roman +subjects whom they led away into captivity. In the hands of a +wise legislator, such an industrious colony might have +contributed to diffuse through the deserts of Scythia the +rudiments of the useful and ornamental arts; but these captives, +who had been taken in war, were accidentally dispersed among the +hordes that obeyed the empire of Attila. The estimate of their +respective value was formed by the simple judgment of +unenlightened and unprejudiced Barbarians. Perhaps they might +not understand the merit of a theologian, profoundly skilled in +the controversies of the Trinity and the Incarnation; yet they +respected the ministers of every religion and the active zeal of +the Christian missionaries, without approaching the person or the +palace of the monarch, successfully labored in the propagation of +the gospel. ^27 The pastoral tribes, who were ignorant of the +distinction of landed property, must have disregarded the use, as +well as the abuse, of civil jurisprudence; and the skill of an +eloquent lawyer could excite only their contempt or their +abhorrence. ^28 The perpetual intercourse of the Huns and the +Goths had communicated the familiar knowledge of the two national +dialects; and the Barbarians were ambitious of conversing in +Latin, the military idiom even of the Eastern empire. ^29 But +they disdained the language and the sciences of the Greeks; and +the vain sophist, or grave philosopher, who had enjoyed the +flattering applause of the schools, was mortified to find that +his robust servant was a captive of more value and importance +than himself. The mechanic arts were encouraged and esteemed, as +they tended to satisfy the wants of the Huns. An architect in +the service of Onegesius, one of the favorites of Attila, was +employed to construct a bath; but this work was a rare example of +private luxury; and the trades of the smith, the carpenter, the +armorer, were much more adapted to supply a wandering people with +the useful instruments of peace and war. But the merit of the +physician was received with universal favor and respect: the +Barbarians, who despised death, might be apprehensive of disease; +and the haughty conqueror trembled in the presence of a captive, +to whom he ascribed, perhaps, an imaginary power of prolonging or +preserving his life. ^30 The Huns might be provoked to insult the +misery of their slaves, over whom they exercised a despotic +command; ^31 but their manners were not susceptible of a refined +system of oppression; and the efforts of courage and diligence +were often recompensed by the gift of freedom. The historian +Priscus, whose embassy is a source of curious instruction, was +accosted in the camp of Attila by a stranger, who saluted him in +the Greek language, but whose dress and figure displayed the +appearance of a wealthy Scythian. In the siege of Viminiacum, he +had lost, according to his own account, his fortune and liberty; +he became the slave of Onegesius; but his faithful services, +against the Romans and the Acatzires, had gradually raised him to +the rank of the native Huns; to whom he was attached by the +domestic pledges of a new wife and several children. The spoils +of war had restored and improved his private property; he was +admitted to the table of his former lord; and the apostate Greek +blessed the hour of his captivity, since it had been the +introduction to a happy and independent state; which he held by +the honorable tenure of military service. This reflection +naturally produced a dispute on the advantages and defects of the +Roman government, which was severely arraigned by the apostate, +and defended by Priscus in a prolix and feeble declamation. The +freedman of Onegesius exposed, in true and lively colors, the +vices of a declining empire, of which he had so long been the +victim; the cruel absurdity of the Roman princes, unable to +protect their subjects against the public enemy, unwilling to +trust them with arms for their own defence; the intolerable +weight of taxes, rendered still more oppressive by the intricate +or arbitrary modes of collection; the obscurity of numerous and +contradictory laws; the tedious and expensive forms of judicial +proceedings; the partial administration of justice; and the +universal corruption, which increased the influence of the rich, +and aggravated the misfortunes of the poor. A sentiment of +patriotic sympathy was at length revived in the breast of the +fortunate exile; and he lamented, with a flood of tears, the +guilt or weakness of those magistrates who had perverted the +wisest and most salutary institutions. ^32 + +[Footnote 27: The missionaries of St. Chrysostom had converted +great numbers of the Scythians, who dwelt beyond the Danube in +tents and wagons. Theodoret, l. v. c. 31. Photius, p. 1517. The +Mahometans, the Nestorians, and the Latin Christians, thought +themselves secure of gaining the sons and grandsons of Zingis, +who treated the rival missionaries with impartial favor.] +[Footnote 28: The Germans, who exterminated Varus and his +legions, had been particularly offended with the Roman laws and +lawyers. One of the Barbarians, after the effectual precautions +of cutting out the tongue of an advocate, and sewing up his +mouth, observed, with much satisfaction, that the viper could no +longer hiss. Florus, iv. 12.] + +[Footnote 29: Priscus, p. 59. It should seem that the Huns +preferred the Gothic and Latin languages to their own; which was +probably a harsh and barren idiom.] + +[Footnote 30: Philip de Comines, in his admirable picture of the +last moments of Lewis XI., (Memoires, l. vi. c. 12,) represents +the insolence of his physician, who, in five months, extorted +54,000 crowns, and a rich bishopric, from the stern, avaricious +tyrant.] + +[Footnote 31: Priscus (p. 61) extols the equity of the Roman +laws, which protected the life of a slave. Occidere solent (says +Tacitus of the Germans) non disciplina et severitate, sed impetu +et ira, ut inimicum, nisi quod impune. De Moribus Germ. c. 25. +The Heruli, who were the subjects of Attila, claimed, and +exercised, the power of life and death over their slaves. See a +remarkable instance in the second book of Agathias] + +[Footnote 32: See the whole conversation in Priscus, p. 59 - 62.] + + The timid or selfish policy of the Western Romans had +abandoned the Eastern empire to the Huns. ^33 The loss of armies, +and the want of discipline or virtue, were not supplied by the +personal character of the monarch. Theodosius might still affect +the style, as well as the title, of Invincible Augustus; but he +was reduced to solicit the clemency of Attila, who imperiously +dictated these harsh and humiliating conditions of peace. I. The +emperor of the East resigned, by an express or tacit convention, +an extensive and important territory, which stretched along the +southern banks of the Danube, from Singidunum, or Belgrade, as +far as Novae, in the diocese of Thrace. The breadth was defined +by the vague computation of fifteen ^* days' journey; but, from +the proposal of Attila to remove the situation of the national +market, it soon appeared, that he comprehended the ruined city of +Naissus within the limits of his dominions. II. The king of the +Huns required and obtained, that his tribute or subsidy should be +augmented from seven hundred pounds of gold to the annual sum of +two thousand one hundred; and he stipulated the immediate payment +of six thousand pounds of gold, to defray the expenses, or to +expiate the guilt, of the war. One might imagine, that such a +demand, which scarcely equalled the measure of private wealth, +would have been readily discharged by the opulent empire of the +East; and the public distress affords a remarkable proof of the +impoverished, or at least of the disorderly, state of the +finances. A large proportion of the taxes extorted from the +people was detained and intercepted in their passage, though the +foulest channels, to the treasury of Constantinople. The revenue +was dissipated by Theodosius and his favorites in wasteful and +profuse luxury; which was disguised by the names of Imperial +magnificence, or Christian charity. The immediate supplies had +been exhausted by the unforeseen necessity of military +preparations. A personal contribution, rigorously, but +capriciously, imposed on the members of the senatorian order, was +the only expedient that could disarm, without loss of time, the +impatient avarice of Attila; and the poverty of the nobles +compelled them to adopt the scandalous resource of exposing to +public auction the jewels of their wives, and the hereditary +ornaments of their palaces. ^34 III. The king of the Huns +appears to have established, as a principle of national +jurisprudence, that he could never lose the property, which he +had once acquired, in the persons who had yielded either a +voluntary, or reluctant, submission to his authority. From this +principle he concluded, and the conclusions of Attila were +irrevocable laws, that the Huns, who had been taken prisoner in +war, should be released without delay, and without ransom; that +every Roman captive, who had presumed to escape, should purchase +his right to freedom at the price of twelve pieces of gold; and +that all the Barbarians, who had deserted the standard of Attila, +should be restored, without any promise or stipulation of pardon. + +In the execution of this cruel and ignominious treaty, the +Imperial officers were forced to massacre several loyal and noble +deserters, who refused to devote themselves to certain death; and +the Romans forfeited all reasonable claims to the friendship of +any Scythian people, by this public confession, that they were +destitute either of faith, or power, to protect the suppliant, +who had embraced the throne of Theodosius. ^35 + +[Footnote 33: Nova iterum Orienti assurgit ruina ... quum nulla +ab Cocidentalibus ferrentur auxilia. Prosper Tyro composed his +Chronicle in the West; and his observation implies a censure.] +[Footnote *: Five in the last edition of Priscus. Niebuhr, Byz. +Hist. p 147 - M] + +[Footnote 34: According to the description, or rather invective, +of Chrysostom, an auction of Byzantine luxury must have been very +productive. Every wealthy house possessed a semicircular table of +massy silver such as two men could scarcely lift, a vase of solid +gold of the weight of forty pounds, cups, dishes, of the same +metal, &c.] + +[Footnote 35: The articles of the treaty, expressed without much +order or precision, may be found in Priscus, (p. 34, 35, 36, 37, +53, &c.) Count Marcellinus dispenses some comfort, by observing, +1. That Attila himself solicited the peace and presents, which he +had formerly refused; and, 2dly, That, about the same time, the +ambassadors of India presented a fine large tame tiger to the +emperor Theodosius.] + + The firmness of a single town, so obscure, that, except on +this occasion, it has never been mentioned by any historian or +geographer, exposed the disgrace of the emperor and empire. +Azimus, or Azimuntium, a small city of Thrace on the Illyrian +borders, ^36 had been distinguished by the martial spirit of its +youth, the skill and reputation of the leaders whom they had +chosen, and their daring exploits against the innumerable host of +the Barbarians. Instead of tamely expecting their approach, the +Azimuntines attacked, in frequent and successful sallies, the +troops of the Huns, who gradually declined the dangerous +neighborhood, rescued from their hands the spoil and the +captives, and recruited their domestic force by the voluntary +association of fugitives and deserters. After the conclusion of +the treaty, Attila still menaced the empire with implacable war, +unless the Azimuntines were persuaded, or compelled, to comply +with the conditions which their sovereign had accepted. The +ministers of Theodosius confessed with shame, and with truth, +that they no longer possessed any authority over a society of +men, who so bravely asserted their natural independence; and the +king of the Huns condescended to negotiate an equal exchange with +the citizens of Azimus. They demanded the restitution of some +shepherds, who, with their cattle, had been accidentally +surprised. A strict, though fruitless, inquiry was allowed: but +the Huns were obliged to swear, that they did not detain any +prisoners belonging to the city, before they could recover two +surviving countrymen, whom the Azimuntines had reserved as +pledges for the safety of their lost companions. Attila, on his +side, was satisfied, and deceived, by their solemn asseveration, +that the rest of the captives had been put to the sword; and that +it was their constant practice, immediately to dismiss the Romans +and the deserters, who had obtained the security of the public +faith. This prudent and officious dissimulation may be +condemned, or excused, by the casuists, as they incline to the +rigid decree of St. Augustin, or to the milder sentiment of St. +Jerom and St. Chrysostom: but every soldier, every statesman, +must acknowledge, that, if the race of the Azimuntines had been +encouraged and multiplied, the Barbarians would have ceased to +trample on the majesty of the empire. ^37 + +[Footnote 36: Priscus, p. 35, 36. Among the hundred and +eighty-two forts, or castles, of Thrace, enumerated by Procopius, +(de Edificiis, l. iv. c. xi. tom. ii. p. 92, edit. Paris,) there +is one of the name of Esimontou, whose position is doubtfully +marked, in the neighborhood of Anchialus and the Euxine Sea. The +name and walls of Azimuntium might subsist till the reign of +Justinian; but the race of its brave defenders had been carefully +extirpated by the jealousy of the Roman princes] + +[Footnote 37: The peevish dispute of St. Jerom and St. Augustin, +who labored, by different expedients, to reconcile the seeming +quarrel of the two apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, depends on +the solution of an important question, (Middleton's Works, vol. +ii. p. 5 - 20,) which has been frequently agitated by Catholic +and Protestant divines, and even by lawyers and philosophers of +every age.] + + It would have been strange, indeed, if Theodosius had +purchased, by the loss of honor, a secure and solid tranquillity, +or if his tameness had not invited the repetition of injuries. +The Byzantine court was insulted by five or six successive +embassies; ^38 and the ministers of Attila were uniformly +instructed to press the tardy or imperfect execution of the last +treaty; to produce the names of fugitives and deserters, who were +still protected by the empire; and to declare, with seeming +moderation, that, unless their sovereign obtained complete and +immediate satisfaction, it would be impossible for him, were it +even his wish, to check the resentment of his warlike tribes. +Besides the motives of pride and interest, which might prompt the +king of the Huns to continue this train of negotiation, he was +influenced by the less honorable view of enriching his favorites +at the expense of his enemies. The Imperial treasury was +exhausted, to procure the friendly offices of the ambassadors and +their principal attendants, whose favorable report might conduce +to the maintenance of peace. The Barbarian monarch was flattered +by the liberal reception of his ministers; he computed, with +pleasure, the value and splendor of their gifts, rigorously +exacted the performance of every promise which would contribute +to their private emolument, and treated as an important business +of state the marriage of his secretary Constantius. ^39 That +Gallic adventurer, who was recommended by Aetius to the king of +the Huns, had engaged his service to the ministers of +Constantinople, for the stipulated reward of a wealthy and noble +wife; and the daughter of Count Saturninus was chosen to +discharge the obligations of her country. The reluctance of the +victim, some domestic troubles, and the unjust confiscation of +her fortune, cooled the ardor of her interested lover; but he +still demanded, in the name of Attila, an equivalent alliance; +and, after many ambiguous delays and excuses, the Byzantine court +was compelled to sacrifice to this insolent stranger the widow of +Armatius, whose birth, opulence, and beauty, placed her in the +most illustrious rank of the Roman matrons. For these +importunate and oppressive embassies, Attila claimed a suitable +return: he weighed, with suspicious pride, the character and +station of the Imperial envoys; but he condescended to promise +that he would advance as far as Sardica to receive any ministers +who had been invested with the consular dignity. The council of +Theodosius eluded this proposal, by representing the desolate and +ruined condition of Sardica, and even ventured to insinuate that +every officer of the army or household was qualified to treat +with the most powerful princes of Scythia. Maximin, ^40 a +respectable courtier, whose abilities had been long exercised in +civil and military employments, accepted, with reluctance, the +troublesome, and perhaps dangerous, commission of reconciling the +angry spirit of the king of the Huns. His friend, the historian +Priscus, ^41 embraced the opportunity of observing the Barbarian +hero in the peaceful and domestic scenes of life: but the secret +of the embassy, a fatal and guilty secret, was intrusted only to +the interpreter Vigilius. The two last ambassadors of the Huns, +Orestes, a noble subject of the Pannonian province, and Edecon, a +valiant chieftain of the tribe of the Scyrri, returned at the +same time from Constantinople to the royal camp. Their obscure +names were afterwards illustrated by the extraordinary fortune +and the contrast of their sons: the two servants of Attila became +the fathers of the last Roman emperor of the West, and of the +first Barbarian king of Italy. + +[Footnote 38: Montesquieu (Considerations sur la Grandeur, &c. c. +xix.) has delineated, with a bold and easy pencil, some of the +most striking circumstances of the pride of Attila, and the +disgrace of the Romans. He deserves the praise of having read +the Fragments of Priscus, which have been too much disregarded.] +[Footnote 39: See Priscus, p. 69, 71, 72, &c. I would fain +believe, that this adventurer was afterwards crucified by the +order of Attila, on a suspicion of treasonable practices; but +Priscus (p. 57) has too plainly distinguished two persons of the +name of Constantius, who, from the similar events of their lives, +might have been easily confounded.] + +[Footnote 40: In the Persian treaty, concluded in the year 422, +the wise and eloquent Maximin had been the assessor of +Ardaburius, (Socrates, l. vii. c. 20.) When Marcian ascended the +throne, the office of Great Chamberlain was bestowed on Maximin, +who is ranked, in the public edict, among the four principal +ministers of state, (Novell. ad Calc. Cod. Theod. p. 31.) He +executed a civil and military commission in the Eastern +provinces; and his death was lamented by the savages of +Aethiopia, whose incursions he had repressed. See Priscus, p. +40, 41.] + +[Footnote 41: Priscus was a native of Panium in Thrace, and +deserved, by his eloquence, an honorable place among the sophists +of the age. His Byzantine history, which related to his own +times, was comprised in seven books. See Fabricius, Bibliot. +Graec. tom. vi. p. 235, 236. Notwithstanding the charitable +judgment of the critics, I suspect that Priscus was a Pagan. + +Note: Niebuhr concurs in this opinion. Life of Priscus in the +new edition of the Byzantine historians. - M] + + The ambassadors, who were followed by a numerous train of +men and horses, made their first halt at Sardica, at the distance +of three hundred and fifty miles, or thirteen days' journey, from +Constantinople. As the remains of Sardica were still included +within the limits of the empire, it was incumbent on the Romans +to exercise the duties of hospitality. They provided, with the +assistance of the provincials, a sufficient number of sheep and +oxen, and invited the Huns to a splendid, or at least, a +plentiful supper. But the harmony of the entertainment was soon +disturbed by mutual prejudice and indiscretion. The greatness of +the emperor and the empire was warmly maintained by their +ministers; the Huns, with equal ardor, asserted the superiority +of their victorious monarch: the dispute was inflamed by the rash +and unseasonable flattery of Vigilius, who passionately rejected +the comparison of a mere mortal with the divine Theodosius; and +it was with extreme difficulty that Maximin and Priscus were able +to divert the conversation, or to soothe the angry minds, of the +Barbarians. When they rose from table, the Imperial ambassador +presented Edecon and Orestes with rich gifts of silk robes and +Indian pearls, which they thankfully accepted. Yet Orestes could +not forbear insinuating that he had not always been treated with +such respect and liberality: and the offensive distinction which +was implied, between his civil office and the hereditary rank of +his colleague seems to have made Edecon a doubtful friend, and +Orestes an irreconcilable enemy. After this entertainment, they +travelled about one hundred miles from Sardica to Naissus. That +flourishing city, which has given birth to the great Constantine, +was levelled with the ground: the inhabitants were destroyed or +dispersed; and the appearance of some sick persons, who were +still permitted to exist among the ruins of the churches, served +only to increase the horror of the prospect. The surface of the +country was covered with the bones of the slain; and the +ambassadors, who directed their course to the north-west, were +obliged to pass the hills of modern Servia, before they descended +into the flat and marshy grounds which are terminated by the +Danube. The Huns were masters of the great river: their +navigation was performed in large canoes, hollowed out of the +trunk of a single tree; the ministers of Theodosius were safely +landed on the opposite bank; and their Barbarian associates +immediately hastened to the camp of Attila, which was equally +prepared for the amusements of hunting or of war. No sooner had +Maximin advanced about two miles ^* from the Danube, than he +began to experience the fastidious insolence of the conqueror. +He was sternly forbid to pitch his tents in a pleasant valley, +lest he should infringe the distant awe that was due to the royal +mansion. ^! The ministers of Attila pressed them to communicate +the business, and the instructions, which he reserved for the ear +of their sovereign When Maximin temperately urged the contrary +practice of nations, he was still more confounded to find that +the resolutions of the Sacred Consistory, those secrets (says +Priscus) which should not be revealed to the gods themselves, had +been treacherously disclosed to the public enemy. On his refusal +to comply with such ignominious terms, the Imperial envoy was +commanded instantly to depart; the order was recalled; it was +again repeated; and the Huns renewed their ineffectual attempts +to subdue the patient firmness of Maximin. At length, by the +intercession of Scotta, the brother of Onegesius, whose +friendship had been purchased by a liberal gift, he was admitted +to the royal presence; but, in stead of obtaining a decisive +answer, he was compelled to undertake a remote journey towards +the north, that Attila might enjoy the proud satisfaction of +receiving, in the same camp, the ambassadors of the Eastern and +Western empires. His journey was regulated by the guides, who +obliged him to halt, to hasten his march, or to deviate from the +common road, as it best suited the convenience of the king. The +Romans, who traversed the plains of Hungary, suppose that they +passed several navigable rivers, either in canoes or portable +boats; but there is reason to suspect that the winding stream of +the Teyss, or Tibiscus, might present itself in different places +under different names. From the contiguous villages they +received a plentiful and regular supply of provisions; mead +instead of wine, millet in the place of bread, and a certain +liquor named camus, which according to the report of Priscus, was +distilled from barley. ^42 Such fare might appear coarse and +indelicate to men who had tasted the luxury of Constantinople; +but, in their accidental distress, they were relieved by the +gentleness and hospitality of the same Barbarians, so terrible +and so merciless in war. The ambassadors had encamped on the +edge of a large morass. A violent tempest of wind and rain, of +thunder and lightning, overturned their tents, immersed their +baggage and furniture in the water, and scattered their retinue, +who wandered in the darkness of the night, uncertain of their +road, and apprehensive of some unknown danger, till they awakened +by their cries the inhabitants of a neighboring village, the +property of the widow of Bleda. A bright illumination, and, in a +few moments, a comfortable fire of reeds, was kindled by their +officious benevolence; the wants, and even the desires, of the +Romans were liberally satisfied; and they seem to have been +embarrassed by the singular politeness of Bleda's widow, who +added to her other favors the gift, or at least the loan, of a +sufficient number of beautiful and obsequious damsels. The +sunshine of the succeeding day was dedicated to repose, to +collect and dry the baggage, and to the refreshment of the men +and horses: but, in the evening, before they pursued their +journey, the ambassadors expressed their gratitude to the +bounteous lady of the village, by a very acceptable present of +silver cups, red fleeces, dried fruits, and Indian pepper. Soon +after this adventure, they rejoined the march of Attila, from +whom they had been separated about six days, and slowly proceeded +to the capital of an empire, which did not contain, in the space +of several thousand miles, a single city. + +[Footnote *: 70 stadia. Priscus, 173. - M.] + +[Footnote !: He was forbidden to pitch his tents on an eminence +because Attila's were below on the plain. Ibid. - M.] + +[Footnote 42: The Huns themselves still continued to despise the +labors of agriculture: they abused the privilege of a victorious +nation; and the Goths, their industrious subjects, who cultivated +the earth, dreaded their neighborhood, like that of so many +ravenous wolves, (Priscus, p. 45.) In the same manner the Sarts +and Tadgics provide for their own subsistence, and for that of +the Usbec Tartars, their lazy and rapacious sovereigns. See +Genealogical History of the Tartars, p. 423 455, &c.] + + As far as we may ascertain the vague and obscure geography +of Priscus, this capital appears to have been seated between the +Danube, the Teyss, and the Carpathian hills, in the plains of +Upper Hungary, and most probably in the neighborhood of Jezberin, +Agria, or Tokay. ^43 In its origin it could be no more than an +accidental camp, which, by the long and frequent residence of +Attila, had insensibly swelled into a huge village, for the +reception of his court, of the troops who followed his person, +and of the various multitude of idle or industrious slaves and +retainers. ^44 The baths, constructed by Onegesius, were the only +edifice of stone; the materials had been transported from +Pannonia; and since the adjacent country was destitute even of +large timber, it may be presumed, that the meaner habitations of +the royal village consisted of straw, or mud, or of canvass. The +wooden houses of the more illustrious Huns were built and adorned +with rude magnificence, according to the rank, the fortune, or +the taste of the proprietors. They seem to have been distributed +with some degree of order and symmetry; and each spot became more +honorable as it approached the person of the sovereign. The +palace of Attila, which surpassed all other houses in his +dominions, was built entirely of wood, and covered an ample space +of ground. The outward enclosure was a lofty wall, or palisade, +of smooth square timber, intersected with high towers, but +intended rather for ornament than defence. This wall, which +seems to have encircled the declivity of a hill, comprehended a +great variety of wooden edifices, adapted to the uses of royalty. + +A separate house was assigned to each of the numerous wives of +Attila; and, instead of the rigid and illiberal confinement +imposed by Asiatic jealousy they politely admitted the Roman +ambassadors to their presence, their table, and even to the +freedom of an innocent embrace. When Maximin offered his +presents to Cerca, ^* the principal queen, he admired the +singular architecture on her mansion, the height of the round +columns, the size and beauty of the wood, which was curiously +shaped or turned or polished or carved; and his attentive eye was +able to discover some taste in the ornaments and some regularity +in the proportions. After passing through the guards, who +watched before the gate, the ambassadors were introduced into the +private apartment of Cerca. The wife of Attila received their +visit sitting, or rather lying, on a soft couch; the floor was +covered with a carpet; the domestics formed a circle round the +queen; and her damsels, seated on the ground, were employed in +working the variegated embroidery which adorned the dress of the +Barbaric warriors. The Huns were ambitious of displaying those +riches which were the fruit and evidence of their victories: the +trappings of their horses, their swords, and even their shoes, +were studded with gold and precious stones; and their tables were +profusely spread with plates, and goblets, and vases of gold and +silver, which had been fashioned by the labor of Grecian artists. + +The monarch alone assumed the superior pride of still adhering to +the simplicity of his Scythian ancestors. ^45 The dress of +Attila, his arms, and the furniture of his horse, were plain, +without ornament, and of a single color. The royal table was +served in wooden cups and platters; flesh was his only food; and +the conqueror of the North never tasted the luxury of bread. +[Footnote 43: It is evident that Priscus passed the Danube and +the Teyss, and that he did not reach the foot of the Carpathian +hills. Agria, Tokay, and Jazberin, are situated in the plains +circumscribed by this definition. M. de Buat (Histoire des +Peuples, &c., tom. vii. p. 461) has chosen Tokay; Otrokosci, (p. +180, apud Mascou, ix. 23,) a learned Hungarian, has preferred +Jazberin, a place about thirty-six miles westward of Buda and the +Danube. + Note: M. St. Martin considers the narrative of Priscus, the +only authority of M. de Buat and of Gibbon, too vague to fix the +position of Attila's camp. "It is worthy of remark, that in the +Hungarian traditions collected by Thwrocz, l. 2, c. 17, precisely +on the left branch of the Danube, where Attila's residence was +situated, in the same parallel stands the present city of Buda, +in Hungarian Buduvur. It is for this reason that this city has +retained for a long time among the Germans of Hungary the name of +Etzelnburgh or Etzela-burgh, i. e., the city of Attila. The +distance of Buda from the place where Priscus crossed the Danube, +on his way from Naissus, is equal to that which he traversed to +reach the residence of the king of the Huns. I see no good +reason for not acceding to the relations of the Hungarian +historians." St. Martin, vi. 191. - M] + +[Footnote 44: The royal village of Attila may be compared to the +city of Karacorum, the residence of the successors of Zingis; +which, though it appears to have been a more stable habitation, +did not equal the size or splendor of the town and abbey of St. +Denys, in the 13th century. (See Rubruquis, in the Histoire +Generale des Voyages, tom. vii p. 286.) The camp of Aurengzebe, +as it is so agreeably described by Bernier, (tom. ii. p. 217 - +235,) blended the manners of Scythia with the magnificence and +luxury of Hindostan.] +[Footnote *: The name of this queen occurs three times in +Priscus, and always in a different form - Cerca, Creca, and +Rheca. The Scandinavian poets have preserved her memory under +the name of Herkia. St. Martin, vi. 192. - M.] +[Footnote 45: When the Moguls displayed the spoils of Asia, in +the diet of Toncat, the throne of Zingis was still covered with +the original black felt carpet, on which he had been seated, when +he was raised to the command of his warlike countrymen. See Vie +de Gengiscan, v. c. 9.] + + When Attila first gave audience to the Roman ambassadors on +the banks of the Danube, his tent was encompassed with a +formidable guard. The monarch himself was seated in a wooden +chair. His stern countenance, angry gestures, and impatient +tone, astonished the firmness of Maximin; but Vigilius had more +reason to tremble, since he distinctly understood the menace, +that if Attila did not respect the law of nations, he would nail +the deceitful interpreter to the cross. and leave his body to the +vultures. The Barbarian condescended, by producing an accurate +list, to expose the bold falsehood of Vigilius, who had affirmed +that no more than seventeen deserters could be found. But he +arrogantly declared, that he apprehended only the disgrace of +contending with his fugitive slaves; since he despised their +impotent efforts to defend the provinces which Theodosius had +intrusted to their arms: "For what fortress," (added Attila,) +"what city, in the wide extent of the Roman empire, can hope to +exist, secure and impregnable, if it is our pleasure that it +should be erased from the earth?" He dismissed, however, the +interpreter, who returned to Constantinople with his peremptory +demand of more complete restitution, and a more splendid embassy. + +His anger gradually subsided, and his domestic satisfaction in a +marriage which he celebrated on the road with the daughter of +Eslam, ^* might perhaps contribute to mollify the native +fierceness of his temper. The entrance of Attila into the royal +village was marked by a very singular ceremony. A numerous troop +of women came out to meet their hero and their king. They +marched before him, distributed into long and regular files; the +intervals between the files were filled by white veils of thin +linen, which the women on either side bore aloft in their hands, +and which formed a canopy for a chorus of young virgins, who +chanted hymns and songs in the Scythian language. The wife of +his favorite Onegesius, with a train of female attendants, +saluted Attila at the door of her own house, on his way to the +palace; and offered, according to the custom of the country, her +respectful homage, by entreating him to taste the wine and meat +which she had prepared for his reception. As soon as the monarch +had graciously accepted her hospitable gift, his domestics lifted +a small silver table to a convenient height, as he sat on +horseback; and Attila, when he had touched the goblet with his +lips, again saluted the wife of Onegesius, and continued his +march. During his residence at the seat of empire, his hours were +not wasted in the recluse idleness of a seraglio; and the king of +the Huns could maintain his superior dignity, without concealing +his person from the public view. He frequently assembled his +council, and gave audience to the ambassadors of the nations; and +his people might appeal to the supreme tribunal, which he held at +stated times, and, according to the Eastern custom, before the +principal gate of his wooden palace. The Romans, both of the +East and of the West, were twice invited to the banquets, where +Attila feasted with the princes and nobles of Scythia. Maximin +and his colleagues were stopped on the threshold, till they had +made a devout libation to the health and prosperity of the king +of the Huns; and were conducted, after this ceremony, to their +respective seats in a spacious hall. The royal table and couch, +covered with carpets and fine linen, was raised by several steps +in the midst of the hall; and a son, an uncle, or perhaps a +favorite king, were admitted to share the simple and homely +repast of Attila. Two lines of small tables, each of which +contained three or four guests, were ranged in order on either +hand; the right was esteemed the most honorable, but the Romans +ingenuously confess, that they were placed on the left; and that +Beric, an unknown chieftain, most probably of the Gothic race, +preceded the representatives of Theodosius and Valentinian. The +Barbarian monarch received from his cup-bearer a goblet filled +with wine, and courteously drank to the health of the most +distinguished guest; who rose from his seat, and expressed, in +the same manner, his loyal and respectful vows. This ceremony was +successively performed for all, or at least for the illustrious +persons of the assembly; and a considerable time must have been +consumed, since it was thrice repeated as each course or service +was placed on the table. But the wine still remained after the +meat had been removed; and the Huns continued to indulge their +intemperance long after the sober and decent ambassadors of the +two empires had withdrawn themselves from the nocturnal banquet. +Yet before they retired, they enjoyed a singular opportunity of +observing the manners of the nation in their convivial +amusements. Two Scythians stood before the couch of Attila, and +recited the verses which they had composed, to celebrate his +valor and his victories. ^* A profound silence prevailed in the +hall; and the attention of the guests was captivated by the vocal +harmony, which revived and perpetuated the memory of their own +exploits; a martial ardor flashed from the eyes of the warriors, +who were impatient for battle; and the tears of the old men +expressed their generous despair, that they could no longer +partake the danger and glory of the field. ^46 This +entertainment, which might be considered as a school of military +virtue, was succeeded by a farce, that debased the dignity of +human nature. A Moorish and a Scythian buffcon ^* successively +excited the mirth of the rude spectators, by their deformed +figure, ridiculous dress, antic gestures, absurd speeches, and +the strange, unintelligible confusion of the Latin, the Gothic, +and the Hunnic languages; and the hall resounded with loud and +licentious peals of laughter. In the midst of this intemperate +riot, Attila alone, without a change of countenance, maintained +his steadfast and inflexible gravity; which was never relaxed, +except on the entrance of Irnac, the youngest of his sons: he +embraced the boy with a smile of paternal tenderness, gently +pinched him by the cheek, and betrayed a partial affection, which +was justified by the assurance of his prophets, that Irnac would +be the future support of his family and empire. Two days +afterwards, the ambassadors received a second invitation; and +they had reason to praise the politeness, as well as the +hospitality, of Attila. The king of the Huns held a long and +familiar conversation with Maximin; but his civility was +interrupted by rude expressions and haughty reproaches; and he +was provoked, by a motive of interest, to support, with +unbecoming zeal, the private claims of his secretary Constantius. + +"The emperor" (said Attila) "has long promised him a rich wife: +Constantius must not be disappointed; nor should a Roman emperor +deserve the name of liar." On the third day, the ambassadors were +dismissed; the freedom of several captives was granted, for a +moderate ransom, to their pressing entreaties; and, besides the +royal presents, they were permitted to accept from each of the +Scythian nobles the honorable and useful gift of a horse. +Maximin returned, by the same road, to Constantinople; and though +he was involved in an accidental dispute with Beric, the new +ambassador of Attila, he flattered himself that he had +contributed, by the laborious journey, to confirm the peace and +alliance of the two nations. ^47 + +[Footnote *: Was this his own daughter, or the daughter of a +person named Escam? (Gibbon has written incorrectly Eslam, an +unknown name. The officer of Attila, called Eslas.) In either +case the construction is imperfect: a good Greek writer would +have introduced an article to determine the sense. Nor is it +quite clear, whether Scythian usage is adduced to excuse the +polygamy, or a marriage, which would be considered incestuous in +other countries. The Latin version has carefully preserved the +ambiguity, filiam Escam uxorem. I am not inclined to construe it +'his own daughter' though I have too little confidence in the +uniformity of the grammatical idioms of the Byzantines (though +Priscus is one of the best) to express myself without hesitation. +- M.] +[Footnote *: This passage is remarkable from the connection of +the name of Attila with that extraordinary cycle of poetry, which +is found in different forms in almost all the Teutonic languages. + +A Latin poem, de prima expeditione Attilae, Regis Hunnorum, in +Gallias, was published in the year 1780, by Fischer at Leipsic. +It contains, with the continuation, 1452 lines. It abounds in +metrical faults, but is occasionally not without some rude spirit +and some copiousness of fancy in the variation of the +circumstances in the different combats of the hero Walther, +prince of Aquitania. It contains little which can be supposed +historical, and still less which is characteristic concerning +Attila. It relates to a first expedition of Attila into Europe +which cannot be traced in history, during which the kings of the +Franks, of the Burgundians, and of Aquitaine, submit themselves, +and give hostages to Attila: the king of the Franks, a personage +who seems the same with the Hagen of Teutonic romance; the king +of Burgundy, his daughter Heldgund; the king of Aquitaine, his +son Walther. The main subject of the poem is the escape of +Walther and Heldgund from the camp of Attila, and the combat +between Walther and Gunthar, king of the Franks. with his twelve +peers, among whom is Hagen. Walther had been betrayed while he +passed through Worms, the city of the Frankish king. by paying +for his ferry over the Rhine with some strange fish, which he had +caught during his flight, and which were unknown in the waters of +the Rhine. Gunthar was desirous of plundering him of the +treasure, which Walther had carried off from the camp of Attila. +The author of this poem is unknown, nor can I, on the vague and +rather doubtful allusion to Thule, as Iceland, venture to assign +its date. It was, evidently, recited in a monastery, as appears +by the first line; and no doubt composed there. The faults of +metre would point out a late date; and it may have been formed +upon some local tradition, as Walther, the hero, seems to have +turned monk. + This poem, however, in its character and its incidents, +bears no relation to the Teutonic cycle, of which the Nibelungen +Lied is the most complete form. In this, in the Heldenbuch, in +some of the Danish Sagas. in countess lays and ballads in all the +dialects of Scandinavia, appears King Etzel (Attila) in strife +with the Burgundians and the Franks. With these appears, by a +poetic anachronism, Dietrich of Berne. (Theodoric of Verona,) +the celebrated Ostrogothic king; and many other very singular +coincidences of historic names, which appear in the poems. (See +Lachman Kritik der Sage in his volume of various readings to the +Nibelungen; Berlin, 1836, p. 336.) + +Chapter XXXIV: Attila. + + +Part III. + + I must acknowledge myself unable to form any satisfactory +theory as to the connection of these poems with the history of +the time, or the period, from which they may date their origin; +notwithstanding the laborious investigations and critical +sagacity of the Schlegels, the Grimms, of P. E. Muller and +Lachman, and a whole host of German critics and antiquaries; not +to omit our own countryman, Mr. Herbert, whose theory concerning +Attila is certainly neither deficient in boldness nor +originality. I conceive the only way to obtain any thing like a +clear conception on this point would be what Lachman has begun, +(see above,) patiently to collect and compare the various forms +which the traditions have assumed, without any preconceived, +either mythical or poetical, theory, and, if possible, to +discover the original basis of the whole rich and fantastic +legend. One point, which to me is strongly in favor of the +antiquity of this poetic cycle, is, that the manners are so +clearly anterior to chivalry, and to the influence exercised on +the poetic literature of Europe by the chivalrous poems and +romances. I think I find some traces of that influence in the +Latin poem, though strained through the imagination of a monk. + The English reader will find an amusing account of the +German Nibelungen and Heldenbuch, and of some of the Scandinavian +Sagas, in the volume of Northern Antiquities published by Weber, +the friend of Sir Walter Scott. Scott himself contributed a +considerable, no doubt far the most valuable, part to the work. +See also the various German editions of the Nibelungen, to which +Lachman, with true German perseverance, has compiled a thick +volume of various readings; the Heldenbuch, the old Danish poems +by Grimm, the Eddas, &c. Herbert's Attila, p. 510, et seq. - M.] +[Footnote 46: If we may believe Plutarch, (in Demetrio, tom. v. +p. 24,) it was the custom of the Scythians, when they indulged in +the pleasures of the table, to awaken their languid courage by +the martial harmony of twanging their bow-strings.] + +[Footnote *: The Scythian was an idiot or lunatic; the Moor a +regular buffcon - M.] + +[Footnote 47: The curious narrative of this embassy, which +required few observations, and was not susceptible of any +collateral evidence, may be found in Priscus, p. 49 - 70. But I +have not confined myself to the same order; and I had previously +extracted the historical circumstances, which were less +intimately connected with the journey, and business, of the Roman +ambassadors.] + + But the Roman ambassador was ignorant of the treacherous +design, which had been concealed under the mask of the public +faith. The surprise and satisfaction of Edecon, when he +contemplated the splendor of Constantinople, had encouraged the +interpreter Vigilius to procure for him a secret interview with +the eunuch Chrysaphius, ^48 who governed the emperor and the +empire. After some previous conversation, and a mutual oath of +secrecy, the eunuch, who had not, from his own feelings or +experience, imbibed any exalted notions of ministerial virtue, +ventured to propose the death of Attila, as an important service, +by which Edecon might deserve a liberal share of the wealth and +luxury which he admired. The ambassador of the Huns listened to +the tempting offer; and professed, with apparent zeal, his +ability, as well as readiness, to execute the bloody deed; the +design was communicated to the master of the offices, and the +devout Theodosius consented to the assassination of his +invincible enemy. But this perfidious conspiracy was defeated by +the dissimulation, or the repentance, of Edecon; and though he +might exaggerate his inward abhorrence for the treason, which he +seemed to approve, he dexterously assumed the merit of an early +and voluntary confession. If we now review the embassy of +Maximin, and the behavior of Attila, we must applaud the +Barbarian, who respected the laws of hospitality, and generously +entertained and dismissed the minister of a prince who had +conspired against his life. But the rashness of Vigilius will +appear still more extraordinary, since he returned, conscious of +his guilt and danger, to the royal camp, accompanied by his son, +and carrying with him a weighty purse of gold, which the favorite +eunuch had furnished, to satisfy the demands of Edecon, and to +corrupt the fidelity of the guards. The interpreter was +instantly seized, and dragged before the tribunal of Attila, +where he asserted his innocence with specious firmness, till the +threat of inflicting instant death on his son extorted from him a +sincere discovery of the criminal transaction. Under the name of +ransom, or confiscation, the rapacious king of the Huns accepted +two hundred pounds of gold for the life of a traitor, whom he +disdained to punish. He pointed his just indignation against a +nobler object. His ambassadors, Eslaw and Orestes, were +immediately despatched to Constantinople, with a peremptory +instruction, which it was much safer for them to execute than to +disobey. They boldly entered the Imperial presence, with the +fatal purse hanging down from the neck of Orestes; who +interrogated the eunuch Chrysaphius, as he stood beside the +throne, whether he recognized the evidence of his guilt. But the +office of reproof was reserved for the superior dignity of his +colleague Eslaw, who gravely addressed the emperor of the East in +the following words: "Theodosius is the son of an illustrious and +respectable parent: Attila likewise is descended from a noble +race; and he has supported, by his actions, the dignity which he +inherited from his father Mundzuk. But Theodosius has forfeited +his paternal honors, and, by consenting to pay tribute has +degraded himself to the condition of a slave. It is therefore +just, that he should reverence the man whom fortune and merit +have placed above him; instead of attempting, like a wicked +slave, clandestinely to conspire against his master." The son of +Arcadius, who was accustomed only to the voice of flattery, heard +with astonishment the severe language of truth: he blushed and +trembled; nor did he presume directly to refuse the head of +Chrysaphius, which Eslaw and Orestes were instructed to demand. +A solemn embassy, armed with full powers and magnificent gifts, +was hastily sent to deprecate the wrath of Attila; and his pride +was gratified by the choice of Nomius and Anatolius, two +ministers of consular or patrician rank, of whom the one was +great treasurer, and the other was master-general of the armies +of the East. He condescended to meet these ambassadors on the +banks of the River Drenco; and though he at first affected a +stern and haughty demeanor, his anger was insensibly mollified by +their eloquence and liberality. He condescended to pardon the +emperor, the eunuch, and the interpreter; bound himself by an +oath to observe the conditions of peace; released a great number +of captives; abandoned the fugitives and deserters to their fate; +and resigned a large territory, to the south of the Danube, which +he had already exhausted of its wealth and inhabitants. But this +treaty was purchased at an expense which might have supported a +vigorous and successful war; and the subjects of Theodosius were +compelled to redeem the safety of a worthless favorite by +oppressive taxes, which they would more cheerfully have paid for +his destruction. ^49 + +[Footnote 48: M. de Tillemont has very properly given the +succession of chamberlains, who reigned in the name of +Theodosius. Chrysaphius was the last, and, according to the +unanimous evidence of history, the worst of these favorites, (see +Hist. des Empereurs, tom. vi. p. 117 - 119. Mem. Eccles. tom. xv. +p. 438.) His partiality for his godfather the heresiarch +Eutyches, engaged him to persecute the orthodox party] + +[Footnote 49: This secret conspiracy and its important +consequences, may be traced in the fragments of Priscus, p. 37, +38, 39, 54, 70, 71, 72. The chronology of that historian is not +fixed by any precise date; but the series of negotiations between +Attila and the Eastern empire must be included within the three +or four years which are terminated, A.D. 450. by the death of +Theodosius.] + + The emperor Theodosius did not long survive the most +humiliating circumstance of an inglorious life. As he was +riding, or hunting, in the neighborhood of Constantinople, he was +thrown from his horse into the River Lycus: the spine of the back +was injured by the fall; and he expired some days afterwards, in +the fiftieth year of his age, and the forty-third of his reign. +^50 His sister Pulcheria, whose authority had been controlled +both in civil and ecclesiastical affairs by the pernicious +influence of the eunuchs, was unanimously proclaimed Empress of +the East; and the Romans, for the first time, submitted to a +female reign. No sooner had Pulcheria ascended the throne, than +she indulged her own and the public resentment, by an act of +popular justice. Without any legal trial, the eunuch Chrysaphius +was executed before the gates of the city; and the immense riches +which had been accumulated by the rapacious favorite, served only +to hasten and to justify his punishment. ^51 Amidst the general +acclamations of the clergy and people, the empress did not forget +the prejudice and disadvantage to which her sex was exposed; and +she wisely resolved to prevent their murmurs by the choice of a +colleague, who would always respect the superior rank and virgin +chastity of his wife. She gave her hand to Marcian, a senator, +about sixty years of age; and the nominal husband of Pulcheria +was solemnly invested with the Imperial purple. The zeal which +he displayed for the orthodox creed, as it was established by the +council of Chalcedon, would alone have inspired the grateful +eloquence of the Catholics. But the behavior of Marcian in a +private life, and afterwards on the throne, may support a more +rational belief, that he was qualified to restore and invigorate +an empire, which had been almost dissolved by the successive +weakness of two hereditary monarchs. He was born in Thrace, and +educated to the profession of arms; but Marcian's youth had been +severely exercised by poverty and misfortune, since his only +resource, when he first arrived at Constantinople, consisted in +two hundred pieces of gold, which he had borrowed of a friend. +He passed nineteen years in the domestic and military service of +Aspar, and his son Ardaburius; followed those powerful generals +to the Persian and African wars; and obtained, by their +influence, the honorable rank of tribune and senator. His mild +disposition, and useful talents, without alarming the jealousy, +recommended Marcian to the esteem and favor of his patrons; he +had seen, perhaps he had felt, the abuses of a venal and +oppressive administration; and his own example gave weight and +energy to the laws, which he promulgated for the reformation of +manners. ^52 +[Footnote 50: Theodorus the Reader, (see Vales. Hist. Eccles. +tom. iii. p. 563,) and the Paschal Chronicle, mention the fall, +without specifying the injury: but the consequence was so likely +to happen, and so unlikely to be invented, that we may safely +give credit to Nicephorus Callistus, a Greek of the fourteenth +century.] + +[Footnote 51: Pulcheriae nutu (says Count Marcellinus) sua cum +avaritia interemptus est. She abandoned the eunuch to the pious +revenge of a son, whose father had suffered at his instigation. + Note: Might not the execution of Chrysaphius have been a +sacrifice to avert the anger of Attila, whose assassination the +eunuch had attempted to contrive? - M.] + +[Footnote 52: de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 4. Evagrius, l. ii. c. +1. Theophanes, p. 90, 91. Novell. ad Calcem. Cod. Theod. tom. vi. +p. 30. The praises which St. Leo and the Catholics have bestowed +on Marcian, are diligently transcribed by Baronius, as an +encouragement for future princes.] + +Chapter XXXV: Invasion By Attila. + + +Part I. + + Invasion Of Gaul By Attila. - He Is Repulsed By Aetius And +The Visigoths. - Attila Invades And Evacuates Italy. - The Deaths +Of Attila, Aetius, And Valentinian The Third. + + It was the opinion of Marcian, that war should be avoided, +as long as it is possible to preserve a secure and honorable +peace; but it was likewise his opinion, that peace cannot be +honorable or secure, if the sovereign betrays a pusillanimous +aversion to war. This temperate courage dictated his reply to +the demands of Attila, who insolently pressed the payment of the +annual tribute. The emperor signified to the Barbarians, that +they must no longer insult the majesty of Rome by the mention of +a tribute; that he was disposed to reward, with becoming +liberality, the faithful friendship of his allies; but that, if +they presumed to violate the public peace, they should feel that +he possessed troops, and arms, and resolution, to repel their +attacks. The same language, even in the camp of the Huns, was +used by his ambassador Apollonius, whose bold refusal to deliver +the presents, till he had been admitted to a personal interview, +displayed a sense of dignity, and a contempt of danger, which +Attila was not prepared to expect from the degenerate Romans. ^1 +He threatened to chastise the rash successor of Theodosius; but +he hesitated whether he should first direct his invincible arms +against the Eastern or the Western empire. While mankind awaited +his decision with awful suspense, he sent an equal defiance to +the courts of Ravenna and Constantinople; and his ministers +saluted the two emperors with the same haughty declaration. +"Attila, my lord, and thy lord, commands thee to provide a palace +for his immediate reception." ^2 But as the Barbarian despised, +or affected to despise, the Romans of the East, whom he had so +often vanquished, he soon declared his resolution of suspending +the easy conquest, till he had achieved a more glorious and +important enterprise. In the memorable invasions of Gaul and +Italy, the Huns were naturally attracted by the wealth and +fertility of those provinces; but the particular motives and +provocations of Attila can only be explained by the state of the +Western empire under the reign of Valentinian, or, to speak more +correctly, under the administration of Aetius. ^3 + +[Footnote 1: See Priscus, p. 39, 72.] + +[Footnote 2: The Alexandrian or Paschal Chronicle, which +introduces this haughty message, during the lifetime of +Theodosius, may have anticipated the date; but the dull annalist +was incapable of inventing the original and genuine style of +Attila.] + +[Footnote 3: The second book of the Histoire Critique de +l'Etablissement de la Monarchie Francoise tom. i. p. 189 - 424, +throws great light on the state of Gaul, when it was invaded by +Attila; but the ingenious author, the Abbe Dubos, too often +bewilders himself in system and conjecture.] + + After the death of his rival Boniface, Aetius had prudently +retired to the tents of the Huns; and he was indebted to their +alliance for his safety and his restoration. Instead of the +suppliant language of a guilty exile, he solicited his pardon at +the head of sixty thousand Barbarians; and the empress Placidia +confessed, by a feeble resistance, that the condescension, which +might have been ascribed to clemency, was the effect of weakness +or fear. She delivered herself, her son Valentinian, and the +Western empire, into the hands of an insolent subject; nor could +Placidia protect the son- in-law of Boniface, the virtuous and +faithful Sebastian, ^4 from the implacable persecution which +urged him from one kingdom to another, till he miserably perished +in the service of the Vandals. The fortunate Aetius, who was +immediately promoted to the rank of patrician, and thrice +invested with the honors of the consulship, assumed, with the +title of master of the cavalry and infantry, the whole military +power of the state; and he is sometimes styled, by contemporary +writers, the duke, or general, of the Romans of the West. His +prudence, rather than his virtue, engaged him to leave the +grandson of Theodosius in the possession of the purple; and +Valentinian was permitted to enjoy the peace and luxury of Italy, +while the patrician appeared in the glorious light of a hero and +a patriot, who supported near twenty years the ruins of the +Western empire. The Gothic historian ingenuously confesses, that +Aetius was born for the salvation of the Roman republic; ^5 and +the following portrait, though it is drawn in the fairest colors, +must be allowed to contain a much larger proportion of truth than +of flattery. ^* "His mother was a wealthy and noble Italian, and +his father Gaudentius, who held a distinguished rank in the +province of Scythia, gradually rose from the station of a +military domestic, to the dignity of master of the cavalry. +Their son, who was enrolled almost in his infancy in the guards, +was given as a hostage, first to Alaric, and afterwards to the +Huns; ^! and he successively obtained the civil and military +honors of the palace, for which he was equally qualified by +superior merit. The graceful figure of Aetius was not above the +middle stature; but his manly limbs were admirably formed for +strength, beauty, and agility; and he excelled in the martial +exercises of managing a horse, drawing the bow, and darting the +javelin. He could patiently endure the want of food, or of +sleep; and his mind and body were alike capable of the most +laborious efforts. He possessed the genuine courage that can +despise not only dangers, but injuries: and it was impossible +either to corrupt, or deceive, or intimidate the firm integrity +of his soul." ^6 The Barbarians, who had seated themselves in the +Western provinces, were insensibly taught to respect the faith +and valor of the patrician Aetius. He soothed their passions, +consulted their prejudices, balanced their interests, and checked +their ambition. ^* A seasonable treaty, which he concluded with +Genseric, protected Italy from the depredations of the Vandals; +the independent Britons implored and acknowledged his salutary +aid; the Imperial authority was restored and maintained in Gaul +and Spain; and he compelled the Franks and the Suevi, whom he had +vanquished in the field, to become the useful confederates of the +republic. +[Footnote 4: Victor Vitensis (de Persecut. Vandal. l. i. 6, p. 8, +edit. Ruinart) calls him, acer consilio et strenuus in bello: but +his courage, when he became unfortunate, was censured as +desperate rashness; and Sebastian deserved, or obtained, the +epithet of proeceps, (Sidon. Apollinar Carmen ix. 181.) His +adventures in Constantinople, in Sicily, Gaul, Spain, and Africa, +are faintly marked in the Chronicles of Marcellinus and Idatius. +In his distress he was always followed by a numerous train; since +he could ravage the Hellespont and Propontis, and seize the city +of Barcelona.] +[Footnote 5: Reipublicae Romanae singulariter natus, qui +superbiam Suevorum, Francorumque barbariem immensis caedibus +servire Imperio Romano coegisset. Jornandes de Rebus Geticis, c. +34, p. 660.] + +[Footnote *: Some valuable fragments of a poetical panegyric on +Aetius by Merobaudes, a Spaniard, have been recovered from a +palimpsest MS. by the sagacity and industry of Niebuhr. They +have been reprinted in the new edition of the Byzantine +Historians. The poet speaks in glowing terms of the long +(annosa) peace enjoyed under the administration of Aetius. The +verses are very spirited. The poet was rewarded by a statue +publicly dedicated to his honor in Rome. + + Danuvii cum pace redit, Tanaimque furore + Exuit, et nigro candentes aethere terras + Marte suo caruisse jubet. Dedit otia ferro + Caucasus, et saevi condemnant praelia reges. + Addidit hiberni famulantia foedera Rhenus + Orbis ...... + Lustrat Aremoricos jam mitior incola saltus; + Perdidit et mores tellus, adsuetaque saevo + Crimine quaesitas silvis celare rapinas, + Discit inexpertis Cererem committere campis; + Caesareoque diu manus obluctata labori + Sustinet acceptas nostro sub consule leges; + Et quamvis Geticis sulcum confundat aratris, + Barbara vicinae refugit consortia gentis. + + Merobaudes, p. 1] + +[Footnote !: - cum Scythicis succumberet ensibus orbis, + + Telaque Tarpeias premerent Arctoa secures, + Hostilem fregit rabiem, pignus quesuperbi + Foederis et mundi pretium fuit. Hinc modo voti + Rata fides, validis quod dux premat impiger armis + Edomuit quos pace puer; bellumque repressit + Ignarus quid bella forent. Stupuere feroces + In tenero jam membra Getae. Rex ipse, verendum + Miratus pueri decus et prodentia fatum + Lumina, primaevas dederat gestare faretras, + Laudabatque manus librantem et tela gerentem + Oblitus quod noster erat Pro nescia regis + Corda, feris quanto populis discrimine constet + Quod Latium docet arma ducem. + + Merobaudes, Panegyr. p. 15. - M.] + +[Footnote 6: This portrait is drawn by Renetus Profuturus +Frigeridus, a contemporary historian, known only by some +extracts, which are preserved by Gregory of Tours, (l. ii. c. 8, +in tom. ii. p. 163.) It was probably the duty, or at least the +interest, of Renatus, to magnify the virtues of Aetius; but he +would have shown more dexterity if he had not insisted on his +patient, forgiving disposition.] + +[Footnote *: Insessor Libyes, quamvis, fatalibus armis + Ausus Elisaei solium rescindere regni, + Milibus Arctois Tyrias compleverat arces, + Nunc hostem exutus pactis proprioribus arsit + + Romanam vincire fidem, Latiosque parentes + Adnumerare sib, sociamque intexere prolem. + + Merobaudes, p. 12. - M.] + + From a principle of interest, as well as gratitude, Aetius +assiduously cultivated the alliance of the Huns. While he +resided in their tents as a hostage, or an exile, he had +familiarly conversed with Attila himself, the nephew of his +benefactor; and the two famous antagonists appeared to have been +connected by a personal and military friendship, which they +afterwards confirmed by mutual gifts, frequent embassies, and the +education of Carpilio, the son of Aetius, in the camp of Attila. +By the specious professions of gratitude and voluntary +attachment, the patrician might disguise his apprehensions of the +Scythian conqueror, who pressed the two empires with his +innumerable armies. His demands were obeyed or eluded. When he +claimed the spoils of a vanquished city, some vases of gold, +which had been fraudulently embezzled, the civil and military +governors of Noricum were immediately despatched to satisfy his +complaints: ^7 and it is evident, from their conversation with +Maximin and Priscus, in the royal village, that the valor and +prudence of Aetius had not saved the Western Romans from the +common ignominy of tribute. Yet his dexterous policy prolonged +the advantages of a salutary peace; and a numerous army of Huns +and Alani, whom he had attached to his person, was employed in +the defence of Gaul. Two colonies of these Barbarians were +judiciously fixed in the territories of Valens and Orleans; ^8 +and their active cavalry secured the important passages of the +Rhone and of the Loire. These savage allies were not indeed less +formidable to the subjects than to the enemies of Rome. Their +original settlement was enforced with the licentious violence of +conquest; and the province through which they marched was exposed +to all the calamities of a hostile invasion. ^9 Strangers to the +emperor or the republic, the Alani of Gaul was devoted to the +ambition of Aetius, and though he might suspect, that, in a +contest with Attila himself, they would revolt to the standard of +their national king, the patrician labored to restrain, rather +than to excite, their zeal and resentment against the Goths, the +Burgundians, and the Franks. +[Footnote 7: The embassy consisted of Count Romulus; of Promotus, +president of Noricum; and of Romanus, the military duke. They +were accompanied by Tatullus, an illustrious citizen of Petovio, +in the same province, and father of Orestes, who had married the +daughter of Count Romulus. See Priscus, p. 57, 65. Cassiodorus +(Variar. i. 4) mentions another embassy, which was executed by +his father and Carpilio, the son of Aetius; and, as Attila was no +more, he could safely boast of their manly, intrepid behavior in +his presence.] + +[Footnote 8: Deserta Valentinae urbis rura Alanis partienda +traduntur. Prosper. Tyronis Chron. in Historiens de France, tom. +i. p. 639. A few lines afterwards, Prosper observes, that lands +in the ulterior Gaul were assigned to the Alani. Without +admitting the correction of Dubos, (tom. i. p. 300,) the +reasonable supposition of two colonies or garrisons of Alani will +confirm his arguments, and remove his objections.] + +[Footnote 9: See Prosper. Tyro, p. 639. Sidonius (Panegyr. Avit. +246) complains, in the name of Auvergne, his native country, - + Litorius Scythicos equites tunc forte subacto + Celsus Aremorico, Geticum rapiebat in agmen + Per terras, Averne, tuas, qui proxima quaedue + Discursu, flammis, ferro, feritate, rapinis, + Delebant; pacis fallentes nomen inane. + +another poet, Paulinus of Perigord, confirms the complaint: - + + Nam socium vix ferre queas, qui durior hoste. + + See Dubos, tom. i. p. 330.] + + The kingdom established by the Visigoths in the southern +provinces of Gaul, had gradually acquired strength and maturity; +and the conduct of those ambitious Barbarians, either in peace or +war, engaged the perpetual vigilance of Aetius. After the death +of Wallia, the Gothic sceptre devolved to Theodoric, the son of +the great Alaric; ^10 and his prosperous reign of more than +thirty years, over a turbulent people, may be allowed to prove, +that his prudence was supported by uncommon vigor, both of mind +and body. Impatient of his narrow limits, Theodoric aspired to +the possession of Arles, the wealthy seat of government and +commerce; but the city was saved by the timely approach of +Aetius; and the Gothic king, who had raised the siege with some +loss and disgrace, was persuaded, for an adequate subsidy, to +divert the martial valor of his subjects in a Spanish war. Yet +Theodoric still watched, and eagerly seized, the favorable moment +of renewing his hostile attempts. The Goths besieged Narbonne, +while the Belgic provinces were invaded by the Burgundians; and +the public safety was threatened on every side by the apparent +union of the enemies of Rome. On every side, the activity of +Aetius, and his Scythian cavalry, opposed a firm and successful +resistance. Twenty thousand Burgundians were slain in battle; +and the remains of the nation humbly accepted a dependent seat in +the mountains of Savoy. ^11 The walls of Narbonne had been shaken +by the battering engines, and the inhabitants had endured the +last extremities of famine, when Count Litorius, approaching in +silence, and directing each horseman to carry behind him two +sacks of flour, cut his way through the intrenchments of the +besiegers. The siege was immediately raised; and the more +decisive victory, which is ascribed to the personal conduct of +Aetius himself, was marked with the blood of eight thousand +Goths. But in the absence of the patrician, who was hastily +summoned to Italy by some public or private interest, Count +Litorius succeeded to the command; and his presumption soon +discovered that far different talents are required to lead a wing +of cavalry, or to direct the operations of an important war. At +the head of an army of Huns, he rashly advanced to the gates of +Thoulouse, full of careless contempt for an enemy whom his +misfortunes had rendered prudent, and his situation made +desperate. The predictions of the augurs had inspired Litorius +with the profane confidence that he should enter the Gothic +capital in triumph; and the trust which he reposed in his Pagan +allies, encouraged him to reject the fair conditions of peace, +which were repeatedly proposed by the bishops in the name of +Theodoric. The king of the Goths exhibited in his distress the +edifying contrast of Christian piety and moderation; nor did he +lay aside his sackcloth and ashes till he was prepared to arm for +the combat. His soldiers, animated with martial and religious +enthusiasm, assaulted the camp of Litorius. The conflict was +obstinate; the slaughter was mutual. The Roman general, after a +total defeat, which could be imputed only to his unskilful +rashness, was actually led through the streets of Thoulouse, not +in his own, but in a hostile triumph; and the misery which he +experienced, in a long and ignominious captivity, excited the +compassion of the Barbarians themselves. ^12 Such a loss, in a +country whose spirit and finances were long since exhausted, +could not easily be repaired; and the Goths, assuming, in their +turn, the sentiments of ambition and revenge, would have planted +their victorious standards on the banks of the Rhone, if the +presence of Aetius had not restored strength and discipline to +the Romans. ^13 The two armies expected the signal of a decisive +action; but the generals, who were conscious of each other's +force, and doubtful of their own superiority, prudently sheathed +their swords in the field of battle; and their reconciliation was +permanent and sincere. Theodoric, king of the Visigoths, appears +to have deserved the love of his subjects, the confidence of his +allies, and the esteem of mankind. His throne was surrounded by +six valiant sons, who were educated with equal care in the +exercises of the Barbarian camp, and in those of the Gallic +schools: from the study of the Roman jurisprudence, they acquired +the theory, at least, of law and justice; and the harmonious +sense of Virgil contributed to soften the asperity of their +native manners. ^14 The two daughters of the Gothic king were +given in marriage to the eldest sons of the kings of the Suevi +and of the Vandals, who reigned in Spain and Africa: but these +illustrious alliances were pregnant with guilt and discord. The +queen of the Suevi bewailed the death of a husband inhumanly +massacred by her brother. The princess of the Vandals was the +victim of a jealous tyrant, whom she called her father. The +cruel Genseric suspected that his son's wife had conspired to +poison him; the supposed crime was punished by the amputation of +her nose and ears; and the unhappy daughter of Theodoric was +ignominiously returned to the court of Thoulouse in that deformed +and mutilated condition. This horrid act, which must seem +incredible to a civilized age drew tears from every spectator; +but Theodoric was urged, by the feelings of a parent and a king, +to revenge such irreparable injuries. The Imperial ministers, +who always cherished the discord of the Barbarians, would have +supplied the Goths with arms, and ships, and treasures, for the +African war; and the cruelty of Genseric might have been fatal to +himself, if the artful Vandal had not armed, in his cause, the +formidable power of the Huns. His rich gifts and pressing +solicitations inflamed the ambition of Attila; and the designs of +Aetius and Theodoric were prevented by the invasion of Gaul. ^15 +[Footnote 10: Theodoric II., the son of Theodoric I., declares to +Avitus his resolution of repairing, or expiating, the faults +which his grandfather had committed, - + + Quae noster peccavit avus, quem fuscat id unum, + Quod te, Roma, capit. + + Sidon. Panegyric. Avit. 505. + + This character, applicable only to the great Alaric, +establishes the genealogy of the Gothic kings, which has hitherto +been unnoticed.] +[Footnote 11: The name of Sapaudia, the origin of Savoy, is first +mentioned by Ammianus Marcellinus; and two military posts are +ascertained by the Notitia, within the limits of that province; a +cohort was stationed at Grenoble in Dauphine; and Ebredunum, or +Iverdun, sheltered a fleet of small vessels, which commanded the +Lake of Neufchatel. See Valesius, Notit. Galliarum, p. 503. +D'Anville, Notice de l'Ancienne Gaule, p. 284, 579.] + +[Footnote 12: Salvian has attempted to explain the moral +government of the Deity; a task which may be readily performed by +supposing that the calamities of the wicked are judgments, and +those of the righteous, trials.] +[Footnote 13: - Capto terrarum damna patebant + Litorio, in Rhodanum proprios producere +fines, Thendoridae fixum; nec erat pugnare +necesse, Sed migrare Getis; rabidam trux +asperat iram Victor; quod sensit Scythicum +sub moenibus hostem Imputat, et nihil est +gravius, si forsitan unquam Vincere +contingat, trepido. Panegyr. Avit. 300, &c. +Sitionius then proceeds, according to the duty of a panegyrist, +to transfer the whole merit from Aetius to his minister Avitus.] +[Footnote 14: Theodoric II. revered, in the person of Avitus, the +character of his preceptor. + + - Mihi Romula dudum + Per te jura placent; parvumque ediscere jussit + Ad tua verba pater, docili quo prisca Maronis + Carmine molliret Scythicos mihi pagina mores. + + Sidon. Panegyr. Avit. 495 &c.] + +[Footnote 15: Our authorities for the reign of Theodoric I. are, +Jornandes de Rebus Geticis, c. 34, 36, and the Chronicles of +Idatius, and the two Prospers, inserted in the historians of +France, tom. i. p. 612 - 640. To these we may add Salvian de +Gubernatione Dei, l. vii. p. 243, 244, 245, and the panegyric of +Avitus, by Sidonius.] + + The Franks, whose monarchy was still confined to the +neighborhood of the Lower Rhine, had wisely established the right +of hereditary succession in the noble family of the Merovingians. +^16 These princes were elevated on a buckler, the symbol of +military command; ^17 and the royal fashion of long hair was the +ensign of their birth and dignity. Their flaxen locks, which +they combed and dressed with singular care, hung down in flowing +ringlets on their back and shoulders; while the rest of the +nation were obliged, either by law or custom, to shave the hinder +part of their head, to comb their hair over the forehead, and to +content themselves with the ornament of two small whiskers. ^18 +The lofty stature of the Franks, and their blue eyes, denoted a +Germanic origin; their close apparel accurately expressed the +figure of their limbs; a weighty sword was suspended from a broad +belt; their bodies were protected by a large shield; and these +warlike Barbarians were trained, from their earliest youth, to +run, to leap, to swim; to dart the javelin, or battle-axe, with +unerring aim; to advance, without hesitation, against a superior +enemy; and to maintain, either in life or death, the invincible +reputation of their ancestors. ^19 Clodion, the first of their +long-haired kings, whose name and actions are mentioned in +authentic history, held his residence at Dispargum, ^20 a village +or fortress, whose place may be assigned between Louvain and +Brussels. From the report of his spies, the king of the Franks +was informed, that the defenceless state of the second Belgic +must yield, on the slightest attack, to the valor of his +subjects. He boldly penetrated through the thickets and morasses +of the Carbonarian forest; ^21 occupied Tournay and Cambray, the +only cities which existed in the fifth century, and extended his +conquests as far as the River Somme, over a desolate country, +whose cultivation and populousness are the effects of more recent +industry. ^22 While Clodion lay encamped in the plains of Artois, +^23 and celebrated, with vain and ostentatious security, the +marriage, perhaps, of his son, the nuptial feast was interrupted +by the unexpected and unwelcome presence of Aetius, who had +passed the Somme at the head of his light cavalry. The tables, +which had been spread under the shelter of a hill, along the +banks of a pleasant stream, were rudely overturned; the Franks +were oppressed before they could recover their arms, or their +ranks; and their unavailing valor was fatal only to themselves. +The loaded wagons, which had followed their march, afforded a +rich booty; and the virgin- bride, with her female attendants, +submitted to the new lovers, who were imposed on them by the +chance of war. This advance, which had been obtained by the skill +and activity of Aetius, might reflect some disgrace on the +military prudence of Clodion; but the king of the Franks soon +regained his strength and reputation, and still maintained the +possession of his Gallic kingdom from the Rhine to the Somme. ^24 +Under his reign, and most probably from the thee enterprising +spirit of his subjects, his three capitals, Mentz, Treves, and +Cologne, experienced the effects of hostile cruelty and avarice. +The distress of Cologne was prolonged by the perpetual dominion +of the same Barbarians, who evacuated the ruins of Treves; and +Treves, which in the space of forty years had been four times +besieged and pillaged, was disposed to lose the memory of her +afflictions in the vain amusements of the Circus. ^25 The death +of Clodion, after a reign of twenty years, exposed his kingdom to +the discord and ambition of his two sons. Meroveus, the younger, +^26 was persuaded to implore the protection of Rome; he was +received at the Imperial court, as the ally of Valentinian, and +the adopted son of the patrician Aetius; and dismissed to his +native country, with splendid gifts, and the strongest assurances +of friendship and support. During his absence, his elder brother +had solicited, with equal ardor, the formidable aid of Attila; +and the king of the Huns embraced an alliance, which facilitated +the passage of the Rhine, and justified, by a specious and +honorable pretence, the invasion of Gaul. ^27 + +[Footnote 16: Reges Crinitos se creavisse de prima, et ut ita +dicam nobiliori suorum familia, (Greg. Turon. l. ii. c. 9, p. +166, of the second volume of the Historians of France.) Gregory +himself does not mention the Merovingian name, which may be +traced, however, to the beginning of the seventh century, as the +distinctive appellation of the royal family, and even of the +French monarchy. An ingenious critic has deduced the Merovingians +from the great Maroboduus; and he has clearly proved, that the +prince, who gave his name to the first race, was more ancient +than the father of Childeric. See Memoires de l'Academie des +Inscriptions, tom. xx. p. 52 - 90, tom. xxx. p. 557 - 587.] +[Footnote 17: This German custom, which may be traced from +Tacitus to Gregory of Tours, was at length adopted by the +emperors of Constantinople. From a MS. of the tenth century, +Montfaucon has delineated the representation of a similar +ceremony, which the ignorance of the age had applied to King +David. See Monumens de la Monarchie Francoise, tom. i. Discours +Preliminaire.] +[Footnote 18: Caesaries prolixa ... crinium flagellis per terga +dimissis, &c. See the Preface to the third volume of the +Historians of France, and the Abbe Le Boeuf, (Dissertat. tom. +iii. p. 47 - 79.) This peculiar fashion of the Merovingians has +been remarked by natives and strangers; by Priscus, (tom. i. p. +608,) by Agathias, (tom. ii. p. 49,) and by Gregory of Tours, (l. +viii. 18, vi. 24, viii. 10, tom. ii. p. 196, 278, 316.)] + +[Footnote 19: See an original picture of the figure, dress, arms, +and temper of the ancient Franks, in Sidonius Apollinaris, +(Panegyr. Majorian. 238 - 254;) and such pictures, though +coarsely drawn, have a real and intrinsic value. Father Daniel +(History de la Milice Francoise, tom. i. p. 2 - 7) has +illustrated the description.] + +[Footnote 20: Dubos, Hist. Critique, &c., tom. i. p. 271, 272. +Some geographers have placed Dispargum on the German side of the +Rhine. See a note of the Benedictine Editors, to the Historians +of France, tom. ii p. 166.] +[Footnote 21: The Carbonarian wood was that part of the great +forest of the Ardennes which lay between the Escaut, or Scheldt, +and the Meuse. Vales. Notit. Gall. p. 126.] + +[Footnote 22: Gregor. Turon. l. ii. c. 9, in tom. ii. p. 166, +167. Fredegar. Epitom. c. 9, p. 395. Gesta Reg. Francor. c. 5, +in tom. ii. p. 544. Vit St. Remig. ab Hincmar, in tom. iii. p. +373.] + +[Footnote 23: - Francus qua Cloio patentes + Atrebatum terras pervaserat. + + Panegyr. Majorian 213 + +The precise spot was a town or village, called Vicus Helena; and +both the name and place are discovered by modern geographers at +Lens See Vales. Notit. Gall. p. 246. Longuerue, Description de +la France tom. ii. p. 88.] +[Footnote 24: See a vague account of the action in Sidonius. +Panegyr. Majorian 212 - 230. The French critics, impatient to +establish their monarchy in Gaul, have drawn a strong argument +from the silence of Sidonius, who dares not insinuate, that the +vanquished Franks were compelled to repass the Rhine. Dubos, tom. +i. p. 322.] + +[Footnote 25: Salvian (de Gubernat. Dei, l. vi.) has expressed, +in vague and declamatory language, the misfortunes of these three +cities, which are distinctly ascertained by the learned Mascou, +Hist. of the Ancient Germans, ix. 21.] + +[Footnote 26: Priscus, in relating the contest, does not name the +two brothers; the second of whom he had seen at Rome, a beardless +youth, with long, flowing hair, (Historians of France, tom. i. p. +607, 608.) The Benedictine Editors are inclined to believe, that +they were the sons of some unknown king of the Franks, who +reigned on the banks of the Neckar; but the arguments of M. de +Foncemagne (Mem. de l'Academie, tom. viii. p. 464) seem to prove +that the succession of Clodion was disputed by his two sons, and +that the younger was Meroveus, the father of Childeric. + + Note: The relationship of Meroveus to Clodion is extremely +doubtful. - By some he is called an illegitimate son; by others +merely of his race. Tur ii. c. 9, in Sismondi, Hist. des +Francais, i. 177. See Mezeray.] +[Footnote 27: Under the Merovingian race, the throne was +hereditary; but all the sons of the deceased monarch were equally +entitled to their share of his treasures and territories. See +the Dissertations of M. de Foncemagne, in the sixth and eighth +volumes of the Memoires de l'Academie.] + +Chapter XXXV: Invasion By Attila. + + +Part II. + + When Attila declared his resolution of supporting the cause +of his allies, the Vandals and the Franks, at the same time, and +almost in the spirit of romantic chivalry, the savage monarch +professed himself the lover and the champion of the princess +Honoria. The sister of Valentinian was educated in the palace of +Ravenna; and as her marriage might be productive of some danger +to the state, she was raised, by the title of Augusta, ^28 above +the hopes of the most presumptuous subject. But the fair Honoria +had no sooner attained the sixteenth year of her age, than she +detested the importunate greatness which must forever exclude her +from the comforts of honorable love; in the midst of vain and +unsatisfactory pomp, Honoria sighed, yielded to the impulse of +nature, and threw herself into the arms of her chamberlain +Eugenius. Her guilt and shame (such is the absurd language of +imperious man) were soon betrayed by the appearances of +pregnancy; but the disgrace of the royal family was published to +the world by the imprudence of the empress Placidia who dismissed +her daughter, after a strict and shameful confinement, to a +remote exile at Constantinople. The unhappy princess passed +twelve or fourteen years in the irksome society of the sisters of +Theodosius, and their chosen virgins; to whose crown Honoria +could no longer aspire, and whose monastic assiduity of prayer, +fasting, and vigils, she reluctantly imitated. Her impatience of +long and hopeless celibacy urged her to embrace a strange and +desperate resolution. The name of Attila was familiar and +formidable at Constantinople; and his frequent embassies +entertained a perpetual intercourse between his camp and the +Imperial palace. In the pursuit of love, or rather of revenge, +the daughter of Placidia sacrificed every duty and every +prejudice; and offered to deliver her person into the arms of a +Barbarian, of whose language she was ignorant, whose figure was +scarcely human, and whose religion and manners she abhorred. By +the ministry of a faithful eunuch, she transmitted to Attila a +ring, the pledge of her affection; and earnestly conjured him to +claim her as a lawful spouse, to whom he had been secretly +betrothed. These indecent advances were received, however, with +coldness and disdain; and the king of the Huns continued to +multiply the number of his wives, till his love was awakened by +the more forcible passions of ambition and avarice. The invasion +of Gaul was preceded, and justified, by a formal demand of the +princess Honoria, with a just and equal share of the Imperial +patrimony. His predecessors, the ancient Tanjous, had often +addressed, in the same hostile and peremptory manner, the +daughters of China; and the pretensions of Attila were not less +offensive to the majesty of Rome. A firm, but temperate, refusal +was communicated to his ambassadors. The right of female +succession, though it might derive a specious argument from the +recent examples of Placidia and Pulcheria, was strenuously +denied; and the indissoluble engagements of Honoria were opposed +to the claims of her Scythian lover. ^29 On the discovery of her +connection with the king of the Huns, the guilty princess had +been sent away, as an object of horror, from Constantinople to +Italy: her life was spared; but the ceremony of her marriage was +performed with some obscure and nominal husband, before she was +immured in a perpetual prison, to bewail those crimes and +misfortunes, which Honoria might have escaped, had she not been +born the daughter of an emperor. ^30 +[Footnote 28: A medal is still extant, which exhibits the +pleasing countenance of Honoria, with the title of Augusta; and +on the reverse, the improper legend of Salus Reipublicoe round +the monogram of Christ. See Ducange, Famil. Byzantin. p. 67, +73.] + +[Footnote 29: See Priscus, p, 39, 40. It might be fairly +alleged, that if females could succeed to the throne, Valentinian +himself, who had married the daughter and heiress of the younger +Theodosius, would have asserted her right to the Eastern empire.] + +[Footnote 30: The adventures of Honoria are imperfectly related +by Jornandes, de Successione Regn. c. 97, and de Reb. Get. c. 42, +p. 674; and in the Chronicles of Prosper and Marcellinus; but +they cannot be made consistent, or probable, unless we separate, +by an interval of time and place, her intrigue with Eugenius, and +her invitation of Attila.] + + A native of Gaul, and a contemporary, the learned and +eloquent Sidonius, who was afterwards bishop of Clermont, had +made a promise to one of his friends, that he would compose a +regular history of the war of Attila. If the modesty of Sidonius +had not discouraged him from the prosecution of this interesting +work, ^31 the historian would have related, with the simplicity +of truth, those memorable events, to which the poet, in vague and +doubtful metaphors, has concisely alluded. ^32 The kings and +nations of Germany and Scythia, from the Volga perhaps to the +Danube, obeyed the warlike summons of Attila. From the royal +village, in the plains of Hungary his standard moved towards the +West; and after a march of seven or eight hundred miles, he +reached the conflux of the Rhine and the Neckar, where he was +joined by the Franks, who adhered to his ally, the elder of the +sons of Clodion. A troop of light Barbarians, who roamed in +quest of plunder, might choose the winter for the convenience of +passing the river on the ice; but the innumerable cavalry of the +Huns required such plenty of forage and provisions, as could be +procured only in a milder season; the Hercynian forest supplied +materials for a bridge of boats; and the hostile myriads were +poured, with resistless violence, into the Belgic provinces. ^33 +The consternation of Gaul was universal; and the various fortunes +of its cities have been adorned by tradition with martyrdoms and +miracles. ^34 Troyes was saved by the merits of St. Lupus; St. +Servatius was removed from the world, that he might not behold +the ruin of Tongres; and the prayers of St. Genevieve diverted +the march of Attila from the neighborhood of Paris. But as the +greatest part of the Gallic cities were alike destitute of saints +and soldiers, they were besieged and stormed by the Huns; who +practised, in the example of Metz, ^35 their customary maxims of +war. They involved, in a promiscuous massacre, the priests who +served at the altar, and the infants, who, in the hour of danger, +had been providently baptized by the bishop; the flourishing city +was delivered to the flames, and a solitary chapel of St. Stephen +marked the place where it formerly stood. From the Rhine and the +Moselle, Attila advanced into the heart of Gaul; crossed the +Seine at Auxerre; and, after a long and laborious march, fixed +his camp under the walls of Orleans. He was desirous of securing +his conquests by the possession of an advantageous post, which +commanded the passage of the Loire; and he depended on the secret +invitation of Sangiban, king of the Alani, who had promised to +betray the city, and to revolt from the service of the empire. +But this treacherous conspiracy was detected and disappointed: +Orleans had been strengthened with recent fortifications; and the +assaults of the Huns were vigorously repelled by the faithful +valor of the soldiers, or citizens, who defended the place. The +pastoral diligence of Anianus, a bishop of primitive sanctity and +consummate prudence, exhausted every art of religious policy to +support their courage, till the arrival of the expected succors. +After an obstinate siege, the walls were shaken by the battering +rams; the Huns had already occupied the suburbs; and the people, +who were incapable of bearing arms, lay prostrate in prayer. +Anianus, who anxiously counted the days and hours, despatched a +trusty messenger to observe, from the rampari, the face of the +distant country. He returned twice, without any intelligence +that could inspire hope or comfort; but, in his third report, he +mentioned a small cloud, which he had faintly descried at the +extremity of the horizon. "It is the aid of God!" exclaimed the +bishop, in a tone of pious confidence; and the whole multitude +repeated after him, "It is the aid of God." The remote object, on +which every eye was fixed, became each moment larger, and more +distinct; the Roman and Gothic banners were gradually perceived; +and a favorable wind blowing aside the dust, discovered, in deep +array, the impatient squadrons of Aetius and Theodoric, who +pressed forwards to the relief of Orleans. + +[Footnote 31: Exegeras mihi, ut promitterem tibi, Attilae bellum +stylo me posteris intimaturum .... coeperam scribere, sed operis +arrepti fasce perspecto, taeduit inchoasse. Sidon. Apoll. l. +viii. epist. 15, p. 235] +[Footnote 32: - Subito cum rupta tumultu + Barbaries totas in te transfuderat Arctos, + + Gallia. Pugnacem Rugum comitante Gelono, + Gepida trux sequitur; Scyrum Burgundio cogit: + + Chunus, Bellonotus, Neurus, Basterna, Toringus, + + Bructerus, ulvosa vel quem Nicer abluit unda + + Prorumpit Francus. Cecidit cito secta bipenni +Hercynia in lintres, et Rhenum texuit alno. Et +jam terrificis diffuderat Attila turmis In campos +se, Belga, tuos. + + Panegyr. Avit.] + +[Footnote 33: The most authentic and circumstantial account of +this war is contained in Jornandes, (de Reb. Geticis, c. 36 - 41, +p. 662 - 672,) who has sometimes abridged, and sometimes +transcribed, the larger history of Cassiodorus. Jornandes, a +quotation which it would be superfluous to repeat, may be +corrected and illustrated by Gregory of Tours, l. ii. c. 5, 6, 7, +and the Chronicles of Idatius, Isidore, and the two Prospers. +All the ancient testimonies are collected and inserted in the +Historians of France; but the reader should be cautioned against +a supposed extract from the Chronicle of Idatius, (among the +fragments of Fredegarius, tom. ii. p. 462,) which often +contradicts the genuine text of the Gallician bishop.] + +[Footnote 34: The ancient legendaries deserve some regard, as +they are obliged to connect their fables with the real history of +their own times. See the lives of St. Lupus, St. Anianus, the +bishops of Metz, Ste. Genevieve, &c., in the Historians of +France, tom. i. p. 644, 645, 649, tom. iii. p. 369.] +[Footnote 35: The scepticism of the count de Buat (Hist. des +Peuples, tom. vii. p. 539, 540) cannot be reconciled with any +principles of reason or criticism. Is not Gregory of Tours +precise and positive in his account of the destruction of Metz? +At the distance of no more than a hundred years, could he be +ignorant, could the people be ignorant of the fate of a city, the +actual residence of his sovereigns, the kings of Austrasia? The +learned count, who seems to have undertaken the apology of Attila +and the Barbarians, appeals to the false Idatius, parcens +Germaniae et Galliae, and forgets that the true Idatius had +explicitly affirmed, plurimae civitates effractoe, among which he +enumerates Metz.] + + The facility with which Attila had penetrated into the heart +of Gaul, may be ascribed to his insidious policy, as well as to +the terror of his arms. His public declarations were skilfully +mitigated by his private assurances; he alternately soothed and +threatened the Romans and the Goths; and the courts of Ravenna +and Thoulouse, mutually suspicious of each other's intentions, +beheld, with supine indifference, the approach of their common +enemy. Aetius was the sole guardian of the public safety; but +his wisest measures were embarrassed by a faction, which, since +the death of Placidia, infested the Imperial palace: the youth of +Italy trembled at the sound of the trumpet; and the Barbarians, +who, from fear or affection, were inclined to the cause of +Attila, awaited with doubtful and venal faith, the event of the +war. The patrician passed the Alps at the head of some troops, +whose strength and numbers scarcely deserved the name of an army. +^36 But on his arrival at Arles, or Lyons, he was confounded by +the intelligence, that the Visigoths, refusing to embrace the +defence of Gaul, had determined to expect, within their own +territories, the formidable invader, whom they professed to +despise. The senator Avitus, who, after the honorable exercise +of the Praetorian praefecture, had retired to his estate in +Auvergne, was persuaded to accept the important embassy, which he +executed with ability and success. He represented to Theodoric, +that an ambitious conqueror, who aspired to the dominion of the +earth, could be resisted only by the firm and unanimous alliance +of the powers whom he labored to oppress. The lively eloquence +of Avitus inflamed the Gothic warriors, by the description of the +injuries which their ancestors had suffered from the Huns; whose +implacable fury still pursued them from the Danube to the foot of +the Pyrenees. He strenuously urged, that it was the duty of +every Christian to save, from sacrilegious violation, the +churches of God, and the relics of the saints: that it was the +interest of every Barbarian, who had acquired a settlement in +Gaul, to defend the fields and vineyards, which were cultivated +for his use, against the desolation of the Scythian shepherds. +Theodoric yielded to the evidence of truth; adopted the measure +at once the most prudent and the most honorable; and declared, +that, as the faithful ally of Aetius and the Romans, he was ready +to expose his life and kingdom for the common safety of Gaul. ^37 +The Visigoths, who, at that time, were in the mature vigor of +their fame and power, obeyed with alacrity the signal of war; +prepared their arms and horses, and assembled under the standard +of their aged king, who was resolved, with his two eldest sons, +Torismond and Theodoric, to command in person his numerous and +valiant people. The example of the Goths determined several +tribes or nations, that seemed to fluctuate between the Huns and +the Romans. The indefatigable diligence of the patrician +gradually collected the troops of Gaul and Germany, who had +formerly acknowledged themselves the subjects, or soldiers, of +the republic, but who now claimed the rewards of voluntary +service, and the rank of independent allies; the Laeti, the +Armoricans, the Breones the Saxons, the Burgundians, the +Sarmatians, or Alani, the Ripuarians, and the Franks who followed +Meroveus as their lawful prince. Such was the various army, +which, under the conduct of Aetius and Theodoric, advanced, by +rapid marches to relieve Orleans, and to give battle to the +innumerable host of Attila. ^38 + +[Footnote 36: - Vix liquerat Alpes + Aetius, tenue, et rarum sine milite ducens + + Robur, in auxiliis Geticum male credulus agmen + + Incassum propriis praesumens adfore castris. + + Panegyr. Avit. 328, &c.] + +[Footnote 37: The policy of Attila, of Aetius, and of the +Visigoths, is imperfectly described in the Panegyric of Avitus, +and the thirty-sixth chapter of Jornandes. The poet and the +historian were both biased by personal or national prejudices. +The former exalts the merit and importance of Avitus; orbis, +Avite, salus, &c.! The latter is anxious to show the Goths in +the most favorable light. Yet their agreement when they are +fairly interpreted, is a proof of their veracity.] + +[Footnote 38: The review of the army of Aetius is made by +Jornandes, c. 36, p. 664, edit. Grot. tom. ii. p. 23, of the +Historians of France, with the notes of the Benedictine editor. +The Loeti were a promiscuous race of Barbarians, born or +naturalized in Gaul; and the Riparii, or Ripuarii, derived their +name from their post on the three rivers, the Rhine, the Meuse, +and the Moselle; the Armoricans possessed the independent cities +between the Seine and the Loire. A colony of Saxons had been +planted in the diocese of Bayeux; the Burgundians were settled in +Savoy; and the Breones were a warlike tribe of Rhaetians, to the +east of the Lake of Constance.] + + On their approach the king of the Huns immediately raised +the siege, and sounded a retreat to recall the foremost of his +troops from the pillage of a city which they had already entered. +^39 The valor of Attila was always guided by his prudence; and as +he foresaw the fatal consequences of a defeat in the heart of +Gaul, he repassed the Seine, and expected the enemy in the plains +of Chalons, whose smooth and level surface was adapted to the +operations of his Scythian cavalry. But in this tumultuary +retreat, the vanguard of the Romans and their allies continually +pressed, and sometimes engaged, the troops whom Attila had posted +in the rear; the hostile columns, in the darkness of the night +and the perplexity of the roads, might encounter each other +without design; and the bloody conflict of the Franks and +Gepidae, in which fifteen thousand ^40 Barbarians were slain, was +a prelude to a more general and decisive action. The Catalaunian +fields ^41 spread themselves round Chalons, and extend, according +to the vague measurement of Jornandes, to the length of one +hundred and fifty, and the breadth of one hundred miles, over the +whole province, which is entitled to the appellation of a +champaign country. ^42 This spacious plain was distinguished, +however, by some inequalities of ground; and the importance of a +height, which commanded the camp of Attila, was understood and +disputed by the two generals. The young and valiant Torismond +first occupied the summit; the Goths rushed with irresistible +weight on the Huns, who labored to ascend from the opposite side: +and the possession of this advantageous post inspired both the +troops and their leaders with a fair assurance of victory. The +anxiety of Attila prompted him to consult his priests and +haruspices. It was reported, that, after scrutinizing the +entrails of victims, and scraping their bones, they revealed, in +mysterious language, his own defeat, with the death of his +principal adversary; and that the Barbarians, by accepting the +equivalent, expressed his involuntary esteem for the superior +merit of Aetius. But the unusual despondency, which seemed to +prevail among the Huns, engaged Attila to use the expedient, so +familiar to the generals of antiquity, of animating his troops by +a military oration; and his language was that of a king, who had +often fought and conquered at their head. ^43 He pressed them to +consider their past glory, their actual danger, and their future +hopes. The same fortune, which opened the deserts and morasses of +Scythia to their unarmed valor, which had laid so many warlike +nations prostrate at their feet, had reserved the joys of this +memorable field for the consummation of their victories. The +cautious steps of their enemies, their strict alliance, and their +advantageous posts, he artfully represented as the effects, not +of prudence, but of fear. The Visigoths alone were the strength +and nerves of the opposite army; and the Huns might securely +trample on the degenerate Romans, whose close and compact order +betrayed their apprehensions, and who were equally incapable of +supporting the dangers or the fatigues of a day of battle. The +doctrine of predestination, so favorable to martia virtue, was +carefully inculcated by the king of the Huns; who assured his +subjects, that the warriors, protected by Heaven, were safe and +invulnerable amidst the darts of the enemy; but that the unerring +Fates would strike their victims in the bosom of inglorious +peace. "I myself," continued Attila, "will throw the first +javelin, and the wretch who refuses to imitate the example of his +sovereign, is devoted to inevitable death." The spirit of the +Barbarians was rekindled by the presence, the voice, and the +example of their intrepid leader; and Attila, yielding to their +impatience, immediately formed his order of battle. At the head +of his brave and faithful Huns, he occupied in person the centre +of the line. The nations subject to his empire, the Rugians, the +Heruli, the Thuringians, the Franks, the Burgundians, were +extended on either hand, over the ample space of the Catalaunian +fields; the right wing was commanded by Ardaric, king of the +Gepidae; and the three valiant brothers, who reigned over the +Ostrogoths, were posted on the left to oppose the kindred tribes +of the Visigoths. The disposition of the allies was regulated by +a different principle. Sangiban, the faithless king of the +Alani, was placed in the centre, where his motions might be +strictly watched, and that the treachery might be instantly +punished. Aetius assumed the command of the left, and Theodoric +of the right wing; while Torismond still continued to occupy the +heights which appear to have stretched on the flank, and perhaps +the rear, of the Scythian army. The nations from the Volga to +the Atlantic were assembled on the plain of Chalons; but many of +these nations had been divided by faction, or conquest, or +emigration; and the appearance of similar arms and ensigns, which +threatened each other, presented the image of a civil war. +[Footnote 39: Aurelianensis urbis obsidio, oppugnatio, irruptio, +nec direptio, l. v. Sidon. Apollin. l. viii. Epist. 15, p. 246. +The preservation of Orleans might easily be turned into a +miracle, obtained and foretold by the holy bishop.] + +[Footnote 40: The common editions read xcm but there is some +authority of manuscripts (and almost any authority is sufficient) +for the more reasonable number of xvm.] + +[Footnote 41: Chalons, or Duro-Catalaunum, afterwards Catalauni, +had formerly made a part of the territory of Rheims from whence +it is distant only twenty-seven miles. See Vales, Notit. Gall. +p. 136. D'Anville, Notice de l'Ancienne Gaule, p. 212, 279.] +[Footnote 42: The name of Campania, or Champagne, is frequently +mentioned by Gregory of Tours; and that great province, of which +Rheims was the capital, obeyed the command of a duke. Vales. +Notit. p. 120 - 123.] +[Footnote 43: I am sensible that these military orations are +usually composed by the historian; yet the old Ostrogoths, who +had served under Attila, might repeat his discourse to +Cassiodorus; the ideas, and even the expressions, have an +original Scythian cast; and I doubt, whether an Italian of the +sixth century would have thought of the hujus certaminis gaudia.] + + The discipline and tactics of the Greeks and Romans form an +interesting part of their national manners. The attentive study +of the military operations of Xenophon, or Caesar, or Frederic, +when they are described by the same genius which conceived and +executed them, may tend to improve (if such improvement can be +wished) the art of destroying the human species. But the battle +of Chalons can only excite our curiosity by the magnitude of the +object; since it was decided by the blind impetuosity of +Barbarians, and has been related by partial writers, whose civil +or ecclesiastical profession secluded them from the knowledge of +military affairs. Cassiolorus, however, had familiarly conversed +with many Gothic warriors, who served in that memorable +engagement; "a conflict," as they informed him, "fierce, various, +obstinate, and bloody; such as could not be paralleled either in +the present or in past ages." The number of the slain amounted to +one hundred and sixty-two thousand, or, according to another +account, three hundred thousand persons; ^44 and these incredible +exaggerations suppose a real and effective loss sufficient to +justify the historian's remark, that whole generations may be +swept away by the madness of kings, in the space of a single +hour. After the mutual and repeated discharge of missile +weapons, in which the archers of Scythia might signalize their +superior dexterity, the cavalry and infantry of the two armies +were furiously mingled in closer combat. The Huns, who fought +under the eyes of their king pierced through the feeble and +doubtful centre of the allies, separated their wings from each +other, and wheeling, with a rapid effort, to the left, directed +their whole force against the Visigoths. As Theodoric rode along +the ranks, to animate his troops, he received a mortal stroke +from the javelin of Andages, a noble Ostrogoth, and immediately +fell from his horse. The wounded king was oppressed in the +general disorder, and trampled under the feet of his own cavalry; +and this important death served to explain the ambiguous prophecy +of the haruspices. Attila already exulted in the confidence of +victory, when the valiant Torismond descended from the hills, and +verified the remainder of the prediction. The Visigoths, who had +been thrown into confusion by the flight or defection of the +Alani, gradually restored their order of battle; and the Huns +were undoubtedly vanquished, since Attila was compelled to +retreat. He had exposed his person with the rashness of a private +soldier; but the intrepid troops of the centre had pushed +forwards beyond the rest of the line; their attack was faintly +supported; their flanks were unguarded; and the conquerors of +Scythia and Germany were saved by the approach of the night from +a total defeat. They retired within the circle of wagons that +fortified their camp; and the dismounted squadrons prepared +themselves for a defence, to which neither their arms, nor their +temper, were adapted. The event was doubtful: but Attila had +secured a last and honorable resource. The saddles and rich +furniture of the cavalry were collected, by his order, into a +funeral pile; and the magnanimous Barbarian had resolved, if his +intrenchments should be forced, to rush headlong into the flames, +and to deprive his enemies of the glory which they might have +acquired, by the death or captivity of Attila. ^45 +[Footnote 44: The expressions of Jornandes, or rather of +Cassiodorus, are extremely strong. Bellum atrox, multiplex, +immane, pertinax, cui simile nulla usquam narrat antiquitas: ubi +talia gesta referuntur, ut nihil esset quod in vita sua +conspicere potuisset egregius, qui hujus miraculi privaretur +aspectu. Dubos (Hist. Critique, tom. i. p. 392, 393) attempts to +reconcile the 162,000 of Jornandes with the 300,000 of Idatius +and Isidore, by supposing that the larger number included the +total destruction of the war, the effects of disease, the +slaughter of the unarmed people, &c.] + +[Footnote 45: The count de Buat, (Hist. des Peuples, &c., tom. +vii. p. 554 - 573,) still depending on the false, and again +rejecting the true, Idatius, has divided the defeat of Attila +into two great battles; the former near Orleans, the latter in +Champagne: in the one, Theodoric was slain in the other, he was +revenged.] + + But his enemies had passed the night in equal disorder and +anxiety. The inconsiderate courage of Torismond was tempted to +urge the pursuit, till he unexpectedly found himself, with a few +followers, in the midst of the Scythian wagons. In the confusion +of a nocturnal combat, he was thrown from his horse; and the +Gothic prince must have perished like his father, if his youthful +strength, and the intrepid zeal of his companions, had not +rescued him from this dangerous situation. In the same manner, +but on the left of the line, Aetius himself, separated from his +allies, ignorant of their victory, and anxious for their fate, +encountered and escaped the hostile troops that were scattered +over the plains of Chalons; and at length reached the camp of the +Goths, which he could only fortify with a slight rampart of +shields, till the dawn of day. The Imperial general was soon +satisfied of the defeat of Attila, who still remained inactive +within his intrenchments; and when he contemplated the bloody +scene, he observed, with secret satisfaction, that the loss had +principally fallen on the Barbarians. The body of Theodoric, +pierced with honorable wounds, was discovered under a heap of the +slain: is subjects bewailed the death of their king and father; +but their tears were mingled with songs and acclamations, and his +funeral rites were performed in the face of a vanquished enemy. +The Goths, clashing their arms, elevated on a buckler his eldest +son Torismond, to whom they justly ascribed the glory of their +success; and the new king accepted the obligation of revenge as a +sacred portion of his paternal inheritance. Yet the Goths +themselves were astonished by the fierce and undaunted aspect of +their formidable antagonist; and their historian has compared +Attila to a lion encompassed in his den, and threatening his +hunters with redoubled fury. The kings and nations who might +have deserted his standard in the hour of distress, were made +sensible that the displeasure of their monarch was the most +imminent and inevitable danger. All his instruments of martial +music incessantly sounded a loud and animating strain of +defiance; and the foremost troops who advanced to the assault +were checked or destroyed by showers of arrows from every side of +the intrenchments. It was determined, in a general council of +war, to besiege the king of the Huns in his camp, to intercept +his provisions, and to reduce him to the alternative of a +disgraceful treaty or an unequal combat. But the impatience of +the Barbarians soon disdained these cautious and dilatory +measures; and the mature policy of Aetius was apprehensive that, +after the extirpation of the Huns, the republic would be +oppressed by the pride and power of the Gothic nation. The +patrician exerted the superior ascendant of authority and reason +to calm the passions, which the son of Theodoric considered as a +duty; represented, with seeming affection and real truth, the +dangers of absence and delay and persuaded Torismond to +disappoint, by his speedy return, the ambitious designs of his +brothers, who might occupy the throne and treasures of Thoulouse. +^46 After the departure of the Goths, and the separation of the +allied army, Attila was surprised at the vast silence that +reigned over the plains of Chalons: the suspicion of some hostile +stratagem detained him several days within the circle of his +wagons, and his retreat beyond the Rhine confessed the last +victory which was achieved in the name of the Western empire. +Meroveus and his Franks, observing a prudent distance, and +magnifying the opinion of their strength by the numerous fires +which they kindled every night, continued to follow the rear of +the Huns till they reached the confines of Thuringia. The +Thuringians served in the army of Attila: they traversed, both in +their march and in their return, the territories of the Franks; +and it was perhaps in this war that they exercised the cruelties +which, about fourscore years afterwards, were revenged by the son +of Clovis. They massacred their hostages, as well as their +captives: two hundred young maidens were tortured with exquisite +and unrelenting rage; their bodies were torn asunder by wild +horses, or their bones were crushed under the weight of rolling +wagons; and their unburied limbs were abandoned on the public +roads, as a prey to dogs and vultures. Such were those savage +ancestors, whose imaginary virtues have sometimes excited the +praise and envy of civilized ages. ^47 + +[Footnote 46: Jornandes de Rebus Geticis, c. 41, p. 671. The +policy of Aetius, and the behavior of Torismond, are extremely +natural; and the patrician, according to Gregory of Tours, (l. +ii. c. 7, p. 163,) dismissed the prince of the Franks, by +suggesting to him a similar apprehension. The false Idatius +ridiculously pretends, that Aetius paid a clandestine nocturnal +visit to the kings of the Huns and of the Visigoths; from each of +whom he obtained a bribe of ten thousand pieces of gold, as the +price of an undisturbed retreat.] +[Footnote 47: These cruelties, which are passionately deplored by +Theodoric, the son of Clovis, (Gregory of Tours, l. iii. c. 10, +p. 190,) suit the time and circumstances of the invasion of +Attila. His residence in Thuringia was long attested by popular +tradition; and he is supposed to have assembled a couroultai, or +diet, in the territory of Eisenach. See Mascou, ix. 30, who +settles with nice accuracy the extent of ancient Thuringia, and +derives its name from the Gothic tribe of the Therungi] + +Chapter XXXV: Invasion By Attila. + + +Part III. + + Neither the spirit, nor the forces, nor the reputation, of +Attila, were impaired by the failure of the Gallic expedition In +the ensuing spring he repeated his demand of the princess +Honoria, and her patrimonial treasures. The demand was again +rejected, or eluded; and the indignant lover immediately took the +field, passed the Alps, invaded Italy, and besieged Aquileia with +an innumerable host of Barbarians. Those Barbarians were +unskilled in the methods of conducting a regular siege, which, +even among the ancients, required some knowledge, or at least +some practice, of the mechanic arts. But the labor of many +thousand provincials and captives, whose lives were sacrificed +without pity, might execute the most painful and dangerous work. +The skill of the Roman artists might be corrupted to the +destruction of their country. The walls of Aquileia were +assaulted by a formidable train of battering rams, movable +turrets, and engines, that threw stones, darts, and fire; ^48 and +the monarch of the Huns employed the forcible impulse of hope, +fear, emulation, and interest, to subvert the only barrier which +delayed the conquest of Italy. Aquileia was at that period one +of the richest, the most populous, and the strongest of the +maritime cities of the Adriatic coast. The Gothic auxiliaries, +who appeared to have served under their native princes, Alaric +and Antala, communicated their intrepid spirit; and the citizens +still remembered the glorious and successful resistance which +their ancestors had opposed to a fierce, inexorable Barbarian, +who disgraced the majesty of the Roman purple. Three months were +consumed without effect in the siege of the Aquileia; till the +want of provisions, and the clamors of his army, compelled Attila +to relinquish the enterprise; and reluctantly to issue his +orders, that the troops should strike their tents the next +morning, and begin their retreat. But as he rode round the +walls, pensive, angry, and disappointed, he observed a stork +preparing to leave her nest, in one of the towers, and to fly +with her infant family towards the country. He seized, with the +ready penetration of a statesman, this trifling incident, which +chance had offered to superstition; and exclaimed, in a loud and +cheerful tone, that such a domestic bird, so constantly attached +to human society, would never have abandoned her ancient seats, +unless those towers had been devoted to impending ruin and +solitude. ^49 The favorable omen inspired an assurance of +victory; the siege was renewed and prosecuted with fresh vigor; a +large breach was made in the part of the wall from whence the +stork had taken her flight; the Huns mounted to the assault with +irresistible fury; and the succeeding generation could scarcely +discover the ruins of Aquileia. ^50 After this dreadful +chastisement, Attila pursued his march; and as he passed, the +cities of Altinum, Concordia, and Padua, were reduced into heaps +of stones and ashes. The inland towns, Vicenza, Verona, and +Bergamo, were exposed to the rapacious cruelty of the Huns. Milan +and Pavia submitted, without resistance, to the loss of their +wealth; and applauded the unusual clemency which preserved from +the flames the public, as well as private, buildings, and spared +the lives of the captive multitude. The popular traditions of +Comum, Turin, or Modena, may justly be suspected; yet they concur +with more authentic evidence to prove, that Attila spread his +ravages over the rich plains of modern Lombardy; which are +divided by the Po, and bounded by the Alps and Apennine. ^51 When +he took possession of the royal palace of Milan, he was surprised +and offended at the sight of a picture which represented the +Caesars seated on their throne, and the princes of Scythia +prostrate at their feet. The revenge which Attila inflicted on +this monument of Roman vanity, was harmless and ingenious. He +commanded a painter to reverse the figures and the attitudes; and +the emperors were delineated on the same canvas, approaching in a +suppliant posture to empty their bags of tributary gold before +the throne of the Scythian monarch. ^52 The spectators must have +confessed the truth and propriety of the alteration; and were +perhaps tempted to apply, on this singular occasion, the +well-known fable of the dispute between the lion and the man. ^53 + +[Footnote 48: Machinis constructis, omnibusque tormentorum +generibus adhibitis. Jornandes, c. 42, p. 673. In the +thirteenth century, the Moguls battered the cities of China with +large engines, constructed by the Mahometans or Christians in +their service, which threw stones from 150 to 300 pounds weight. +In the defence of their country, the Chinese used gunpowder, and +even bombs, above a hundred years before they were known in +Europe; yet even those celestial, or infernal, arms were +insufficient to protect a pusillanimous nation. See Gaubil. +Hist. des Mongous, p. 70, 71, 155, 157, &c.] +[Footnote 49: The same story is told by Jornandes, and by +Procopius, (de Bell Vandal. l. i. c. 4, p. 187, 188:) nor is it +easy to decide which is the original. But the Greek historian is +guilty of an inexcusable mistake, in placing the siege of +Aquileia after the death of Aetius.] + +[Footnote 50: Jornandes, about a hundred years afterwards, +affirms, that Aquileia was so completely ruined, ita ut vix ejus +vestigia, ut appareant, reliquerint. See Jornandes de Reb. +Geticis, c. 42, p. 673. Paul. Diacon. l. ii. c. 14, p. 785. +Liutprand, Hist. l. iii. c. 2. The name of Aquileia was +sometimes applied to Forum Julii, (Cividad del Friuli,) the more +recent capital of the Venetian province. + + Note: Compare the curious Latin poems on the destruction of +Aquileia, published by M. Endlicher in his valuable catalogue of +Latin Mss. in the library of Vienna, p. 298, &c. + + Repleta quondam domibus sublimibus, ornatis mire, niveis, +marmorels, Nune ferax frugum metiris funiculo ruricolarum. + The monkish poet has his consolation in Attila's sufferings +in soul and body. + + Vindictam tamen non evasit impius destructor tuus Attila +sevissimus, Nunc igni simul gehennae et vermibus excruciatur +- P. 290. - M.] +[Footnote 51: In describing this war of Attila, a war so famous, +but so imperfectly known, I have taken for my guides two learned +Italians, who considered the subject with some peculiar +advantages; Sigonius, de Imperio Occidentali, l. xiii. in his +works, tom. i. p. 495 - 502; and Muratori, Annali d'Italia, tom. +iv. p. 229 - 236, 8vo. edition.] + +[Footnote 52: This anecdote may be found under two different +articles of the miscellaneous compilation of Suidas.] + +[Footnote 53: Leo respondit, humana, hoc pictum manu: + Videres hominem dejectum, si pingere + Leones scirent. + + Appendix ad Phaedrum, Fab. xxv. + +The lion in Phaedrus very foolishly appeals from pictures to the +amphitheatre; and I am glad to observe, that the native taste of +La Fontaine (l. iii. fable x.) has omitted this most lame and +impotent conclusion.] + + It is a saying worthy of the ferocious pride of Attila, that +the grass never grew on the spot where his horse had trod. Yet +the savage destroyer undesignedly laid the foundation of a +republic, which revived, in the feudal state of Europe, the art +and spirit of commercial industry. The celebrated name of +Venice, or Venetia, ^54 was formerly diffused over a large and +fertile province of Italy, from the confines of Pannonia to the +River Addua, and from the Po to the Rhaetian and Julian Alps. +Before the irruption of the Barbarians, fifty Venetian cities +flourished in peace and prosperity: Aquileia was placed in the +most conspicuous station: but the ancient dignity of Padua was +supported by agriculture and manufactures; and the property of +five hundred citizens, who were entitled to the equestrian rank, +must have amounted, at the strictest computation, to one million +seven hundred thousand pounds. Many families of Aquileia, Padua, +and the adjacent towns, who fled from the sword of the Huns, +found a safe, though obscure, refuge in the neighboring islands. +^55 At the extremity of the Gulf, where the Adriatic feebly +imitates the tides of the ocean, near a hundred small islands are +separated by shallow water from the continent, and protected from +the waves by several long slips of land, which admit the entrance +of vessels through some secret and narrow channels. ^56 Till the +middle of the fifth century, these remote and sequestered spots +remained without cultivation, with few inhabitants, and almost +without a name. But the manners of the Venetian fugitives, their +arts and their government, were gradually formed by their new +situation; and one of the epistles of Cassiodorus, ^57 which +describes their condition about seventy years afterwards, may be +considered as the primitive monument of the republic. ^* The +minister of Theodoric compares them, in his quaint declamatory +style, to water-fowl, who had fixed their nests on the bosom of +the waves; and though he allows, that the Venetian provinces had +formerly contained many noble families, he insinuates, that they +were now reduced by misfortune to the same level of humble +poverty. Fish was the common, and almost the universal, food of +every rank: their only treasure consisted in the plenty of salt, +which they extracted from the sea: and the exchange of that +commodity, so essential to human life, was substituted in the +neighboring markets to the currency of gold and silver. A +people, whose habitations might be doubtfully assigned to the +earth or water, soon became alike familiar with the two elements; +and the demands of avarice succeeded to those of necessity. The +islanders, who, from Grado to Chiozza, were intimately connected +with each other, penetrated into the heart of Italy, by the +secure, though laborious, navigation of the rivers and inland +canals. Their vessels, which were continually increasing in size +and number, visited all the harbors of the Gulf; and the marriage +which Venice annually celebrates with the Adriatic, was +contracted in her early infancy. The epistle of Cassiodorus, the +Praetorian praefect, is addressed to the maritime tribunes; and +he exhorts them, in a mild tone of authority, to animate the zeal +of their countrymen for the public service, which required their +assistance to transport the magazines of wine and oil from the +province of Istria to the royal city of Ravenna. The ambiguous +office of these magistrates is explained by the tradition, that, +in the twelve principal islands, twelve tribunes, or judges, were +created by an annual and popular election. The existence of the +Venetian republic under the Gothic kingdom of Italy, is attested +by the same authentic record, which annihilates their lofty claim +of original and perpetual independence. ^58 + +[Footnote 54: Paul the Deacon (de Gestis Langobard. l. ii. c. 14, +p. 784) describes the provinces of Italy about the end of the +eighth century Venetia non solum in paucis insulis quas nunc +Venetias dicimus, constat; sed ejus terminus a Pannoniae finibus +usque Adduam fluvium protelatur. The history of that province +till the age of Charlemagne forms the first and most interesting +part of the Verona Illustrata, p. 1 - 388,) in which the marquis +Scipio Maffei has shown himself equally capable of enlarged views +and minute disquisitions.] +[Footnote 55: This emigration is not attested by any contemporary +evidence; but the fact is proved by the event, and the +circumstances might be preserved by tradition. The citizens of +Aquileia retired to the Isle of Gradus, those of Padua to Rivus +Altus, or Rialto, where the city of Venice was afterwards built, +&c.] + +[Footnote 56: The topography and antiquities of the Venetian +islands, from Gradus to Clodia, or Chioggia, are accurately +stated in the Dissertatio Chorographica de Italia Medii Aevi. p. +151 - 155.] + +[Footnote 57: Cassiodor. Variar. l. xii. epist. 24. Maffei +(Verona Illustrata, part i. p. 240 - 254) has translated and +explained this curious letter, in the spirit of a learned +antiquarian and a faithful subject, who considered Venice as the +only legitimate offspring of the Roman republic. He fixes the +date of the epistle, and consequently the praefecture, of +Cassiodorus, A.D. 523; and the marquis's authority has the more +weight, as he prepared an edition of his works, and actually +published a dissertation on the true orthography of his name. +See Osservazioni Letterarie, tom. ii. p. 290 - 339.] + +[Footnote *: The learned count Figliasi has proved, in his +memoirs upon the Veneti (Memorie de' Veneti primi e secondi del +conte Figliasi, t. vi. Veneziai, 796,) that from the most remote +period, this nation, which occupied the country which has since +been called the Venetian States or Terra Firma, likewise +inhabited the islands scattered upon the coast, and that from +thence arose the names of Venetia prima and secunda, of which the +first applied to the main land and the second to the islands and +lagunes. From the time of the Pelasgi and of the Etrurians, the +first Veneti, inhabiting a fertile and pleasant country, devoted +themselves to agriculture: the second, placed in the midst of +canals, at the mouth of several rivers, conveniently situated +with regard to the islands of Greece, as well as the fertile +plains of Italy, applied themselves to navigation and commerce. +Both submitted to the Romans a short time before the second Punic +war; yet it was not till after the victory of Marius over the +Cimbri, that their country was reduced to a Roman province. Under +the emperors, Venetia Prima obtained more than once, by its +calamities, a place in history. * * But the maritime province was +occupied in salt works, fisheries, and commerce. The Romans have +considered the inhabitants of this part as beneath the dignity of +history, and have left them in obscurity. * * * They dwelt there +until the period when their islands afforded a retreat to their +ruined and fugitive compatriots. Sismondi. Hist. des Rep. +Italiens, v. i. p. 313. -G. + + Compare, on the origin of Venice, Daru, Hist. de Venise, +vol. i. c. l. - M.] + +[Footnote 58: See, in the second volume of Amelot de la Houssaie, +Histoire du Gouvernement de Venise, a translation of the famous +Squittinio. This book, which has been exalted far above its +merits, is stained, in every line, with the disingenuous +malevolence of party: but the principal evidence, genuine and +apocryphal, is brought together and the reader will easily choose +the fair medium.] + + The Italians, who had long since renounced the exercise of +arms, were surprised, after forty years' peace, by the approach +of a formidable Barbarian, whom they abhorred, as the enemy of +their religion, as well as of their republic. Amidst the general +consternation, Aetius alone was incapable of fear; but it was +impossible that he should achieve, alone and unassisted, any +military exploits worthy of his former renown. The Barbarians +who had defended Gaul, refused to march to the relief of Italy; +and the succors promised by the Eastern emperor were distant and +doubtful. Since Aetius, at the head of his domestic troops, still +maintained the field, and harassed or retarded the march of +Attila, he never showed himself more truly great, than at the +time when his conduct was blamed by an ignorant and ungrateful +people. ^59 If the mind of Valentinian had been susceptible of +any generous sentiments, he would have chosen such a general for +his example and his guide. But the timid grandson of Theodosius, +instead of sharing the dangers, escaped from the sound of war; +and his hasty retreat from Ravenna to Rome, from an impregnable +fortress to an open capital, betrayed his secret intention of +abandoning Italy, as soon as the danger should approach his +Imperial person. This shameful abdication was suspended, however, +by the spirit of doubt and delay, which commonly adheres to +pusillanimous counsels, and sometimes corrects their pernicious +tendency. The Western emperor, with the senate and people of +Rome, embraced the more salutary resolution of deprecating, by a +solemn and suppliant embassy, the wrath of Attila. This +important commission was accepted by Avienus, who, from his birth +and riches, his consular dignity, the numerous train of his +clients, and his personal abilities, held the first rank in the +Roman senate. The specious and artful character of Avienus ^60 +was admirably qualified to conduct a negotiation either of public +or private interest: his colleague Trigetius had exercised the +Praetorian praefecture of Italy; and Leo, bishop of Rome, +consented to expose his life for the safety of his flock. The +genius of Leo ^61 was exercised and displayed in the public +misfortunes; and he has deserved the appellation of Great, by the +successful zeal with which he labored to establish his opinions +and his authority, under the venerable names of orthodox faith +and ecclesiastical discipline. The Roman ambassadors were +introduced to the tent of Attila, as he lay encamped at the place +where the slow-winding Mincius is lost in the foaming waves of +the Lake Benacus, ^62 and trampled, with his Scythian cavalry, +the farms of Catullus and Virgil. ^63 The Barbarian monarch +listened with favorable, and even respectful, attention; and the +deliverance of Italy was purchased by the immense ransom, or +dowry, of the princess Honoria. The state of his army might +facilitate the treaty, and hasten his retreat. Their martial +spirit was relaxed by the wealth and idolence of a warm climate. +The shepherds of the North, whose ordinary food consisted of milk +and raw flesh, indulged themselves too freely in the use of +bread, of wine, and of meat, prepared and seasoned by the arts of +cookery; and the progress of disease revenged in some measure the +injuries of the Italians. ^64 When Attila declared his resolution +of carrying his victorious arms to the gates of Rome, he was +admonished by his friends, as well as by his enemies, that Alaric +had not long survived the conquest of the eternal city. His +mind, superior to real danger, was assaulted by imaginary +terrors; nor could he escape the influence of superstition, which +had so often been subservient to his designs. ^65 The pressing +eloquence of Leo, his majestic aspect and sacerdotal robes, +excited the veneration of Attila for the spiritual father of the +Christians. The apparition of the two apostles, St. Peter and +St. Paul, who menaced the Barbarian with instant death, if he +rejected the prayer of their successor, is one of the noblest +legends of ecclesiastical tradition. The safety of Rome might +deserve the interposition of celestial beings; and some +indulgence is due to a fable, which has been represented by the +pencil of Raphael, and the chisel of Algardi. ^66 + +[Footnote 59: Sirmond (Not. ad Sidon. Apollin. p. 19) has +published a curious passage from the Chronicle of Prosper. +Attila, redintegratis viribus, quas in Gallia amiserat, Italiam +ingredi per Pannonias intendit; nihil duce nostro Aetio secundum +prioris belli opera prospiciente, &c. He reproaches Aetius with +neglecting to guard the Alps, and with a design to abandon Italy; +but this rash censure may at least be counterbalanced by the +favorable testimonies of Idatius and Isidore.] + +[Footnote 60: See the original portraits of Avienus and his rival +Basilius, delineated and contrasted in the epistles (i. 9. p. 22) +of Sidonius. He had studied the characters of the two chiefs of +the senate; but he attached himself to Basilius, as the more +solid and disinterested friend.] +[Footnote 61: The character and principles of Leo may be traced +in one hundred and forty-one original epistles, which illustrate +the ecclesiastical history of his long and busy pontificate, from +A.D. 440 to 461. See Dupin, Bibliotheque Ecclesiastique, tom. +iii. part ii p. 120 - 165.] +[Footnote 62: - tardis ingens ubi flexibus errat + Mincius, et tenera praetexit arundine ripas + + - - - - + Anne lacus tantos, te Lari maxime, teque + + Fluctibus, et fremitu assurgens Benace marino.] +[Footnote 63: The marquis Maffei (Verona Illustrata, part i. p. +95, 129, 221, part ii. p. 2, 6) has illustrated with taste and +learning this interesting topography. He places the interview of +Attila and St. Leo near Ariolica, or Ardelica, now Peschiera, at +the conflux of the lake and river; ascertains the villa of +Catullus, in the delightful peninsula of Sirmio, and discovers +the Andes of Virgil, in the village of Bandes, precisely situate, +qua se subducere colles incipiunt, where the Veronese hills +imperceptibly slope down into the plain of Mantua. + + Note: Gibbon has made a singular mistake: the Mincius flows +out of the Bonacus at Peschiera, not into it. The interview is +likewise placed at Ponte Molino. and at Governolo, at the conflux +of the Mincio and the Gonzaga. bishop of Mantua, erected a tablet +in the year 1616, in the church of the latter place, +commemorative of the event. Descrizione di Verona a de la sua +provincia. C. 11, p. 126. - M.] + +[Footnote 64: Si statim infesto agmine urbem petiissent, grande +discrimen esset: sed in Venetia quo fere tractu Italia mollissima +est, ipsa soli coelique clementia robur elanquit. Ad hoc panis +usu carnisque coctae, et dulcedine vini mitigatos, &c. This +passage of Florus (iii. 3) is still more applicable to the Huns +than to the Cimbri, and it may serve as a commentary on the +celestial plague, with which Idatius and Isidore have afflicted +the troops of Attila.] + +[Footnote 65: The historian Priscus had positively mentioned the +effect which this example produced on the mind of Attila. +Jornandes, c. 42, p. 673] +[Footnote 66: The picture of Raphael is in the Vatican; the basso +(or perhaps the alto) relievo of Algardi, on one of the altars of +St. Peter, (see Dubos, Reflexions sur la Poesie et sur la +Peinture, tom. i. p. 519, 520.) Baronius (Annal. Eccles. A.D. +452, No. 57, 58) bravely sustains the truth of the apparition; +which is rejected, however, by the most learned and pious +Catholics.] + + Before the king of the Huns evacuated Italy, he threatened +to return more dreadful, and more implacable, if his bride, the +princess Honoria, were not delivered to his ambassadors within +the term stipulated by the treaty. Yet, in the mean while, +Attila relieved his tender anxiety, by adding a beautiful maid, +whose name was Ildico, to the list of his innumerable wives. ^67 +Their marriage was celebrated with barbaric pomp and festivity, +at his wooden palace beyond the Danube; and the monarch, +oppressed with wine and sleep, retired at a late hour from the +banquet to the nuptial bed. His attendants continued to respect +his pleasures, or his repose, the greatest part of the ensuing +day, till the unusual silence alarmed their fears and suspicions; +and, after attempting to awaken Attila by loud and repeated +cries, they at length broke into the royal apartment. They found +the trembling bride sitting by the bedside, hiding her face with +her veil, and lamenting her own danger, as well as the death of +the king, who had expired during the night. ^68 An artery had +suddenly burst: and as Attila lay in a supine posture, he was +suffocated by a torrent of blood, which, instead of finding a +passage through the nostrils, regurgitated into the lungs and +stomach. His body was solemnly exposed in the midst of the +plain, under a silken pavilion; and the chosen squadrons of the +Huns, wheeling round in measured evolutions, chanted a funeral +song to the memory of a hero, glorious in his life, invincible in +his death, the father of his people, the scourge of his enemies, +and the terror of the world. According to their national custom, +the Barbarians cut off a part of their hair, gashed their faces +with unseemly wounds, and bewailed their valiant leader as he +deserved, not with the tears of women, but with the blood of +warriors. The remains of Attila were enclosed within three +coffins, of gold, of silver, and of iron, and privately buried in +the night: the spoils of nations were thrown into his grave; the +captives who had opened the ground were inhumanly massacred; and +the same Huns, who had indulged such excessive grief, feasted, +with dissolute and intemperate mirth, about the recent sepulchre +of their king. It was reported at Constantinople, that on the +fortunate night on which he expired, Marcian beheld in a dream +the bow of Attila broken asunder: and the report may be allowed +to prove, how seldom the image of that formidable Barbarian was +absent from the mind of a Roman emperor. ^69 [Footnote 67: +Attila, ut Priscus historicus refert, extinctionis suae tempore, +puellam Ildico nomine, decoram, valde, sibi matrimonium post +innumerabiles uxores ... socians. Jornandes, c. 49, p. 683, 684. + +He afterwards adds, (c. 50, p. 686,) Filii Attilae, quorum per +licentiam libidinis poene populus fuit. Polygamy has been +established among the Tartars of every age. The rank of plebeian +wives is regulated only by their personal charms; and the faded +matron prepares, without a murmur, the bed which is destined for +her blooming rival. But in royal families, the daughters of Khans +communicate to their sons a prior right. See Genealogical +History, p. 406, 407, 408.] +[Footnote 68: The report of her guilt reached Constantinople, +where it obtained a very different name; and Marcellinus +observes, that the tyrant of Europe was slain in the night by the +hand, and the knife, of a woman Corneille, who has adapted the +genuine account to his tragedy, describes the irruption of blood +in forty bombast lines, and Attila exclaims, with ridiculous +fury, + + - S'il ne veut s'arreter, (his blood.) + (Dit-il) on me payera ce qui m'en va couter.] + +[Footnote 69: The curious circumstances of the death and funeral +of Attila are related by Jornandes, (c. 49, p. 683, 684, 685,) +and were probably transcribed from Priscus.] + + The revolution which subverted the empire of the Huns, +established the fame of Attila, whose genius alone had sustained +the huge and disjointed fabric. After his death, the boldest +chieftains aspired to the rank of kings; the most powerful kings +refused to acknowledge a superior; and the numerous sons, whom so +many various mothers bore to the deceased monarch, divided and +disputed, like a private inheritance, the sovereign command of +the nations of Germany and Scythia. The bold Ardaric felt and +represented the disgrace of this servile partition; and his +subjects, the warlike Gepidae, with the Ostrogoths, under the +conduct of three valiant brothers, encouraged their allies to +vindicate the rights of freedom and royalty. In a bloody and +decisive conflict on the banks of the River Netad, in Pannonia, +the lance of the Gepidae, the sword of the Goths, the arrows of +the Huns, the Suevic infantry, the light arms of the Heruli, and +the heavy weapons of the Alani, encountered or supported each +other; and the victory of the Ardaric was accompanied with the +slaughter of thirty thousand of his enemies. Ellac, the eldest +son of Attila, lost his life and crown in the memorable battle of +Netad: his early valor had raised him to the throne of the +Acatzires, a Scythian people, whom he subdued; and his father, +who loved the superior merit, would have envied the death of +Ellac. ^70 His brother, Dengisich, with an army of Huns, still +formidable in their flight and ruin, maintained his ground above +fifteen years on the banks of the Danube. The palace of Attila, +with the old country of Dacia, from the Carpathian hills to the +Euxine, became the seat of a new power, which was erected by +Ardaric, king of the Gepidae. The Pannonian conquests from Vienna +to Sirmium, were occupied by the Ostrogoths; and the settlements +of the tribes, who had so bravely asserted their native freedom, +were irregularly distributed, according to the measure of their +respective strength. Surrounded and oppressed by the multitude +of his father's slaves, the kingdom of Dengisich was confined to +the circle of his wagons; his desperate courage urged him to +invade the Eastern empire: he fell in battle; and his head +ignominiously exposed in the Hippodrome, exhibited a grateful +spectacle to the people of Constantinople. Attila had fondly or +superstitiously believed, that Irnac, the youngest of his sons, +was destined to perpetuate the glories of his race. The +character of that prince, who attempted to moderate the rashness +of his brother Dengisich, was more suitable to the declining +condition of the Huns; and Irnac, with his subject hordes, +retired into the heart of the Lesser Scythia. They were soon +overwhelmed by a torrent of new Barbarians, who followed the same +road which their own ancestors had formerly discovered. The +Geougen, or Avares, whose residence is assigned by the Greek +writers to the shores of the ocean, impelled the adjacent tribes; +till at length the Igours of the North, issuing from the cold +Siberian regions, which produce the most valuable furs, spread +themselves over the desert, as far as the Borysthenes and the +Caspian gates; and finally extinguished the empire of the Huns. +^71 + +[Footnote 70: See Jornandes, de Rebus Geticis, c. 50, p. 685, +686, 687, 688. His distinction of the national arms is curious +and important. Nan ibi admirandum reor fuisse spectaculum, ubi +cernere erat cunctis, pugnantem Gothum ense furentem, Gepidam in +vulnere suorum cuncta tela frangentem, Suevum pede, Hunnum +sagitta praesumere, Alanum gravi Herulum levi, armatura, aciem +instruere. I am not precisely informed of the situation of the +River Netad.] +[Footnote 71: Two modern historians have thrown much new light on +the ruin and division of the empire of Attila; M. de Buat, by his +laborious and minute diligence, (tom. viii. p. 3 - 31, 68 - 94,) +and M. de Guignes, by his extraordinary knowledge of the Chinese +language and writers. See Hist. des Huns, tom. ii. p. 315 - +319.] + + Such an event might contribute to the safety of the Eastern +empire, under the reign of a prince who conciliated the +friendship, without forfeiting the esteem, of the Barbarians. +But the emperor of the West, the feeble and dissolute +Valentinian, who had reached his thirty-fifth year without +attaining the age of reason or courage, abused this apparent +security, to undermine the foundations of his own throne, by the +murder of the patrician Aetius. From the instinct of a base and +jealous mind, he hated the man who was universally celebrated as +the terror of the Barbarians, and the support of the republic; ^* +and his new favorite, the eunuch Heraclius, awakened the emperor +from the supine lethargy, which might be disguised, during the +life of Placidia, ^72 by the excuse of filial piety. The fame of +Aetius, his wealth and dignity, the numerous and martial train of +Barbarian followers, his powerful dependants, who filled the +civil offices of the state, and the hopes of his son Gaudentius, +who was already contracted to Eudoxia, the emperor's daughter, +had raised him above the rank of a subject. The ambitious +designs, of which he was secretly accused, excited the fears, as +well as the resentment, of Valentinian. Aetius himself, +supported by the consciousness of his merit, his services, and +perhaps his innocence, seems to have maintained a haughty and +indiscreet behavior. The patrician offended his sovereign by a +hostile declaration; he aggravated the offence, by compelling him +to ratify, with a solemn oath, a treaty of reconciliation and +alliance; he proclaimed his suspicions, he neglected his safety; +and from a vain confidence that the enemy, whom he despised, was +incapable even of a manly crime, he rashly ventured his person in +the palace of Rome. Whilst he urged, perhaps with intemperate +vehemence, the marriage of his son; Valentinian, drawing his +sword, the first sword he had ever drawn, plunged it in the +breast of a general who had saved his empire: his courtiers and +eunuchs ambitiously struggled to imitate their master; and +Aetius, pierced with a hundred wounds, fell dead in the royal +presence. Boethius, the Praetorian praefect, was killed at the +same moment, and before the event could be divulged, the +principal friends of the patrician were summoned to the palace, +and separately murdered. The horrid deed, palliated by the +specious names of justice and necessity, was immediately +communicated by the emperor to his soldiers, his subjects, and +his allies. The nations, who were strangers or enemies to +Aetius, generously deplored the unworthy fate of a hero: the +Barbarians, who had been attached to his service, dissembled +their grief and resentment: and the public contempt, which had +been so long entertained for Valentinian, was at once converted +into deep and universal abhorrence. Such sentiments seldom +pervade the walls of a palace; yet the emperor was confounded by +the honest reply of a Roman, whose approbation he had not +disdained to solicit. "I am ignorant, sir, of your motives or +provocations; I only know, that you have acted like a man who +cuts off his right hand with his left." ^73 +[Footnote *: The praises awarded by Gibbon to the character of +Aetius have been animadverted upon with great severity. (See Mr. +Herbert's Attila. p. 321.) I am not aware that Gibbon has +dissembled or palliated any of the crimes or treasons of Aetius: +but his position at the time of his murder was certainly that of +the preserver of the empire, the conqueror of the most dangerous +of the barbarians: it is by no means clear that he was not +"innocent" of any treasonable designs against Valentinian. If +the early acts of his life, the introduction of the Huns into +Italy, and of the Vandals into Africa, were among the proximate +causes of the ruin of the empire, his murder was the signal for +its almost immediate downfall. - M.] + +[Footnote 72: Placidia died at Rome, November 27, A.D. 450. She +was buried at Ravenna, where her sepulchre, and even her corpse, +seated in a chair of cypress wood, were preserved for ages. The +empress received many compliments from the orthodox clergy; and +St. Peter Chrysologus assured her, that her zeal for the Trinity +had been recompensed by an august trinity of children. See +Tillemont, Uist. Jer Emp. tom. vi. p. 240.] + +[Footnote 73: Aetium Placidus mactavit semivir amens, is the +expression of Sidonius, (Panegyr. Avit. 359.) The poet knew the +world, and was not inclined to flatter a minister who had injured +or disgraced Avitus and Majorian, the successive heroes of his +song.] + + The luxury of Rome seems to have attracted the long and +frequent visits of Valentinian; who was consequently more +despised at Rome than in any other part of his dominions. A +republican spirit was insensibly revived in the senate, as their +authority, and even their supplies, became necessary for the +support of his feeble government. The stately demeano of an +hereditary monarch offended their pride; and the pleasures of +Valentinian were injurious to the peace and honor of noble +families. The birth of the empress Eudoxia was equal to his own, +and her charms and tender affection deserved those testimonies of +love which her inconstant husband dissipated in vague and +unlawful amours. Petronius Maximus, a wealthy senator of the +Anician family, who had been twice consul, was possessed of a +chaste and beautiful wife: her obstinate resistance served only +to irritate the desires of Valentinian; and he resolved to +accomplish them, either by stratagem or force. Deep gaming was +one of the vices of the court: the emperor, who, by chance or +contrivance, had gained from Maximus a considerable sum, +uncourteously exacted his ring as a security for the debt; and +sent it by a trusty messenger to his wife, with an order, in her +husband's name, that she should immediately attend the empress +Eudoxia. The unsuspecting wife of Maximus was conveyed in her +litter to the Imperial palace; the emissaries of her impatient +lover conducted her to a remote and silent bed-chamber; and +Valentinian violated, without remorse, the laws of hospitality. +Her tears, when she returned home, her deep affliction, and her +bitter reproaches against a husband whom she considered as the +accomplice of his own shame, excited Maximus to a just revenge; +the desire of revenge was stimulated by ambition; and he might +reasonably aspire, by the free suffrage of the Roman senate, to +the throne of a detested and despicable rival. Valentinian, who +supposed that every human breast was devoid, like his own, of +friendship and gratitude, had imprudently admitted among his +guards several domestics and followers of Aetius. Two of these, +of Barbarian race were persuaded to execute a sacred and +honorable duty, by punishing with death the assassin of their +patron; and their intrepid courage did not long expect a +favorable moment. Whilst Valentinian amused himself, in the +field of Mars, with the spectacle of some military sports, they +suddenly rushed upon him with drawn weapons, despatched the +guilty Heraclius, and stabbed the emperor to the heart, without +the least opposition from his numerous train, who seemed to +rejoice in the tyrant's death. Such was the fate of Valentinian +the Third, ^74 the last Roman emperor of the family of +Theodosius. He faithfully imitated the hereditary weakness of +his cousin and his two uncles, without inheriting the gentleness, +the purity, the innocence, which alleviate, in their characters, +the want of spirit and ability. Valentinian was less excusable, +since he had passions, without virtues: even his religion was +questionable; and though he never deviated into the paths of +heresy, he scandalized the pious Christians by his attachment to +the profane arts of magic and divination. + +[Footnote 74: With regard to the cause and circumstances of the +deaths of Aetius and Valentinian, our information is dark and +imperfect. Procopius (de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 4, p. 186, 187, +188) is a fabulous writer for the events which precede his own +memory. His narrative must therefore be supplied and corrected +by five or six Chronicles, none of which were composed in Rome or +Italy; and which can only express, in broken sentences, the +popular rumors, as they were conveyed to Gaul, Spain, Africa, +Constantinople, or Alexandria.] + As early as the time of Cicero and Varro, it was the opinion +of the Roman augurs, that the twelve vultures which Romulus had +seen, represented the twelve centuries, assigned for the fatal +period of his city. ^75 This prophecy, disregarded perhaps in the +season of health and prosperity, inspired the people with gloomy +apprehensions, when the twelfth century, clouded with disgrace +and misfortune, was almost elapsed; ^76 and even posterity must +acknowledge with some surprise, that the arbitrary interpretation +of an accidental or fabulous circumstance has been seriously +verified in the downfall of the Western empire. But its fall was +announced by a clearer omen than the flight of vultures: the +Roman government appeared every day less formidable to its +enemies, more odious and oppressive to its subjects. ^77 The +taxes were multiplied with the public distress; economy was +neglected in proportion as it became necessary; and the injustice +of the rich shifted the unequal burden from themselves to the +people, whom they defrauded of the indulgences that might +sometimes have alleviated their misery. The severe inquisition +which confiscated their goods, and tortured their persons, +compelled the subjects of Valentinian to prefer the more simple +tyranny of the Barbarians, to fly to the woods and mountains, or +to embrace the vile and abject condition of mercenary servants. +They abjured and abhorred the name of Roman citizens, which had +formerly excited the ambition of mankind. The Armorican +provinces of Gaul, and the greatest part of Spain, were-thrown +into a state of disorderly independence, by the confederations of +the Bagaudae; and the Imperial ministers pursued with +proscriptive laws, and ineffectual arms, the rebels whom they had +made. ^78 If all the Barbarian conquerors had been annihilated in +the same hour, their total destruction would not have restored +the empire of the West: and if Rome still survived, she survived +the loss of freedom, of virtue, and of honor. + +[Footnote 75: This interpretation of Vettius, a celebrated augur, +was quoted by Varro, in the xviiith book of his Antiquities. +Censorinus, de Die Natali, c. 17, p. 90, 91, edit. Havercamp.] +[Footnote 76: According to Varro, the twelfth century would +expire A.D. 447, but the uncertainty of the true aera of Rome +might allow some latitude of anticipation or delay. The poets of +the age, Claudian (de Bell Getico, 265) and Sidonius, (in +Panegyr. Avit. 357,) may be admitted as fair witnesses of the +popular opinion. + + Jam reputant annos, interceptoque volatu + Vulturis, incidunt properatis saecula metis. + ....... + Jam prope fata tui bissenas Vulturis alas + Implebant; seis namque tuos, scis, Roma, labores. + + See Dubos, Hist. Critique, tom. i. p. 340 - 346.] + +[Footnote 77: The fifth book of Salvian is filled with pathetic +lamentations and vehement invectives. His immoderate freedom +serves to prove the weakness, as well as the corruption, of the +Roman government. His book was published after the loss of +Africa, (A.D. 439,) and before Attila's war, (A.D. 451.)] +[Footnote 78: The Bagaudae of Spain, who fought pitched battles +with the Roman troops, are repeatedly mentioned in the Chronicle +of Idatius. Salvian has described their distress and rebellion in +very forcible language. Itaque nomen civium Romanorum ... nunc +ultro repudiatur ac fugitur, nec vile tamen sed etiam abominabile +poene habetur ... Et hinc est ut etiam hi quid ad Barbaros non +confugiunt, Barbari tamen esse coguntur, scilicet ut est pars +magna Hispanorum, et non minima Gallorum .... De Bagaudis nunc +mihi sermo est, qui per malos judices et cruentos spoliati, +afflicti, necati postquam jus Romanae libertatis amiserant, etiam +honorem Romani nominis perdiderunt .... Vocamus rabelles, vocamus +perditos quos esse compulimua criminosos. De Gubernat. Dei, l. +v. p. 158, 159.] + +Chapter XXXVI: Total Extinction Of The Western Empire. + +Part I. + + Sack Of Rome By Genseric, King Of The Vandals. - His Naval +Depredations. - Succession Of The Last Emperors Of The West, +Maximus, Avitus, Majorian, Severus, Anthemius, Olybrius, +Glycerius, Nepos, Augustulus. - Total Extinction Of The Western +Empire. - Reign Of Odoacer, The First Barbarian King Of Italy. + The loss or desolation of the provinces, from the Ocean to +the Alps, impaired the glory and greatness of Rome: her internal +prosperity was irretrievably destroyed by the separation of +Africa. The rapacious Vandals confiscated the patrimonial +estates of the senators, and intercepted the regular subsidies, +which relieved the poverty and encouraged the idleness of the +plebeians. The distress of the Romans was soon aggravated by an +unexpected attack; and the province, so long cultivated for their +use by industrious and obedient subjects, was armed against them +by an ambitious Barbarian. The Vandals and Alani, who followed +the successful standard of Genseric, had acquired a rich and +fertile territory, which stretched along the coast above ninety +days' journey from Tangier to Tripoli; but their narrow limits +were pressed and confined, on either side, by the sandy desert +and the Mediterranean. The discovery and conquest of the Black +nations, that might dwell beneath the torrid zone, could not +tempt the rational ambition of Genseric; but he cast his eyes +towards the sea; he resolved to create a naval power, and his +bold resolution was executed with steady and active perseverance. + +The woods of Mount Atlas afforded an inexhaustible nursery of +timber: his new subjects were skilled in the arts of navigation +and ship-building; he animated his daring Vandals to embrace a +mode of warfare which would render every maritime country +accessible to their arms; the Moors and Africans were allured by +the hopes of plunder; and, after an interval of six centuries, +the fleets that issued from the port of Carthage again claimed +the empire of the Mediterranean. The success of the Vandals, the +conquest of Sicily, the sack of Palermo, and the frequent +descents on the coast of Lucania, awakened and alarmed the mother +of Valentinian, and the sister of Theodosius. Alliances were +formed; and armaments, expensive and ineffectual, were prepared, +for the destruction of the common enemy; who reserved his courage +to encounter those dangers which his policy could not prevent or +elude. The designs of the Roman government were repeatedly +baffled by his artful delays, ambiguous promises, and apparent +concessions; and the interposition of his formidable confederate, +the king of the Huns, recalled the emperors from the conquest of +Africa to the care of their domestic safety. The revolutions of +the palace, which left the Western empire without a defender, and +without a lawful prince, dispelled the apprehensions, and +stimulated the avarice, of Genseric. He immediately equipped a +numerous fleet of Vandals and Moors, and cast anchor at the mouth +of the Tyber, about three months after the death of Valentinian, +and the elevation of Maximus to the Imperial throne. + + The private life of the senator Petronius Maximus ^1 was +often alleged as a rare example of human felicity. His birth was +noble and illustrious, since he descended from the Anician +family; his dignity was supported by an adequate patrimony in +land and money; and these advantages of fortune were accompanied +with liberal arts and decent manners, which adorn or imitate the +inestimable gifts of genius and virtue. The luxury of his palace +and table was hospitable and elegant. Whenever Maximus appeared +in public, he was surrounded by a train of grateful and +obsequious clients; ^2 and it is possible that among these +clients, he might deserve and possess some real friends. His +merit was rewarded by the favor of the prince and senate: he +thrice exercised the office of Praetorian praefect of Italy; he +was twice invested with the consulship, and he obtained the rank +of patrician. These civil honors were not incompatible with the +enjoyment of leisure and tranquillity; his hours, according to +the demands of pleasure or reason, were accurately distributed by +a water-clock; and this avarice of time may be allowed to prove +the sense which Maximus entertained of his own happiness. The +injury which he received from the emperor Valentinian appears to +excuse the most bloody revenge. Yet a philosopher might have +reflected, that, if the resistance of his wife had been sincere, +her chastity was still inviolate, and that it could never be +restored if she had consented to the will of the adulterer. A +patriot would have hesitated before he plunged himself and his +country into those inevitable calamities which must follow the +extinction of the royal house of Theodosius. The imprudent +Maximus disregarded these salutary considerations; he gratified +his resentment and ambition; he saw the bleeding corpse of +Valentinian at his feet; and he heard himself saluted Emperor by +the unanimous voice of the senate and people. But the day of his +inauguration was the last day of his happiness. He was +imprisoned (such is the lively expression of Sidonius) in the +palace; and after passing a sleepless night, he sighed that he +had attained the summit of his wishes, and aspired only to +descend from the dangerous elevation. Oppressed by the weight of +the diadem, he communicated his anxious thoughts to his friend +and quaestor Fulgentius; and when he looked back with unavailing +regret on the secure pleasures of his former life, the emperor +exclaimed, "O fortunate Damocles, ^3 thy reign began and ended +with the same dinner;" a well-known allusion, which Fulgentius +afterwards repeated as an instructive lesson for princes and +subjects. + +[Footnote 1: Sidonius Apollinaris composed the thirteenth epistle +of the second book, to refute the paradox of his friend Serranus, +who entertained a singular, though generous, enthusiasm for the +deceased emperor. This epistle, with some indulgence, may claim +the praise of an elegant composition; and it throws much light on +the character of Maximus.] + +[Footnote 2: Clientum, praevia, pedisequa, circumfusa, +populositas, is the train which Sidonius himself (l. i. epist. 9) +assigns to another senator of rank] + +[Footnote 3: Districtus ensis cui super impia + Cervice pendet, non Siculoe dapes + Dulcem elaborabunt saporem: + Non avium citharaeque cantus + Somnum reducent. + + Horat. Carm. iii. 1. + +Sidonius concludes his letter with the story of Damocles, which +Cicero (Tusculan. v. 20, 21) had so inimitably told.] + + The reign of Maximus continued about three months. His +hours, of which he had lost the command, were disturbed by +remorse, or guilt, or terror, and his throne was shaken by the +seditions of the soldiers, the people, and the confederate +Barbarians. The marriage of his son Paladius with the eldest +daughter of the late emperor, might tend to establish the +hereditary succession of his family; but the violence which he +offered to the empress Eudoxia, could proceed only from the blind +impulse of lust or revenge. His own wife, the cause of these +tragic events, had been seasonably removed by death; and the +widow of Valentinian was compelled to violate her decent +mourning, perhaps her real grief, and to submit to the embraces +of a presumptuous usurper, whom she suspected as the assassin of +her deceased husband. These suspicions were soon justified by +the indiscreet confession of Maximus himself; and he wantonly +provoked the hatred of his reluctant bride, who was still +conscious that she was descended from a line of emperors. From +the East, however, Eudoxia could not hope to obtain any effectual +assistance; her father and her aunt Pulcheria were dead; her +mother languished at Jerusalem in disgrace and exile; and the +sceptre of Constantinople was in the hands of a stranger. She +directed her eyes towards Carthage; secretly implored the aid of +the king of the Vandals; and persuaded Genseric to improve the +fair opportunity of disguising his rapacious designs by the +specious names of honor, justice, and compassion. ^4 Whatever +abilities Maximus might have shown in a subordinate station, he +was found incapable of administering an empire; and though he +might easily have been informed of the naval preparations which +were made on the opposite shores of Africa, he expected with +supine indifference the approach of the enemy, without adopting +any measures of defence, of negotiation, or of a timely retreat. +When the Vandals disembarked at the mouth of the Tyber, the +emperor was suddenly roused from his lethargy by the clamors of a +trembling and exasperated multitude. The only hope which +presented itself to his astonished mind was that of a precipitate +flight, and he exhorted the senators to imitate the example of +their prince. But no sooner did Maximus appear in the streets, +than he was assaulted by a shower of stones; a Roman, or a +Burgundian soldier, claimed the honor of the first wound; his +mangled body was ignominiously cast into the Tyber; the Roman +people rejoiced in the punishment which they had inflicted on the +author of the public calamities; and the domestics of Eudoxia +signalized their zeal in the service of their mistress. ^5 +[Footnote 4: Notwithstanding the evidence of Procopius, Evagrius, +Idatius Marcellinus, &c., the learned Muratori (Annali d'Italia, +tom. iv. p. 249 doubts the reality of this invitation, and +observes, with great truth, "Non si puo dir quanto sia facile il +popolo a sognare e spacciar voci false." But his argument, from +the interval of time and place, is extremely feeble. The figs +which grew near Carthage were produced to the senate of Rome on +the third day.] + +[Footnote 5: - Infidoque tibi Burgundio ductu + Extorquet trepidas mactandi principis iras. + + Sidon. in Panegyr. Avit. 442. + +A remarkable line, which insinuates that Rome and Maximus were +betrayed by their Burgundian mercenaries.] + + On the third day after the tumult, Genseric boldly advanced +from the port of Ostia to the gates of the defenceless city. +Instead of a sally of the Roman youth, there issued from the +gates an unarmed and venerable procession of the bishop at the +head of his clergy. ^6 The fearless spirit of Leo, his authority +and eloquence, again mitigated the fierceness of a Barbarian +conqueror; the king of the Vandals promised to spare the +unresisting multitude, to protect the buildings from fire, and to +exempt the captives from torture; and although such orders were +neither seriously given, nor strictly obeyed, the mediation of +Leo was glorious to himself, and in some degree beneficial to his +country. But Rome and its inhabitants were delivered to the +licentiousness of the Vandals and Moors, whose blind passions +revenged the injuries of Carthage. The pillage lasted fourteen +days and nights; and all that yet remained of public or private +wealth, of sacred or profane treasure, was diligently transported +to the vessels of Genseric. Among the spoils, the splendid +relics of two temples, or rather of two religions, exhibited a +memorable example of the vicissitudes of human and divine things. + +Since the abolition of Paganism, the Capitol had been violated +and abandoned; yet the statues of the gods and heroes were still +respected, and the curious roof of gilt bronze was reserved for +the rapacious hands of Genseric. ^7 The holy instruments of the +Jewish worship, ^8 the gold table, and the gold candlestick with +seven branches, originally framed according to the particular +instructions of God himself, and which were placed in the +sanctuary of his temple, had been ostentatiously displayed to the +Roman people in the triumph of Titus. They were afterwards +deposited in the temple of Peace; and at the end of four hundred +years, the spoils of Jerusalem were transferred from Rome to +Carthage, by a Barbarian who derived his origin from the shores +of the Baltic. These ancient monuments might attract the notice +of curiosity, as well as of avarice. But the Christian churches, +enriched and adorned by the prevailing superstition of the times, +afforded more plentiful materials for sacrilege; and the pious +liberality of Pope Leo, who melted six silver vases, the gift of +Constantine, each of a hundred pounds weight, is an evidence of +the damage which he attempted to repair. In the forty-five years +that had elapsed since the Gothic invasion, the pomp and luxury +of Rome were in some measure restored; and it was difficult +either to escape, or to satisfy, the avarice of a conqueror, who +possessed leisure to collect, and ships to transport, the wealth +of the capital. The Imperial ornaments of the palace, the +magnificent furniture and wardrobe, the sideboards of massy +plate, were accumulated with disorderly rapine; the gold and +silver amounted to several thousand talents; yet even the brass +and copper were laboriously removed. Eudoxia herself, who +advanced to meet her friend and deliverer, soon bewailed the +imprudence of her own conduct. She was rudely stripped of her +jewels; and the unfortunate empress, with her two daughters, the +only surviving remains of the great Theodosius, was compelled, as +a captive, to follow the haughty Vandal; who immediately hoisted +sail, and returned with a prosperous navigation to the port of +Carthage. ^9 Many thousand Romans of both sexes, chosen for some +useful or agreeable qualifications, reluctantly embarked on board +the fleet of Genseric; and their distress was aggravated by the +unfeeling Barbarians, who, in the division of the booty, +separated the wives from their husbands, and the children from +their parents. The charity of Deogratias, bishop of Carthage, +^10 was their only consolation and support. He generously sold +the gold and silver plate of the church to purchase the freedom +of some, to alleviate the slavery of others, and to assist the +wants and infirmities of a captive multitude, whose health was +impaired by the hardships which they had suffered in their +passage from Italy to Africa. By his order, two spacious +churches were converted into hospitals; the sick were distributed +into convenient beds, and liberally supplied with food and +medicines; and the aged prelate repeated his visits both in the +day and night, with an assiduity that surpassed his strength, and +a tender sympathy which enhanced the value of his services. +Compare this scene with the field of Cannae; and judge between +Hannibal and the successor of St. Cyprian. ^11 +[Footnote 6: The apparant success of Pope Leo may be justified by +Prosper, and the Historia Miscellan.; but the improbable notion +of Baronius A.D. 455, No. 13) that Genseric spared the three +apostolical churches, is not countenanced even by the doubtful +testimony of the Liber Pontificalis.] +[Footnote 7: The profusion of Catulus, the first who gilt the +roof of the Capitol, was not universally approved, (Plin. Hist. +Natur. xxxiii. 18;) but it was far exceeded by the emperor's, and +the external gilding of the temple cost Domitian 12,000 talents, +(2,400,000l.) The expressions of Claudian and Rutilius (luce +metalli oemula .... fastigia astris, and confunduntque vagos +delubra micantia visus) manifestly prove, that this splendid +covering was not removed either by the Christians or the Goths, +(see Donatus, Roma Antiqua, l. ii. c. 6, p. 125.) It should seem +that the roof of the Capitol was decorated with gilt statues, and +chariots drawn by four horses.] + +[Footnote 8: The curious reader may consult the learned and +accurate treatise of Hadrian Reland, de Spoliis Templi +Hierosolymitani in Arcu Titiano Romae conspicuis, in 12mo. +Trajecti ad Rhenum, 1716.] + +[Footnote 9: The vessel which transported the relics of the +Capitol was the only one of the whole fleet that suffered +shipwreck. If a bigoted sophist, a Pagan bigot, had mentioned +the accident, he might have rejoiced that this cargo of sacrilege +was lost in the sea.] + +[Footnote 10: See Victor Vitensis, de Persecut. Vandal. l. i. c. +8, p. 11, 12, edit. Ruinart. Deogratius governed the church of +Carthage only three years. If he had not been privately buried, +his corpse would have been torn piecemeal by the mad devotion of +the people.] + +[Footnote 11: The general evidence for the death of Maximus, and +the sack of Rome by the Vandals, is comprised in Sidonius, +(Panegyr. Avit. 441 - 450,) Procopius, (de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. +4, 5, p. 188, 189, and l. ii. c. 9, p. 255,) Evagrius, (l. ii. c. +7,) Jornandes, (de Reb. Geticis, c. 45, p. 677,) and the +Chronicles of Idatius, Prosper, Marcellinus, and Theophanes, +under the proper year.] + + The deaths of Aetius and Valentinian had relaxed the ties +which held the Barbarians of Gaul in peace and subordination. +The sea-coast was infested by the Saxons; the Alemanni and the +Franks advanced from the Rhine to the Seine; and the ambition of +the Goths seemed to meditate more extensive and permanent +conquests. The emperor Maximus relieved himself, by a judicious +choice, from the weight of these distant cares; he silenced the +solicitations of his friends, listened to the voice of fame, and +promoted a stranger to the general command of the forces of Gaul. + +Avitus, ^12 the stranger, whose merit was so nobly rewarded, +descended from a wealthy and honorable family in the diocese of +Auvergne. The convulsions of the times urged him to embrace, +with the same ardor, the civil and military professions: and the +indefatigable youth blended the studies of literature and +jurisprudence with the exercise of arms and hunting. Thirty +years of his life were laudably spent in the public service; he +alternately displayed his talents in war and negotiation; and the +soldier of Aetius, after executing the most important embassies, +was raised to the station of Praetorian praefect of Gaul. Either +the merit of Avitus excited envy, or his moderation was desirous +of repose, since he calmly retired to an estate, which he +possessed in the neighborhood of Clermont. A copious stream, +issuing from the mountain, and falling headlong in many a loud +and foaming cascade, discharged its waters into a lake about two +miles in length, and the villa was pleasantly seated on the +margin of the lake. The baths, the porticos, the summer and +winter apartments, were adapted to the purposes of luxury and +use; and the adjacent country afforded the various prospects of +woods, pastures, and meodows. ^13 In this retreat, where Avitus +amused his leisure with books, rural sports, the practice of +husbandry, and the society of his friends, ^14 he received the +Imperial diploma, which constituted him master-general of the +cavalry and infantry of Gaul. He assumed the military command; +the Barbarians suspended their fury; and whatever means he might +employ, whatever concessions he might be forced to make, the +people enjoyed the benefits of actual tranquillity. But the fate +of Gaul depended on the Visigoths; and the Roman general, less +attentive to his dignity than to the public interest, did not +disdain to visit Thoulouse in the character of an ambassador. He +was received with courteous hospitality by Theodoric, the king of +the Goths; but while Avitus laid the foundations of a solid +alliance with that powerful nation, he was astonished by the +intelligence, that the emperor Maximus was slain, and that Rome +had been pillaged by the Vandals. A vacant throne, which he +might ascend without guilt or danger, tempted his ambition; ^15 +and the Visigoths were easily persuaded to support his claim by +their irresistible suffrage. They loved the person of Avitus; +they respected his virtues; and they were not insensible of the +advantage, as well as honor, of giving an emperor to the West. +The season was now approaching, in which the annual assembly of +the seven provinces was held at Arles; their deliberations might +perhaps be influenced by the presence of Theodoric and his +martial brothers; but their choice would naturally incline to the +most illustrious of their countrymen. Avitus, after a decent +resistance, accepted the Imperial diadem from the representatives +of Gaul; and his election was ratified by the acclamations of the +Barbarians and provincials. The formal consent of Marcian, +emperor of the East, was solicited and obtained; but the senate, +Rome, and Italy, though humbled by their recent calamities, +submitted with a secret murmur to the presumption of the Gallic +usurper. + +[Footnote 12: The private life and elevation of Avitus must be +deduced, with becoming suspicion, from the panegyric pronounced +by Sidonius Apollinaris, his subject, and his son-in-law.] +[Footnote 13: After the example of the younger Pliny, Sidonius +(l. ii. c. 2) has labored the florid, prolix, and obscure +description of his villa, which bore the name, (Avitacum,) and +had been the property of Avitus. The precise situation is not +ascertained. Consult, however, the notes of Savaron and +Sirmond.] + +[Footnote 14: Sidonius (l. ii. epist. 9) has described the +country life of the Gallic nobles, in a visit which he made to +his friends, whose estates were in the neighborhood of Nismes. +The morning hours were spent in the sphoeristerium, or +tennis-court; or in the library, which was furnished with Latin +authors, profane and religious; the former for the men, the +latter for the ladies. The table was twice served, at dinner and +supper, with hot meat (boiled and roast) and wine. During the +intermediate time, the company slept, took the air on horseback, +and need the warm bath.] + +[Footnote 15: Seventy lines of panegyric (505 - 575) which +describe the importunity of Theodoric and of Gaul, struggling to +overcome the modest reluctance of Avitus, are blown away by three +words of an honest historian. Romanum ambisset Imperium, (Greg. +Turon. l. ii. c. 1l, in tom. ii. p. 168.)] + Theodoric, to whom Avitus was indebted for the purple, had +acquired the Gothic sceptre by the murder of his elder brother +Torismond; and he justified this atrocious deed by the design +which his predecessor had formed of violating his alliance with +the empire. ^16 Such a crime might not be incompatible with the +virtues of a Barbarian; but the manners of Theodoric were gentle +and humane; and posterity may contemplate without terror the +original picture of a Gothic king, whom Sidonius had intimately +observed, in the hours of peace and of social intercourse. In an +epistle, dated from the court of Thoulouse, the orator satisfies +the curiosity of one of his friends, in the following +description: ^17 "By the majesty of his appearance, Theodoric +would command the respect of those who are ignorant of his merit; +and although he is born a prince, his merit would dignify a +private station. He is of a middle stature, his body appears +rather plump than fat, and in his well-proportioned limbs agility +is united with muscular strength. ^18 If you examine his +countenance, you will distinguish a high forehead, large shaggy +eyebrows, an aquiline nose, thin lips, a regular set of white +teeth, and a fair complexion, that blushes more frequently from +modesty than from anger. The ordinary distribution of his time, +as far as it is exposed to the public view, may be concisely +represented. Before daybreak, he repairs, with a small train, to +his domestic chapel, where the service is performed by the Arian +clergy; but those who presume to interpret his secret sentiments, +consider this assiduous devotion as the effect of habit and +policy. The rest of the morning is employed in the +administration of his kingdom. His chair is surrounded by some +military officers of decent aspect and behavior: the noisy crowd +of his Barbarian guards occupies the hall of audience; but they +are not permitted to stand within the veils or curtains that +conceal the council-chamber from vulgar eyes. The ambassadors of +the nations are successively introduced: Theodoric listens with +attention, answers them with discreet brevity, and either +announces or delays, according to the nature of their business, +his final resolution. About eight (the second hour) he rises +from his throne, and visits either his treasury or his stables. +If he chooses to hunt, or at least to exercise himself on +horseback, his bow is carried by a favorite youth; but when the +game is marked, he bends it with his own hand, and seldom misses +the object of his aim: as a king, he disdains to bear arms in +such ignoble warfare; but as a soldier, he would blush to accept +any military service which he could perform himself. On common +days, his dinner is not different from the repast of a private +citizen, but every Saturday, many honorable guests are invited to +the royal table, which, on these occasions, is served with the +elegance of Greece, the plenty of Gaul, and the order and +diligence of Italy. ^19 The gold or silver plate is less +remarkable for its weight than for the brightness and curious +workmanship: the taste is gratified without the help of foreign +and costly luxury; the size and number of the cups of wine are +regulated with a strict regard to the laws of temperance; and the +respectful silence that prevails, is interrupted only by grave +and instructive conversation. After dinner, Theodoric sometimes +indulges himself in a short slumber; and as soon as he wakes, he +calls for the dice and tables, encourages his friends to forget +the royal majesty, and is delighted when they freely express the +passions which are excited by the incidents of play. At this +game, which he loves as the image of war, he alternately displays +his eagerness, his skill, his patience, and his cheerful temper. +If he loses, he laughs; he is modest and silent if he wins. Yet, +notwithstanding this seeming indifference, his courtiers choose +to solicit any favor in the moments of victory; and I myself, in +my applications to the king, have derived some benefit from my +losses. ^20 About the ninth hour (three o'clock) the tide of +business again returns, and flows incessantly till after sunset, +when the signal of the royal supper dismisses the weary crowd of +suppliants and pleaders. At the supper, a more familiar repast, +buffoons and pantomimes are sometimes introduced, to divert, not +to offend, the company, by their ridiculous wit: but female +singers, and the soft, effeminate modes of music, are severely +banished, and such martial tunes as animate the soul to deeds of +valor are alone grateful to the ear of Theodoric. He retires +from table; and the nocturnal guards are immediately posted at +the entrance of the treasury, the palace, and the private +apartments." + +[Footnote 16: Isidore, archbishop of Seville, who was himself of +the blood royal of the Goths, acknowledges, and almost justifies, +(Hist. Goth. p. 718,) the crime which their slave Jornandes had +basely dissembled, (c 43, p. 673.)] +[Footnote 17: This elaborate description (l. i. ep. ii. p. 2 - 7) +was dictated by some political motive. It was designed for the +public eye, and had been shown by the friends of Sidonius, before +it was inserted in the collection of his epistles. The first +book was published separately. See Tillemont, Memoires Eccles. +tom. xvi. p. 264.] + +[Footnote 18: I have suppressed, in this portrait of Theodoric, +several minute circumstances, and technical phrases, which could +be tolerable, or indeed intelligible, to those only who, like the +contemporaries of Sidonius, had frequented the markets where +naked slaves were exposed to male, (Dubos, Hist. Critique, tom. +i. p. 404.)] + +[Footnote 19: Videas ibi elegantiam Graecam, abundantiam +Gallicanam; celeritatem Italam; publicam pompam, privatam +diligentiam, regiam disciplinam.] + +[Footnote 20: Tunc etiam ego aliquid obsecraturus feliciter +vincor, et mihi tabula perit ut causa salvetur. Sidonius of +Auvergne was not a subject of Theodoric; but he might be +compelled to solicit either justice or favor at the court of +Thoulouse.] + + When the king of the Visigoths encouraged Avitus to assume +the purple, he offered his person and his forces, as a faithful +soldier of the republic. ^21 The exploits of Theodoric soon +convinced the world that he had not degenerated from the warlike +virtues of his ancestors. After the establishment of the Goths +in Aquitain, and the passage of the Vandals into Africa, the +Suevi, who had fixed their kingdom in Gallicia, aspired to the +conquest of Spain, and threatened to extinguish the feeble +remains of the Roman dominion. The provincials of Carthagena and +Tarragona, afflicted by a hostile invasion, represented their +injuries and their apprehensions. Count Fronto was despatched, in +the name of the emperor Avitus, with advantageous offers of peace +and alliance; and Theodoric interposed his weighty mediation, to +declare, that, unless his brother-in-law, the king of the Suevi, +immediately retired, he should be obliged to arm in the cause of +justice and of Rome. "Tell him," replied the haughty Rechiarius, +"that I despise his friendship and his arms; but that I shall +soon try whether he will dare to expect my arrival under the +walls of Thoulouse." Such a challenge urged Theodoric to prevent +the bold designs of his enemy; he passed the Pyrenees at the head +of the Visigoths: the Franks and Burgundians served under his +standard; and though he professed himself the dutiful servant of +Avitus, he privately stipulated, for himself and his successors, +the absolute possession of his Spanish conquests. The two armies, +or rather the two nations, encountered each other on the banks of +the River Urbicus, about twelve miles from Astorga; and the +decisive victory of the Goths appeared for a while to have +extirpated the name and kingdom of the Suevi. From the field of +battle Theodoric advanced to Braga, their metropolis, which still +retained the splendid vestiges of its ancient commerce and +dignity. ^22 His entrance was not polluted with blood; and the +Goths respected the chastity of their female captives, more +especially of the consecrated virgins: but the greatest part of +the clergy and people were made slaves, and even the churches and +altars were confounded in the universal pillage. The unfortunate +king of the Suevi had escaped to one of the ports of the ocean; +but the obstinacy of the winds opposed his flight: he was +delivered to his implacable rival; and Rechiarius, who neither +desired nor expected mercy, received, with manly constancy, the +death which he would probably have inflicted. After this bloody +sacrifice to policy or resentment, Theodoric carried his +victorious arms as far as Merida, the principal town of +Lusitania, without meeting any resistance, except from the +miraculous powers of St. Eulalia; but he was stopped in the full +career of success, and recalled from Spain before he could +provide for the security of his conquests. In his retreat +towards the Pyrenees, he revenged his disappointment on the +country through which he passed; and, in the sack of Pollentia +and Astorga, he showed himself a faithless ally, as well as a +cruel enemy. Whilst the king of the Visigoths fought and +vanquished in the name of Avitus, the reign of Avitus had +expired; and both the honor and the interest of Theodoric were +deeply wounded by the disgrace of a friend, whom he had seated on +the throne of the Western empire. ^23 + +[Footnote 21: Theodoric himself had given a solemn and voluntary +promise of fidelity, which was understood both in Gaul and Spain. + + - Romae sum, te duce, Amicus, + Principe te, Miles. + + Sidon. Panegyr. Avit. 511.] + +[Footnote 22: Quaeque sinu pelagi jactat se Bracara dives. +Auson. de Claris Urbibus, p. 245. + +From the design of the king of the Suevi, it is evident that the +navigation from the ports of Gallicia to the Mediterranean was +known and practised. The ships of Bracara, or Braga, cautiously +steered along the coast, without daring to lose themselves in the +Atlantic.] + +[Footnote 23: This Suevic war is the most authentic part of the +Chronicle of Idatius, who, as bishop of Iria Flavia, was himself +a spectator and a sufferer. Jornandes (c. 44, p. 675, 676, 677) +has expatiated, with pleasure, on the Gothic victory.] + +Chapter XXXVI: Total Extinction Of The Western Empire. + + +Part II. + + The pressing solicitations of the senate and people +persuaded the emperor Avitus to fix his residence at Rome, and to +accept the consulship for the ensuing year. On the first day of +January, his son-in-law, Sidonius Apollinaris, celebrated his +praises in a panegyric of six hundred verses; but this +composition, though it was rewarded with a brass statue, ^24 +seems to contain a very moderate proportion, either of genius or +of truth. The poet, if we may degrade that sacred name, +exaggerates the merit of a sovereign and a father; and his +prophecy of a long and glorious reign was soon contradicted by +the event. Avitus, at a time when the Imperial dignity was +reduced to a preeminence of toil and danger, indulged himself in +the pleasures of Italian luxury: age had not extinguished his +amorous inclinations; and he is accused of insulting, with +indiscreet and ungenerous raillery, the husbands whose wives he +had seduced or violated. ^25 But the Romans were not inclined +either to excuse his faults or to acknowledge his virtues. The +several parts of the empire became every day more alienated from +each other; and the stranger of Gaul was the object of popular +hatred and contempt. The senate asserted their legitimate claim +in the election of an emperor; and their authority, which had +been originally derived from the old constitution, was again +fortified by the actual weakness of a declining monarchy. Yet +even such a monarchy might have resisted the votes of an unarmed +senate, if their discontent had not been supported, or perhaps +inflamed, by the Count Ricimer, one of the principal commanders +of the Barbarian troops, who formed the military defence of +Italy. The daughter of Wallia, king of the Visigoths, was the +mother of Ricimer; but he was descended, on the father's side, +from the nation of the Suevi; ^26 his pride or patriotism might +be exasperated by the misfortunes of his countrymen; and he +obeyed, with reluctance, an emperor in whose elevation he had not +been consulted. His faithful and important services against the +common enemy rendered him still more formidable; ^27 and, after +destroying on the coast of Corsica a fleet of Vandals, which +consisted of sixty galleys, Ricimer returned in triumph with the +appellation of the Deliverer of Italy. He chose that moment to +signify to Avitus, that his reign was at an end; and the feeble +emperor, at a distance from his Gothic allies, was compelled, +after a short and unavailing struggle to abdicate the purple. By +the clemency, however, or the contempt, of Ricimer, ^28 he was +permitted to descend from the throne to the more desirable +station of bishop of Placentia: but the resentment of the senate +was still unsatisfied; and their inflexible severity pronounced +the sentence of his death He fled towards the Alps, with the +humble hope, not of arming the Visigoths in his cause, but of +securing his person and treasures in the sanctuary of Julian, one +of the tutelar saints of Auvergne. ^29 Disease, or the hand of +the executioner, arrested him on the road; yet his remains were +decently transported to Brivas, or Brioude, in his native +province, and he reposed at the feet of his holy patron. ^30 +Avitus left only one daughter, the wife of Sidonius Apollinaris, +who inherited the patrimony of his father-in-law; lamenting, at +the same time, the disappointment of his public and private +expectations. His resentment prompted him to join, or at least +to countenance, the measures of a rebellious faction in Gaul; and +the poet had contracted some guilt, which it was incumbent on him +to expiate, by a new tribute of flattery to the succeeding +emperor. ^31 + +[Footnote 24: In one of the porticos or galleries belonging to +Trajan's library, among the statues of famous writers and +orators. Sidon. Apoll. l. ix. epist, 16, p. 284. Carm. viii. p. +350.] + +[Footnote 25: Luxuriose agere volens a senatoribus projectus est, +is the concise expression of Gregory of Tours, (l. ii. c. xi. in +tom. ii. p. 168.) An old Chronicle (in tom. ii. p. 649) mentions +an indecent jest of Avitus, which seems more applicable to Rome +than to Treves.] + +[Footnote 26: Sidonius (Panegyr. Anthem. 302, &c.) praises the +royal birth of Ricimer, the lawful heir, as he chooses to +insinuate, both of the Gothic and Suevic kingdoms.] + +[Footnote 27: See the Chronicle of Idatius. Jornandes (c. xliv. +p. 676) styles him, with some truth, virum egregium, et pene tune +in Italia ad ex ercitum singularem.] + +[Footnote 28: Parcens innocentiae Aviti, is the compassionate, +but contemptuous, language of Victor Tunnunensis, (in Chron. apud +Scaliger Euseb.) In another place, he calls him, vir totius +simplicitatis. This commendation is more humble, but it is more +solid and sincere, than the praises of Sidonius] + +[Footnote 29: He suffered, as it is supposed, in the persecution +of Diocletian, (Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. v. p. 279, 696.) +Gregory of Tours, his peculiar votary, has dedicated to the glory +of Julian the Martyr an entire book, (de Gloria Martyrum, l. ii. +in Max. Bibliot. Patrum, tom. xi. p. 861-871,) in which he +relates about fifty foolish miracles performed by his relics.] +[Footnote 30: Gregory of Tours (l. ii. c. xi. p. 168) is concise, +but correct, in the reign of his countryman. The words of +Idatius, "cadet imperio, caret et vita," seem to imply, that the +death of Avitus was violent; but it must have been secret, since +Evagrius (l. ii. c. 7) could suppose, that he died of the +plaque.] + +[Footnote 31: After a modest appeal to the examples of his +brethren, Virgil and Horace, Sidonius honestly confesses the +debt, and promises payment. Sic mihi diverso nuper sub Marte +cadenti Jussisti placido Victor ut essem animo. + Serviat ergo tibi servati lingua poetae, + Atque meae vitae laus tua sit pretium. + + Sidon. Apoll. Carm. iv. p. 308 + +See Dubos, Hist. Critique, tom. i. p. 448, &c.] + + The successor of Avitus presents the welcome discovery of a +great and heroic character, such as sometimes arise, in a +degenerate age, to vindicate the honor of the human species. The +emperor Majorian has deserved the praises of his contemporaries, +and of posterity; and these praises may be strongly expressed in +the words of a judicious and disinterested historian: "That he +was gentle to his subjects; that he was terrible to his enemies; +and that he excelled, in every virtue, all his predecessors who +had reigned over the Romans." ^32 Such a testimony may justify at +least the panegyric of S donius; and we may acquiesce in the +assurance, that, although the obsequious orator would have +flattered, with equal zeal, the most worthless of princes, the +extraordinary merit of his object confined him, on this occasion, +within the bounds of truth. ^33 Majorian derived his name from +his maternal grandfather, who, in the reign of the great +Theodosius, had commanded the troops of the Illyrian frontier. He +gave his daughter in marriage to the father of Majorian, a +respectable officer, who administered the revenues of Gaul with +skill and integrity; and generously preferred the friendship of +Aetius to the tempting offer of an insidious court. His son, the +future emperor, who was educated in the profession of arms, +displayed, from his early youth, intrepid courage, premature +wisdom, and unbounded liberality in a scanty fortune. He +followed the standard of Aetius, contributed to his success, +shared, and sometimes eclipsed, his glory, and at last excited +the jealousy of the patrician, or rather of his wife, who forced +him to retire from the service. ^34 Majorian, after the death of +Aetius, was recalled and promoted; and his intimate connection +with Count Ricimer was the immediate step by which he ascended +the throne of the Western empire. During the vacancy that +succeeded the abdication of Avitus, the ambitious Barbarian, +whose birth excluded him from the Imperial dignity, governed +Italy with the title of Patrician; resigned to his friend the +conspicuous station of master-general of the cavalry and +infantry; and, after an interval of some months, consented to the +unanimous wish of the Romans, whose favor Majorian had solicited +by a recent victory over the Alemanni. ^35 He was invested with +the purple at Ravenna: and the epistle which he addressed to the +senate, will best describe his situation and his sentiments. +"Your election, Conscript Fathers! and the ordinance of the most +valiant army, have made me your emperor. ^36 May the propitious +Deity direct and prosper the counsels and events of my +administration, to your advantage and to the public welfare! For +my own part, I did not aspire, I have submitted to reign; nor +should I have discharged the obligations of a citizen if I had +refused, with base and selfish ingratitude, to support the weight +of those labors, which were imposed by the republic. Assist, +therefore, the prince whom you have made; partake the duties +which you have enjoined; and may our common endeavors promote the +happiness of an empire, which I have accepted from your hands. +Be assured, that, in our times, justice shall resume her ancient +vigor, and that virtue shall become, not only innocent, but +meritorious. Let none, except the authors themselves, be +apprehensive of delations, ^37 which, as a subject, I have always +condemned, and, as a prince, will severely punish. Our own +vigilance, and that of our father, the patrician Ricimer, shall +regulate all military affairs, and provide for the safety of the +Roman world, which we have saved from foreign and domestic +enemies. ^38 You now understand the maxims of my government; you +may confide in the faithful love and sincere assurances of a +prince who has formerly been the companion of your life and +dangers; who still glories in the name of senator, and who is +anxious that you should never repent the judgment which you have +pronounced in his favor." The emperor, who, amidst the ruins of +the Roman world, revived the ancient language of law and liberty, +which Trajan would not have disclaimed, must have derived those +generous sentiments from his own heart; since they were not +suggested to his imitation by the customs of his age, or the +example of his predecessors. ^39 + +[Footnote 32: The words of Procopius deserve to be transcribed +(de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 7, p. 194;) a concise but +comprehensive definition of royal virtue.] + +[Footnote 33: The Panegyric was pronounced at Lyons before the +end of the year 458, while the emperor was still consul. It has +more art than genius, and more labor than art. The ornaments are +false and trivial; the expression is feeble and prolix; and +Sidonius wants the skill to exhibit the principal figure in a +strong and distinct light. The private life of Majorian occupies +about two hundred lines, 107 - 305.] + +[Footnote 34: She pressed his immediate death, and was scarcely +satisfied with his disgrace. It should seem that Aetius, like +Belisarius and Marlborough, was governed by his wife; whose +fervent piety, though it might work miracles, (Gregor. Turon. l. +ii. c. 7, p. 162,) was not incompatible with base and sanguinary +counsels.] + +[Footnote 35: The Alemanni had passed the Rhaetian Alps, and were +defeated in the Campi Canini, or Valley of Bellinzone, through +which the Tesin flows, in its descent from Mount Adula to the +Lago Maggiore, (Cluver Italia Antiq. tom. i. p. 100, 101.) This +boasted victory over nine hundred Barbarians (Panegyr. Majorian. +373, &c.) betrays the extreme weakness of Italy.] +[Footnote 36: Imperatorem me factum, P.C. electionis vestrae +arbitrio, et fortissimi exercitus ordinatione agnoscite, (Novell. +Majorian. tit. iii. p. 34, ad Calcem. Cod. Theodos.) Sidonius +proclaims the unanimous voice of the empire: - + + - Postquam ordine vobis + Ordo omnis regnum dederat; plebs, curia, nules, + Et collega simul. 386. + +This language is ancient and constitutional; and we may observe, +that the clergy were not yet considered as a distinct order of +the state.] +[Footnote 37: Either dilationes, or delationes would afford a +tolerable reading, but there is much more sense and spirit in the +latter, to which I have therefore given the preference.] + +[Footnote 38: Ab externo hoste et a domestica clade liberavimus: +by the latter, Majorian must understand the tyranny of Avitus; +whose death he consequently avowed as a meritorious act. On this +occasion, Sidonius is fearful and obscure; he describes the +twelve Caesars, the nations of Africa, &c., that he may escape +the dangerous name of Avitus (805 - 369.)] +[Footnote 39: See the whole edict or epistle of Majorian to the +senate, (Novell. tit. iv. p. 34.) Yet the expression, regnum +nostrum, bears some taint of the age, and does not mix kindly +with the word respublica, which he frequently repeats.] + + The private and public actions of Majorian are very +imperfectly known: but his laws, remarkable for an original cast +of thought and expression, faithfully represent the character of +a sovereign who loved his people, who sympathized in their +distress, who had studied the causes of the decline of the +empire, and who was capable of applying (as far as such +reformation was practicable) judicious and effectual remedies to +the public disorders. ^40 His regulations concerning the finances +manifestly tended to remove, or at least to mitigate, the most +intolerable grievances. I. From the first hour of his reign, he +was solicitous (I translate his own words) to relieve the weary +fortunes of the provincials, oppressed by the accumulated weight +of indictions and superindictions. ^41 With this view he granted +a universal amnesty, a final and absolute discharge of all +arrears of tribute, of all debts, which, under any pretence, the +fiscal officers might demand from the people. This wise +dereliction of obsolete, vexatious, and unprofitable claims, +improved and purified the sources of the public revenue; and the +subject who could now look back without despair, might labor with +hope and gratitude for himself and for his country. II. In the +assessment and collection of taxes, Majorian restored the +ordinary jurisdiction of the provincial magistrates; and +suppressed the extraordinary commissions which had been +introduced, in the name of the emperor himself, or of the +Praetorian praefects. The favorite servants, who obtained such +irregular powers, were insolent in their behavior, and arbitrary +in their demands: they affected to despise the subordinate +tribunals, and they were discontented, if their fees and profits +did not twice exceed the sum which they condescended to pay into +the treasury. One instance of their extortion would appear +incredible, were it not authenticated by the legislator himself. +They exacted the whole payment in gold: but they refused the +current coin of the empire, and would accept only such ancient +pieces as were stamped with the names of Faustina or the +Antonines. The subject, who was unprovided with these curious +medals, had recourse to the expedient of compounding with their +rapacious demands; or if he succeeded in the research, his +imposition was doubled, according to the weight and value of the +money of former times. ^42 III. "The municipal corporations, +(says the emperor,) the lesser senates, (so antiquity has justly +styled them,) deserve to be considered as the heart of the +cities, and the sinews of the republic. And yet so low are they +now reduced, by the injustice of magistrates and the venality of +collectors, that many of their members, renouncing their dignity +and their country, have taken refuge in distant and obscure +exile." He urges, and even compels, their return to their +respective cities; but he removes the grievance which had forced +them to desert the exercise of their municipal functions. They +are directed, under the authority of the provincial magistrates, +to resume their office of levying the tribute; but, instead of +being made responsible for the whole sum assessed on their +district, they are only required to produce a regular account of +the payments which they have actually received, and of the +defaulters who are still indebted to the public. IV. But Majorian +was not ignorant that these corporate bodies were too much +inclined to retaliate the injustice and oppression which they had +suffered; and he therefore revives the useful office of the +defenders of cities. He exhorts the people to elect, in a full +and free assembly, some man of discretion and integrity, who +would dare to assert their privileges, to represent their +grievances, to protect the poor from the tyranny of the rich, and +to inform the emperor of the abuses that were committed under the +sanction of his name and authority. + +[Footnote 40: See the laws of Majorian (they are only nine in +number, but very long, and various) at the end of the Theodosian +Code, Novell. l. iv. p. 32 - 37. Godefroy has not given any +commentary on these additional pieces.] +[Footnote 41: Fessas provincialium varia atque multiplici +tributorum exactione fortunas, et extraordinariis fiscalium +solutionum oneribus attritas, &c. Novell. Majorian. tit. iv. p. +34.] + +[Footnote 42: The learned Greaves (vol. i. p. 329, 330, 331) has +found, by a diligent inquiry, that aurei of the Antonines weighed +one hundred and eighteen, and those of the fifth century only +sixty-eight, English grains. Majorian gives currency to all gold +coin, excepting only the Gallic solidus, from its deficiency, not +in the weight, but in the standard.] + The spectator who casts a mournful view over the ruins of +ancient Rome, is tempted to accuse the memory of the Goths and +Vandals, for the mischief which they had neither leisure, nor +power, nor perhaps inclination, to perpetrate. The tempest of +war might strike some lofty turrets to the ground; but the +destruction which undermined the foundations of those massy +fabrics was prosecuted, slowly and silently, during a period of +ten centuries; and the motives of interest, that afterwards +operated without shame or control, were severely checked by the +taste and spirit of the emperor Majorian. The decay of the city +had gradually impaired the value of the public works. The circus +and theatres might still excite, but they seldom gratified, the +desires of the people: the temples, which had escaped the zeal of +the Christians, were no longer inhabited, either by gods or men; +the diminished crowds of the Romans were lost in the immense +space of their baths and porticos; and the stately libraries and +halls of justice became useless to an indolent generation, whose +repose was seldom disturbed, either by study or business. The +monuments of consular, or Imperial, greatness were no longer +revered, as the immortal glory of the capital: they were only +esteemed as an inexhaustible mine of materials, cheaper, and more +convenient than the distant quarry. Specious petitions were +continually addressed to the easy magistrates of Rome, which +stated the want of stones or bricks, for some necessary service: +the fairest forms of architecture were rudely defaced, for the +sake of some paltry, or pretended, repairs; and the degenerate +Romans, who converted the spoil to their own emolument, +demolished, with sacrilegious hands, the labors of their +ancestors. Majorian, who had often sighed over the desolation of +the city, applied a severe remedy to the growing evil. ^43 He +reserved to the prince and senate the sole cognizance of the +extreme cases which might justify the destruction of an ancient +edifice; imposed a fine of fifty pounds of gold (two thousand +pounds sterling) on every magistrate who should presume to grant +such illegal and scandalous license, and threatened to chastise +the criminal obedience of their subordinate officers, by a severe +whipping, and the amputation of both their hands. In the last +instance, the legislator might seem to forget the proportion of +guilt and punishment; but his zeal arose from a generous +principle, and Majorian was anxious to protect the monuments of +those ages, in which he would have desired and deserved to live. +The emperor conceived, that it was his interest to increase the +number of his subjects; and that it was his duty to guard the +purity of the marriage-bed: but the means which he employed to +accomplish these salutary purposes are of an ambiguous, and +perhaps exceptionable, kind. The pious maids, who consecrated +their virginity to Christ, were restrained from taking the veil +till they had reached their fortieth year. Widows under that age +were compelled to form a second alliance within the term of five +years, by the forfeiture of half their wealth to their nearest +relations, or to the state. Unequal marriages were condemned or +annulled. The punishment of confiscation and exile was deemed so +inadequate to the guilt of adultery, that, if the criminal +returned to Italy, he might, by the express declaration of +Majorian, be slain with impunity. ^44 +[Footnote 43: The whole edict (Novell. Majorian. tit. vi. p. 35) +is curious. "Antiquarum aedium dissipatur speciosa constructio; +et ut aliquid reparetur, magna diruuntur. Hinc jam occasio +nascitur, ut etiam unusquisque privatum aedificium construens, +per gratiam judicum ..... praesumere de publicis locis +necessaria, et transferre non dubitet" &c. With equal zeal, but +with less power, Petrarch, in the fourteenth century, repeated +the same complaints. (Vie de Petrarque, tom. i. p. 326, 327.) If +I prosecute this history, I shall not be unmindful of the decline +and fall of the city of Rome; an interesting object to which any +plan was originally confined.] + +[Footnote 44: The emperor chides the lenity of Rogatian, consular +of Tuscany in a style of acrimonious reproof, which sounds almost +like personal resentment, (Novell. tit. ix. p. 47.) The law of +Majorian, which punished obstinate widows, was soon afterwards +repealed by his successor Severus, (Novell. Sever. tit. i. p. +37.)] + + While the emperor Majorian assiduously labored to restore +the happiness and virtue of the Romans, he encountered the arms +of Genseric, from his character and situation their most +formidable enemy. A fleet of Vandals and Moors landed at the +mouth of the Liris, or Garigliano; but the Imperial troops +surprised and attacked the disorderly Barbarians, who were +encumbered with the spoils of Campania; they were chased with +slaughter to their ships, and their leader, the king's +brother-in-law, was found in the number of the slain. ^45 Such +vigilance might announce the character of the new reign; but the +strictest vigilance, and the most numerous forces, were +insufficient to protect the long-extended coast of Italy from the +depredations of a naval war. The public opinion had imposed a +nobler and more arduous task on the genius of Majorian. Rome +expected from him alone the restitution of Africa; and the +design, which he formed, of attacking the Vandals in their new +settlements, was the result of bold and judicious policy. If the +intrepid emperor could have infused his own spirit into the youth +of Italy; if he could have revived in the field of Mars, the +manly exercises in which he had always surpassed his equals; he +might have marched against Genseric at the head of a Roman army. +Such a reformation of national manners might be embraced by the +rising generation; but it is the misfortune of those princes who +laboriously sustain a declining monarchy, that, to obtain some +immediate advantage, or to avert some impending danger, they are +forced to countenance, and even to multiply, the most pernicious +abuses. Majorian, like the weakest of his predecessors, was +reduced to the disgraceful expedient of substituting Barbarian +auxiliaries in the place of his unwarlike subjects: and his +superior abilities could only be displayed in the vigor and +dexterity with which he wielded a dangerous instrument, so apt to +recoil on the hand that used it. Besides the confederates, who +were already engaged in the service of the empire, the fame of +his liberality and valor attracted the nations of the Danube, the +Borysthenes, and perhaps of the Tanais. Many thousands of the +bravest subjects of Attila, the Gepidae, the Ostrogoths, the +Rugians, the Burgundians, the Suevi, the Alani, assembled in the +plains of Liguria; and their formidable strength was balanced by +their mutual animosities. ^46 They passed the Alps in a severe +winter. The emperor led the way, on foot, and in complete armor; +sounding, with his long staff, the depth of the ice, or snow, and +encouraging the Scythians, who complained of the extreme cold, by +the cheerful assurance, that they should be satisfied with the +heat of Africa. The citizens of Lyons had presumed to shut their +gates; they soon implored, and experienced, the clemency of +Majorian. He vanquished Theodoric in the field; and admitted to +his friendship and alliance a king whom he had found not unworthy +of his arms. The beneficial, though precarious, reunion of the +greater part of Gaul and Spain, was the effect of persuasion, as +well as of force; ^47 and the independent Bagaudae, who had +escaped, or resisted, the oppression, of former reigns, were +disposed to confide in the virtues of Majorian. His camp was +filled with Barbarian allies; his throne was supported by the +zeal of an affectionate people; but the emperor had foreseen, +that it was impossible, without a maritime power, to achieve the +conquest of Africa. In the first Punic war, the republic had +exerted such incredible diligence, that, within sixty days after +the first stroke of the axe had been given in the forest, a fleet +of one hundred and sixty galleys proudly rode at anchor in the +sea. ^48 Under circumstances much less favorable, Majorian +equalled the spirit and perseverance of the ancient Romans. The +woods of the Apennine were felled; the arsenals and manufactures +of Ravenna and Misenum were restored; Italy and Gaul vied with +each other in liberal contributions to the public service; and +the Imperial navy of three hundred large galleys, with an +adequate proportion of transports and smaller vessels, was +collected in the secure and capacious harbor of Carthagena in +Spain. ^49 The intrepid countenance of Majorian animated his +troops with a confidence of victory; and, if we might credit the +historian Procopius, his courage sometimes hurried him beyond the +bounds of prudence. Anxious to explore, with his own eyes, the +state of the Vandals, he ventured, after disguising the color of +his hair, to visit Carthage, in the character of his own +ambassador: and Genseric was afterwards mortified by the +discovery, that he had entertained and dismissed the emperor of +the Romans. Such an anecdote may be rejected as an improbable +fiction; but it is a fiction which would not have been imagined, +unless in the life of a hero. ^50 +[Footnote 45: Sidon. Panegyr. Majorian, 385 - 440.] + +[Footnote 46: The review of the army, and passage of the Alps, +contain the most tolerable passages of the Panegyric, (470 - +552.) M. de Buat (Hist. des Peuples, &c., tom. viii. p. 49 - 55 +is a more satisfactory commentator, than either Savaron or +Sirmond.] + +[Footnote 47: It is the just and forcible distinction of Priscus, +(Excerpt. Legat. p. 42,) in a short fragment, which throws much +light on the history of Majorian. Jornandes has suppressed the +defeat and alliance of the Visigoths, which were solemnly +proclaimed in Gallicia; and are marked in the Chronicle of +Idatius.] + +[Footnote 48: Florus, l. ii. c. 2. He amuses himself with the +poetical fancy, that the trees had been transformed into ships; +and indeed the whole transaction, as it is related in the first +book of Polybius, deviates too much from the probable course of +human events.] + +[Footnote 49: Iterea duplici texis dum littore classem + Inferno superoque mari, cadit omnis in aequor + + Sylva tibi, &c. + + Sidon. Panegyr. Majorian, 441-461. + +The number of ships, which Priscus fixed at 300, is magnified, by +an indefinite comparison with the fleets of Agamemnon, Xerxes, +and Augustus.] +[Footnote 50: Procopius de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 8, p. 194. +When Genseric conducted his unknown guest into the arsenal of +Carthage, the arms clashed of their own accord. Majorian had +tinged his yellow locks with a black color.] + +Chapter XXXVI: Total Extinction Of The Western Empire. + +Part II. + + The pressing solicitations of the senate and people +persuaded the emperor Avitus to fix his residence at Rome, and to +accept the consulship for the ensuing year. On the first day of +January, his son-in-law, Sidonius Apollinaris, celebrated his +praises in a panegyric of six hundred verses; but this +composition, though it was rewarded with a brass statue, ^24 +seems to contain a very moderate proportion, either of genius or +of truth. The poet, if we may degrade that sacred name, +exaggerates the merit of a sovereign and a father; and his +prophecy of a long and glorious reign was soon contradicted by +the event. Avitus, at a time when the Imperial dignity was +reduced to a preeminence of toil and danger, indulged himself in +the pleasures of Italian luxury: age had not extinguished his +amorous inclinations; and he is accused of insulting, with +indiscreet and ungenerous raillery, the husbands whose wives he +had seduced or violated. ^25 But the Romans were not inclined +either to excuse his faults or to acknowledge his virtues. The +several parts of the empire became every day more alienated from +each other; and the stranger of Gaul was the object of popular +hatred and contempt. The senate asserted their legitimate claim +in the election of an emperor; and their authority, which had +been originally derived from the old constitution, was again +fortified by the actual weakness of a declining monarchy. Yet +even such a monarchy might have resisted the votes of an unarmed +senate, if their discontent had not been supported, or perhaps +inflamed, by the Count Ricimer, one of the principal commanders +of the Barbarian troops, who formed the military defence of +Italy. The daughter of Wallia, king of the Visigoths, was the +mother of Ricimer; but he was descended, on the father's side, +from the nation of the Suevi; ^26 his pride or patriotism might +be exasperated by the misfortunes of his countrymen; and he +obeyed, with reluctance, an emperor in whose elevation he had not +been consulted. His faithful and important services against the +common enemy rendered him still more formidable; ^27 and, after +destroying on the coast of Corsica a fleet of Vandals, which +consisted of sixty galleys, Ricimer returned in triumph with the +appellation of the Deliverer of Italy. He chose that moment to +signify to Avitus, that his reign was at an end; and the feeble +emperor, at a distance from his Gothic allies, was compelled, +after a short and unavailing struggle to abdicate the purple. By +the clemency, however, or the contempt, of Ricimer, ^28 he was +permitted to descend from the throne to the more desirable +station of bishop of Placentia: but the resentment of the senate +was still unsatisfied; and their inflexible severity pronounced +the sentence of his death He fled towards the Alps, with the +humble hope, not of arming the Visigoths in his cause, but of +securing his person and treasures in the sanctuary of Julian, one +of the tutelar saints of Auvergne. ^29 Disease, or the hand of +the executioner, arrested him on the road; yet his remains were +decently transported to Brivas, or Brioude, in his native +province, and he reposed at the feet of his holy patron. ^30 +Avitus left only one daughter, the wife of Sidonius Apollinaris, +who inherited the patrimony of his father-in-law; lamenting, at +the same time, the disappointment of his public and private +expectations. His resentment prompted him to join, or at least +to countenance, the measures of a rebellious faction in Gaul; and +the poet had contracted some guilt, which it was incumbent on him +to expiate, by a new tribute of flattery to the succeeding +emperor. ^31 + +[Footnote 24: In one of the porticos or galleries belonging to +Trajan's library, among the statues of famous writers and +orators. Sidon. Apoll. l. ix. epist, 16, p. 284. Carm. viii. p. +350.] + +[Footnote 25: Luxuriose agere volens a senatoribus projectus est, +is the concise expression of Gregory of Tours, (l. ii. c. xi. in +tom. ii. p. 168.) An old Chronicle (in tom. ii. p. 649) mentions +an indecent jest of Avitus, which seems more applicable to Rome +than to Treves.] + +[Footnote 26: Sidonius (Panegyr. Anthem. 302, &c.) praises the +royal birth of Ricimer, the lawful heir, as he chooses to +insinuate, both of the Gothic and Suevic kingdoms.] + +[Footnote 27: See the Chronicle of Idatius. Jornandes (c. xliv. +p. 676) styles him, with some truth, virum egregium, et pene tune +in Italia ad ex ercitum singularem.] + +[Footnote 28: Parcens innocentiae Aviti, is the compassionate, +but contemptuous, language of Victor Tunnunensis, (in Chron. apud +Scaliger Euseb.) In another place, he calls him, vir totius +simplicitatis. This commendation is more humble, but it is more +solid and sincere, than the praises of Sidonius] + +[Footnote 29: He suffered, as it is supposed, in the persecution +of Diocletian, (Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. v. p. 279, 696.) +Gregory of Tours, his peculiar votary, has dedicated to the glory +of Julian the Martyr an entire book, (de Gloria Martyrum, l. ii. +in Max. Bibliot. Patrum, tom. xi. p. 861-871,) in which he +relates about fifty foolish miracles performed by his relics.] +[Footnote 30: Gregory of Tours (l. ii. c. xi. p. 168) is concise, +but correct, in the reign of his countryman. The words of +Idatius, "cadet imperio, caret et vita," seem to imply, that the +death of Avitus was violent; but it must have been secret, since +Evagrius (l. ii. c. 7) could suppose, that he died of the +plaque.] + +[Footnote 31: After a modest appeal to the examples of his +brethren, Virgil and Horace, Sidonius honestly confesses the +debt, and promises payment. Sic mihi diverso nuper sub Marte +cadenti Jussisti placido Victor ut essem animo. + Serviat ergo tibi servati lingua poetae, + Atque meae vitae laus tua sit pretium. + + Sidon. Apoll. Carm. iv. p. 308 + +See Dubos, Hist. Critique, tom. i. p. 448, &c.] + + The successor of Avitus presents the welcome discovery of a +great and heroic character, such as sometimes arise, in a +degenerate age, to vindicate the honor of the human species. The +emperor Majorian has deserved the praises of his contemporaries, +and of posterity; and these praises may be strongly expressed in +the words of a judicious and disinterested historian: "That he +was gentle to his subjects; that he was terrible to his enemies; +and that he excelled, in every virtue, all his predecessors who +had reigned over the Romans." ^32 Such a testimony may justify at +least the panegyric of S donius; and we may acquiesce in the +assurance, that, although the obsequious orator would have +flattered, with equal zeal, the most worthless of princes, the +extraordinary merit of his object confined him, on this occasion, +within the bounds of truth. ^33 Majorian derived his name from +his maternal grandfather, who, in the reign of the great +Theodosius, had commanded the troops of the Illyrian frontier. He +gave his daughter in marriage to the father of Majorian, a +respectable officer, who administered the revenues of Gaul with +skill and integrity; and generously preferred the friendship of +Aetius to the tempting offer of an insidious court. His son, the +future emperor, who was educated in the profession of arms, +displayed, from his early youth, intrepid courage, premature +wisdom, and unbounded liberality in a scanty fortune. He +followed the standard of Aetius, contributed to his success, +shared, and sometimes eclipsed, his glory, and at last excited +the jealousy of the patrician, or rather of his wife, who forced +him to retire from the service. ^34 Majorian, after the death of +Aetius, was recalled and promoted; and his intimate connection +with Count Ricimer was the immediate step by which he ascended +the throne of the Western empire. During the vacancy that +succeeded the abdication of Avitus, the ambitious Barbarian, +whose birth excluded him from the Imperial dignity, governed +Italy with the title of Patrician; resigned to his friend the +conspicuous station of master-general of the cavalry and +infantry; and, after an interval of some months, consented to the +unanimous wish of the Romans, whose favor Majorian had solicited +by a recent victory over the Alemanni. ^35 He was invested with +the purple at Ravenna: and the epistle which he addressed to the +senate, will best describe his situation and his sentiments. +"Your election, Conscript Fathers! and the ordinance of the most +valiant army, have made me your emperor. ^36 May the propitious +Deity direct and prosper the counsels and events of my +administration, to your advantage and to the public welfare! For +my own part, I did not aspire, I have submitted to reign; nor +should I have discharged the obligations of a citizen if I had +refused, with base and selfish ingratitude, to support the weight +of those labors, which were imposed by the republic. Assist, +therefore, the prince whom you have made; partake the duties +which you have enjoined; and may our common endeavors promote the +happiness of an empire, which I have accepted from your hands. +Be assured, that, in our times, justice shall resume her ancient +vigor, and that virtue shall become, not only innocent, but +meritorious. Let none, except the authors themselves, be +apprehensive of delations, ^37 which, as a subject, I have always +condemned, and, as a prince, will severely punish. Our own +vigilance, and that of our father, the patrician Ricimer, shall +regulate all military affairs, and provide for the safety of the +Roman world, which we have saved from foreign and domestic +enemies. ^38 You now understand the maxims of my government; you +may confide in the faithful love and sincere assurances of a +prince who has formerly been the companion of your life and +dangers; who still glories in the name of senator, and who is +anxious that you should never repent the judgment which you have +pronounced in his favor." The emperor, who, amidst the ruins of +the Roman world, revived the ancient language of law and liberty, +which Trajan would not have disclaimed, must have derived those +generous sentiments from his own heart; since they were not +suggested to his imitation by the customs of his age, or the +example of his predecessors. ^39 + +[Footnote 32: The words of Procopius deserve to be transcribed +(de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 7, p. 194;) a concise but +comprehensive definition of royal virtue.] + +[Footnote 33: The Panegyric was pronounced at Lyons before the +end of the year 458, while the emperor was still consul. It has +more art than genius, and more labor than art. The ornaments are +false and trivial; the expression is feeble and prolix; and +Sidonius wants the skill to exhibit the principal figure in a +strong and distinct light. The private life of Majorian occupies +about two hundred lines, 107 - 305.] + +[Footnote 34: She pressed his immediate death, and was scarcely +satisfied with his disgrace. It should seem that Aetius, like +Belisarius and Marlborough, was governed by his wife; whose +fervent piety, though it might work miracles, (Gregor. Turon. l. +ii. c. 7, p. 162,) was not incompatible with base and sanguinary +counsels.] + +[Footnote 35: The Alemanni had passed the Rhaetian Alps, and were +defeated in the Campi Canini, or Valley of Bellinzone, through +which the Tesin flows, in its descent from Mount Adula to the +Lago Maggiore, (Cluver Italia Antiq. tom. i. p. 100, 101.) This +boasted victory over nine hundred Barbarians (Panegyr. Majorian. +373, &c.) betrays the extreme weakness of Italy.] +[Footnote 36: Imperatorem me factum, P.C. electionis vestrae +arbitrio, et fortissimi exercitus ordinatione agnoscite, (Novell. +Majorian. tit. iii. p. 34, ad Calcem. Cod. Theodos.) Sidonius +proclaims the unanimous voice of the empire: - + + - Postquam ordine vobis + Ordo omnis regnum dederat; plebs, curia, nules, + Et collega simul. 386. + +This language is ancient and constitutional; and we may observe, +that the clergy were not yet considered as a distinct order of +the state.] +[Footnote 37: Either dilationes, or delationes would afford a +tolerable reading, but there is much more sense and spirit in the +latter, to which I have therefore given the preference.] + +[Footnote 38: Ab externo hoste et a domestica clade liberavimus: +by the latter, Majorian must understand the tyranny of Avitus; +whose death he consequently avowed as a meritorious act. On this +occasion, Sidonius is fearful and obscure; he describes the +twelve Caesars, the nations of Africa, &c., that he may escape +the dangerous name of Avitus (805 - 369.)] +[Footnote 39: See the whole edict or epistle of Majorian to the +senate, (Novell. tit. iv. p. 34.) Yet the expression, regnum +nostrum, bears some taint of the age, and does not mix kindly +with the word respublica, which he frequently repeats.] + + The private and public actions of Majorian are very +imperfectly known: but his laws, remarkable for an original cast +of thought and expression, faithfully represent the character of +a sovereign who loved his people, who sympathized in their +distress, who had studied the causes of the decline of the +empire, and who was capable of applying (as far as such +reformation was practicable) judicious and effectual remedies to +the public disorders. ^40 His regulations concerning the finances +manifestly tended to remove, or at least to mitigate, the most +intolerable grievances. I. From the first hour of his reign, he +was solicitous (I translate his own words) to relieve the weary +fortunes of the provincials, oppressed by the accumulated weight +of indictions and superindictions. ^41 With this view he granted +a universal amnesty, a final and absolute discharge of all +arrears of tribute, of all debts, which, under any pretence, the +fiscal officers might demand from the people. This wise +dereliction of obsolete, vexatious, and unprofitable claims, +improved and purified the sources of the public revenue; and the +subject who could now look back without despair, might labor with +hope and gratitude for himself and for his country. II. In the +assessment and collection of taxes, Majorian restored the +ordinary jurisdiction of the provincial magistrates; and +suppressed the extraordinary commissions which had been +introduced, in the name of the emperor himself, or of the +Praetorian praefects. The favorite servants, who obtained such +irregular powers, were insolent in their behavior, and arbitrary +in their demands: they affected to despise the subordinate +tribunals, and they were discontented, if their fees and profits +did not twice exceed the sum which they condescended to pay into +the treasury. One instance of their extortion would appear +incredible, were it not authenticated by the legislator himself. +They exacted the whole payment in gold: but they refused the +current coin of the empire, and would accept only such ancient +pieces as were stamped with the names of Faustina or the +Antonines. The subject, who was unprovided with these curious +medals, had recourse to the expedient of compounding with their +rapacious demands; or if he succeeded in the research, his +imposition was doubled, according to the weight and value of the +money of former times. ^42 III. "The municipal corporations, +(says the emperor,) the lesser senates, (so antiquity has justly +styled them,) deserve to be considered as the heart of the +cities, and the sinews of the republic. And yet so low are they +now reduced, by the injustice of magistrates and the venality of +collectors, that many of their members, renouncing their dignity +and their country, have taken refuge in distant and obscure +exile." He urges, and even compels, their return to their +respective cities; but he removes the grievance which had forced +them to desert the exercise of their municipal functions. They +are directed, under the authority of the provincial magistrates, +to resume their office of levying the tribute; but, instead of +being made responsible for the whole sum assessed on their +district, they are only required to produce a regular account of +the payments which they have actually received, and of the +defaulters who are still indebted to the public. IV. But Majorian +was not ignorant that these corporate bodies were too much +inclined to retaliate the injustice and oppression which they had +suffered; and he therefore revives the useful office of the +defenders of cities. He exhorts the people to elect, in a full +and free assembly, some man of discretion and integrity, who +would dare to assert their privileges, to represent their +grievances, to protect the poor from the tyranny of the rich, and +to inform the emperor of the abuses that were committed under the +sanction of his name and authority. + +[Footnote 40: See the laws of Majorian (they are only nine in +number, but very long, and various) at the end of the Theodosian +Code, Novell. l. iv. p. 32 - 37. Godefroy has not given any +commentary on these additional pieces.] +[Footnote 41: Fessas provincialium varia atque multiplici +tributorum exactione fortunas, et extraordinariis fiscalium +solutionum oneribus attritas, &c. Novell. Majorian. tit. iv. p. +34.] + +[Footnote 42: The learned Greaves (vol. i. p. 329, 330, 331) has +found, by a diligent inquiry, that aurei of the Antonines weighed +one hundred and eighteen, and those of the fifth century only +sixty-eight, English grains. Majorian gives currency to all gold +coin, excepting only the Gallic solidus, from its deficiency, not +in the weight, but in the standard.] + The spectator who casts a mournful view over the ruins of +ancient Rome, is tempted to accuse the memory of the Goths and +Vandals, for the mischief which they had neither leisure, nor +power, nor perhaps inclination, to perpetrate. The tempest of +war might strike some lofty turrets to the ground; but the +destruction which undermined the foundations of those massy +fabrics was prosecuted, slowly and silently, during a period of +ten centuries; and the motives of interest, that afterwards +operated without shame or control, were severely checked by the +taste and spirit of the emperor Majorian. The decay of the city +had gradually impaired the value of the public works. The circus +and theatres might still excite, but they seldom gratified, the +desires of the people: the temples, which had escaped the zeal of +the Christians, were no longer inhabited, either by gods or men; +the diminished crowds of the Romans were lost in the immense +space of their baths and porticos; and the stately libraries and +halls of justice became useless to an indolent generation, whose +repose was seldom disturbed, either by study or business. The +monuments of consular, or Imperial, greatness were no longer +revered, as the immortal glory of the capital: they were only +esteemed as an inexhaustible mine of materials, cheaper, and more +convenient than the distant quarry. Specious petitions were +continually addressed to the easy magistrates of Rome, which +stated the want of stones or bricks, for some necessary service: +the fairest forms of architecture were rudely defaced, for the +sake of some paltry, or pretended, repairs; and the degenerate +Romans, who converted the spoil to their own emolument, +demolished, with sacrilegious hands, the labors of their +ancestors. Majorian, who had often sighed over the desolation of +the city, applied a severe remedy to the growing evil. ^43 He +reserved to the prince and senate the sole cognizance of the +extreme cases which might justify the destruction of an ancient +edifice; imposed a fine of fifty pounds of gold (two thousand +pounds sterling) on every magistrate who should presume to grant +such illegal and scandalous license, and threatened to chastise +the criminal obedience of their subordinate officers, by a severe +whipping, and the amputation of both their hands. In the last +instance, the legislator might seem to forget the proportion of +guilt and punishment; but his zeal arose from a generous +principle, and Majorian was anxious to protect the monuments of +those ages, in which he would have desired and deserved to live. +The emperor conceived, that it was his interest to increase the +number of his subjects; and that it was his duty to guard the +purity of the marriage-bed: but the means which he employed to +accomplish these salutary purposes are of an ambiguous, and +perhaps exceptionable, kind. The pious maids, who consecrated +their virginity to Christ, were restrained from taking the veil +till they had reached their fortieth year. Widows under that age +were compelled to form a second alliance within the term of five +years, by the forfeiture of half their wealth to their nearest +relations, or to the state. Unequal marriages were condemned or +annulled. The punishment of confiscation and exile was deemed so +inadequate to the guilt of adultery, that, if the criminal +returned to Italy, he might, by the express declaration of +Majorian, be slain with impunity. ^44 +[Footnote 43: The whole edict (Novell. Majorian. tit. vi. p. 35) +is curious. "Antiquarum aedium dissipatur speciosa constructio; +et ut aliquid reparetur, magna diruuntur. Hinc jam occasio +nascitur, ut etiam unusquisque privatum aedificium construens, +per gratiam judicum ..... praesumere de publicis locis +necessaria, et transferre non dubitet" &c. With equal zeal, but +with less power, Petrarch, in the fourteenth century, repeated +the same complaints. (Vie de Petrarque, tom. i. p. 326, 327.) If +I prosecute this history, I shall not be unmindful of the decline +and fall of the city of Rome; an interesting object to which any +plan was originally confined.] + +[Footnote 44: The emperor chides the lenity of Rogatian, consular +of Tuscany in a style of acrimonious reproof, which sounds almost +like personal resentment, (Novell. tit. ix. p. 47.) The law of +Majorian, which punished obstinate widows, was soon afterwards +repealed by his successor Severus, (Novell. Sever. tit. i. p. +37.)] + + While the emperor Majorian assiduously labored to restore +the happiness and virtue of the Romans, he encountered the arms +of Genseric, from his character and situation their most +formidable enemy. A fleet of Vandals and Moors landed at the +mouth of the Liris, or Garigliano; but the Imperial troops +surprised and attacked the disorderly Barbarians, who were +encumbered with the spoils of Campania; they were chased with +slaughter to their ships, and their leader, the king's +brother-in-law, was found in the number of the slain. ^45 Such +vigilance might announce the character of the new reign; but the +strictest vigilance, and the most numerous forces, were +insufficient to protect the long-extended coast of Italy from the +depredations of a naval war. The public opinion had imposed a +nobler and more arduous task on the genius of Majorian. Rome +expected from him alone the restitution of Africa; and the +design, which he formed, of attacking the Vandals in their new +settlements, was the result of bold and judicious policy. If the +intrepid emperor could have infused his own spirit into the youth +of Italy; if he could have revived in the field of Mars, the +manly exercises in which he had always surpassed his equals; he +might have marched against Genseric at the head of a Roman army. +Such a reformation of national manners might be embraced by the +rising generation; but it is the misfortune of those princes who +laboriously sustain a declining monarchy, that, to obtain some +immediate advantage, or to avert some impending danger, they are +forced to countenance, and even to multiply, the most pernicious +abuses. Majorian, like the weakest of his predecessors, was +reduced to the disgraceful expedient of substituting Barbarian +auxiliaries in the place of his unwarlike subjects: and his +superior abilities could only be displayed in the vigor and +dexterity with which he wielded a dangerous instrument, so apt to +recoil on the hand that used it. Besides the confederates, who +were already engaged in the service of the empire, the fame of +his liberality and valor attracted the nations of the Danube, the +Borysthenes, and perhaps of the Tanais. Many thousands of the +bravest subjects of Attila, the Gepidae, the Ostrogoths, the +Rugians, the Burgundians, the Suevi, the Alani, assembled in the +plains of Liguria; and their formidable strength was balanced by +their mutual animosities. ^46 They passed the Alps in a severe +winter. The emperor led the way, on foot, and in complete armor; +sounding, with his long staff, the depth of the ice, or snow, and +encouraging the Scythians, who complained of the extreme cold, by +the cheerful assurance, that they should be satisfied with the +heat of Africa. The citizens of Lyons had presumed to shut their +gates; they soon implored, and experienced, the clemency of +Majorian. He vanquished Theodoric in the field; and admitted to +his friendship and alliance a king whom he had found not unworthy +of his arms. The beneficial, though precarious, reunion of the +greater part of Gaul and Spain, was the effect of persuasion, as +well as of force; ^47 and the independent Bagaudae, who had +escaped, or resisted, the oppression, of former reigns, were +disposed to confide in the virtues of Majorian. His camp was +filled with Barbarian allies; his throne was supported by the +zeal of an affectionate people; but the emperor had foreseen, +that it was impossible, without a maritime power, to achieve the +conquest of Africa. In the first Punic war, the republic had +exerted such incredible diligence, that, within sixty days after +the first stroke of the axe had been given in the forest, a fleet +of one hundred and sixty galleys proudly rode at anchor in the +sea. ^48 Under circumstances much less favorable, Majorian +equalled the spirit and perseverance of the ancient Romans. The +woods of the Apennine were felled; the arsenals and manufactures +of Ravenna and Misenum were restored; Italy and Gaul vied with +each other in liberal contributions to the public service; and +the Imperial navy of three hundred large galleys, with an +adequate proportion of transports and smaller vessels, was +collected in the secure and capacious harbor of Carthagena in +Spain. ^49 The intrepid countenance of Majorian animated his +troops with a confidence of victory; and, if we might credit the +historian Procopius, his courage sometimes hurried him beyond the +bounds of prudence. Anxious to explore, with his own eyes, the +state of the Vandals, he ventured, after disguising the color of +his hair, to visit Carthage, in the character of his own +ambassador: and Genseric was afterwards mortified by the +discovery, that he had entertained and dismissed the emperor of +the Romans. Such an anecdote may be rejected as an improbable +fiction; but it is a fiction which would not have been imagined, +unless in the life of a hero. ^50 +[Footnote 45: Sidon. Panegyr. Majorian, 385 - 440.] + +[Footnote 46: The review of the army, and passage of the Alps, +contain the most tolerable passages of the Panegyric, (470 - +552.) M. de Buat (Hist. des Peuples, &c., tom. viii. p. 49 - 55 +is a more satisfactory commentator, than either Savaron or +Sirmond.] + +[Footnote 47: It is the just and forcible distinction of Priscus, +(Excerpt. Legat. p. 42,) in a short fragment, which throws much +light on the history of Majorian. Jornandes has suppressed the +defeat and alliance of the Visigoths, which were solemnly +proclaimed in Gallicia; and are marked in the Chronicle of +Idatius.] + +[Footnote 48: Florus, l. ii. c. 2. He amuses himself with the +poetical fancy, that the trees had been transformed into ships; +and indeed the whole transaction, as it is related in the first +book of Polybius, deviates too much from the probable course of +human events.] + +[Footnote 49: Iterea duplici texis dum littore classem + Inferno superoque mari, cadit omnis in aequor + + Sylva tibi, &c. + + Sidon. Panegyr. Majorian, 441-461. + +The number of ships, which Priscus fixed at 300, is magnified, by +an indefinite comparison with the fleets of Agamemnon, Xerxes, +and Augustus.] + +[Footnote 50: Procopius de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 8, p. 194. +When Genseric conducted his unknown guest into the arsenal of +Carthage, the arms clashed of their own accord. Majorian had +tinged his yellow locks with a black color.] + +Chapter XXXVI: Total Extinction Of The Western Empire. + +Part III. + + Without the help of a personal interview, Genseric was +sufficiently acquainted with the genius and designs of his +adversary. He practiced his customary arts of fraud and delay, +but he practiced them without success. His applications for peace +became each hour more submissive, and perhaps more sincere; but +the inflexible Majorian had adopted the ancient maxim, that Rome +could not be safe, as long as Carthage existed in a hostile +state. The king of the Vandals distrusted the valor of his +native subjects, who were enervated by the luxury of the South; +^51 he suspected the fidelity of the vanquished people, who +abhorred him as an Arian tyrant; and the desperate measure, which +he executed, of reducing Mauritania into a desert, ^52 could not +defeat the operations of the Roman emperor, who was at liberty to +land his troops on any part of the African coast. But Genseric +was saved from impending and inevitable ruin by the treachery of +some powerful subjects, envious, or apprehensive, of their +master's success. Guided by their secret intelligence, he +surprised the unguarded fleet in the Bay of Carthagena: many of +the ships were sunk, or taken, or burnt; and the preparations of +three years were destroyed in a single day. ^53 After this event, +the behavior of the two antagonists showed them superior to their +fortune. The Vandal, instead of being elated by this accidental +victory, immediately renewed his solicitations for peace. The +emperor of the West, who was capable of forming great designs, +and of supporting heavy disappointments, consented to a treaty, +or rather to a suspension of arms; in the full assurance that, +before he could restore his navy, he should be supplied with +provocations to justify a second war. Majorian returned to Italy, +to prosecute his labors for the public happiness; and, as he was +conscious of his own integrity, he might long remain ignorant of +the dark conspiracy which threatened his throne and his life. +The recent misfortune of Carthagena sullied the glory which had +dazzled the eyes of the multitude; almost every description of +civil and military officers were exasperated against the +Reformer, since they all derived some advantage from the abuses +which he endeavored to suppress; and the patrician Ricimer +impelled the inconstant passions of the Barbarians against a +prince whom he esteemed and hated. The virtues of Majorian could +not protect him from the impetuous sedition, which broke out in +the camp near Tortona, at the foot of the Alps. He was compelled +to abdicate the Imperial purple: five days after his abdication, +it was reported that he died of a dysentery; ^54 and the humble +tomb, which covered his remains, was consecrated by the respect +and gratitude of succeeding generations. ^55 The private +character of Majorian inspired love and respect. Malicious +calumny and satire excited his indignation, or, if he himself +were the object, his contempt; but he protected the freedom of +wit, and, in the hours which the emperor gave to the familiar +society of his friends, he could indulge his taste for +pleasantry, without degrading the majesty of his rank. ^56 +[Footnote 51: Spoliisque potitus + Immensis, robux luxu jam perdidit omne, + Quo valuit dum pauper erat. + + Panegyr. Majorian, 330. + +He afterwards applies to Genseric, unjustly, as it should seem, +the vices of his subjects.] + +[Footnote 52: He burnt the villages, and poisoned the springs, +(Priscus, p. 42.) Dubos (Hist. Critique, tom. i. p. 475) +observes, that the magazines which the Moors buried in the earth +might escape his destructive search. Two or three hundred pits +are sometimes dug in the same place; and each pit contains at +least four hundred bushels of corn Shaw's Travels, p. 139.] +[Footnote 53: Idatius, who was safe in Gallicia from the power of +Recimer boldly and honestly declares, Vandali per proditeres +admoniti, &c: i. e. dissembles, however, the name of the +traitor.] + +[Footnote 54: Procop. de Bell. Vandal. l. i. i. c. 8, p. 194. +The testimony of Idatius is fair and impartial: "Majorianum de +Galliis Romam redeuntem, et Romano imperio vel nomini res +necessarias ordinantem; Richimer livore percitus, et invidorum +consilio fultus, fraude interficit circumventum." Some read +Suevorum, and I am unwilling to efface either of the words, as +they express the different accomplices who united in the +conspiracy against Majorian.] + +[Footnote 55: See the Epigrams of Ennodius, No. cxxxv. inter +Sirmond. Opera, tom. i. p. 1903. It is flat and obscure; but +Ennodius was made bishop of Pavia fifty years after the death of +Majorian, and his praise deserves credit and regard.] + +[Footnote 56: Sidonius gives a tedious account (l. i. epist. xi. +p. 25-31) of a supper at Arles, to which he was invited by +Majorian, a short time before his death. He had no intention of +praising a deceased emperor: but a casual disinterested remark, +"Subrisit Augustus; ut erat, auctoritate servata, cum se +communioni dedisset, joci plenus," outweighs the six hundred +lines of his venal panegyric.] + + It was not, perhaps, without some regret, that Ricimer +sacrificed his friend to the interest of his ambition: but he +resolved, in a second choice, to avoid the imprudent preference +of superior virtue and merit. At his command, the obsequious +senate of Rome bestowed the Imperial title on Libius Severus, who +ascended the throne of the West without emerging from the +obscurity of a private condition. History has scarcely deigned +to notice his birth, his elevation, his character, or his death. +Severus expired, as soon as his life became inconvenient to his +patron; ^57 and it would be useless to discriminate his nominal +reign in the vacant interval of six years, between the death of +Majorian and the elevation of Anthemius. During that period, the +government was in the hands of Ricimer alone; and, although the +modest Barbarian disclaimed the name of king, he accumulated +treasures, formed a separate army, negotiated private alliances, +and ruled Italy with the same independent and despotic authority, +which was afterwards exercised by Odoacer and Theodoric. But his +dominions were bounded by the Alps; and two Roman generals, +Marcellinus and Aegidius, maintained their allegiance to the +republic, by rejecting, with disdain, the phantom which he styled +an emperor. Marcellinus still adhered to the old religion; and +the devout Pagans, who secretly disobeyed the laws of the church +and state, applauded his profound skill in the science of +divination. But he possessed the more valuable qualifications of +learning, virtue, and courage; ^58 the study of the Latin +literature had improved his taste; and his military talents had +recommended him to the esteem and confidence of the great Aetius, +in whose ruin he was involved. By a timely flight, Marcellinus +escaped the rage of Valentinian, and boldly asserted his liberty +amidst the convulsions of the Western empire. His voluntary, or +reluctant, submission to the authority of Majorian, was rewarded +by the government of Sicily, and the command of an army, +stationed in that island to oppose, or to attack, the Vandals; +but his Barbarian mercenaries, after the emperor's death, were +tempted to revolt by the artful liberality of Ricimer. At the +head of a band of faithful followers, the intrepid Marcellinus +occupied the province of Dalmatia, assumed the title of patrician +of the West, secured the love of his subjects by a mild and +equitable reign, built a fleet which claimed the dominion of the +Adriatic, and alternately alarmed the coasts of Italy and of +Africa. ^59 Aegidius, the master-general of Gaul, who equalled, +or at least who imitated, the heroes of ancient Rome, ^60 +proclaimed his immortal resentment against the assassins of his +beloved master. A brave and numerous army was attached to his +standard: and, though he was prevented by the arts of Ricimer, +and the arms of the Visigoths, from marching to the gates of +Rome, he maintained his independent sovereignty beyond the Alps, +and rendered the name of Aegidius, respectable both in peace and +war. The Franks, who had punished with exile the youthful +follies of Childeric, elected the Roman general for their king: +his vanity, rather than his ambition, was gratified by that +singular honor; and when the nation, at the end of four years, +repented of the injury which they had offered to the Merovingian +family, he patiently acquiesced in the restoration of the lawful +prince. The authority of Aegidius ended only with his life, and +the suspicions of poison and secret violence, which derived some +countenance from the character of Ricimer, were eagerly +entertained by the passionate credulity of the Gauls. ^61 + +[Footnote 57: Sidonius (Panegyr. Anthem. 317) dismisses him to +heaven: - Auxerat Augustus naturae lege Severus + + Divorum numerum. + +And an old list of the emperors, composed about the time of +Justinian, praises his piety, and fixes his residence at Rome, +(Sirmond. Not. ad Sidon. p. 111, 112.)] + +[Footnote 58: Tillemont, who is always scandalized by the virtues +of infidels, attributes this advantageous portrait of Marcellinus +(which Suidas has preserved) to the partial zeal of some Pagan +historian, (Hist. des Empereurs. tom. vi. p. 330.)] + +[Footnote 59: Procopius de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 6, p. 191. In +various circumstances of the life of Marcellinus, it is not easy +to reconcile the Greek historian with the Latin Chronicles of the +times.] + +[Footnote 60: I must apply to Aegidius the praises which Sidonius +(Panegyr Majorian, 553) bestows on a nameless master-general, who +commanded the rear-guard of Majorian. Idatius, from public +report, commends his Christian piety; and Priscus mentions (p. +42) his military virtues.] +[Footnote 61: Greg. Turon. l. ii. c. 12, in tom. ii. p. 168. The +Pere Daniel, whose ideas were superficial and modern, has started +some objections against the story of Childeric, (Hist. de France, +tom. i. Preface Historique, p. lxxvii., &c.:) but they have been +fairly satisfied by Dubos, (Hist. Critique, tom. i. p. 460-510,) +and by two authors who disputed the prize of the Academy of +Soissons, (p. 131-177, 310-339.) With regard to the term of +Childeric's exile, it is necessary either to prolong the life of +Aegidius beyond the date assigned by the Chronicle of Idatius or +to correct the text of Gregory, by reading quarto anno, instead +of octavo.] + + The kingdom of Italy, a name to which the Western empire was +gradually reduced, was afflicted, under the reign of Ricimer, by +the incessant depredations of the Vandal pirates. ^62 In the +spring of each year, they equipped a formidable navy in the port +of Carthage; and Genseric himself, though in a very advanced age, +still commanded in person the most important expeditions. His +designs were concealed with impenetrable secrecy, till the moment +that he hoisted sail. When he was asked, by his pilot, what +course he should steer, "Leave the determination to the winds, +(replied the Barbarian, with pious arrogance;) they will +transport us to the guilty coast, whose inhabitants have provoked +the divine justice;" but if Genseric himself deigned to issue +more precise orders, he judged the most wealthy to be the most +criminal. The Vandals repeatedly visited the coasts of Spain, +Liguria, Tuscany, Campania, Lucania, Bruttium, Apulia, Calabria, +Venetia, Dalmatia, Epirus, Greece, and Sicily: they were tempted +to subdue the Island of Sardinia, so advantageously placed in the +centre of the Mediterranean; and their arms spread desolation, or +terror, from the columns of Hercules to the mouth of the Nile. +As they were more ambitious of spoil than of glory, they seldom +attacked any fortified cities, or engaged any regular troops in +the open field. But the celerity of their motions enabled them, +almost at the same time, to threaten and to attack the most +distant objects, which attracted their desires; and as they +always embarked a sufficient number of horses, they had no sooner +landed, than they swept the dismayed country with a body of light +cavalry. Yet, notwithstanding the example of their king, the +native Vandals and Alani insensibly declined this toilsome and +perilous warfare; the hardy generation of the first conquerors +was almost extinguished, and their sons, who were born in Africa, +enjoyed the delicious baths and gardens which had been acquired +by the valor of their fathers. Their place was readily supplied +by a various multitude of Moors and Romans, of captives and +outlaws; and those desperate wretches, who had already violated +the laws of their country, were the most eager to promote the +atrocious acts which disgrace the victories of Genseric. In the +treatment of his unhappy prisoners, he sometimes consulted his +avarice, and sometimes indulged his cruelty; and the massacre of +five hundred noble citizens of Zant or Zacynthus, whose mangled +bodies he cast into the Ionian Sea, was imputed, by the public +indignation, to his latest posterity. + +[Footnote 62: The naval war of Genseric is described by Priscus, +(Excerpta Legation. p. 42,) Procopius, (de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. +5, p. 189, 190, and c. 22, p. 228,) Victor Vitensis, (de +Persecut. Vandal. l. i. c. 17, and Ruinart, p. 467-481,) and in +three panegyrics of Sidonius, whose chronological order is +absurdly transposed in the editions both of Savaron and Sirmond. +(Avit. Carm. vii. 441-451. Majorian. Carm. v. 327-350, 385- 440. + +Anthem. Carm. ii. 348-386) In one passage the poet seems inspired +by his subject, and expresses a strong idea by a lively image: - + - Hinc Vandalus hostis + Urget; et in nostrum numerosa classe quotannis + Militat excidium; conversoque ordine Fati + Torrida Caucaseos infert mihi Byrsa furoree] + + Such crimes could not be excused by any provocations; but +the war, which the king of the Vandals prosecuted against the +Roman empire was justified by a specious and reasonable motive. +The widow of Valentinian, Eudoxia, whom he had led captive from +Rome to Carthage, was the sole heiress of the Theodosian house; +her elder daughter, Eudocia, became the reluctant wife of +Hunneric, his eldest son; and the stern father, asserting a legal +claim, which could not easily be refuted or satisfied, demanded a +just proportion of the Imperial patrimony. An adequate, or at +least a valuable, compensation, was offered by the Eastern +emperor, to purchase a necessary peace. Eudoxia and her younger +daughter, Placidia, were honorably restored, and the fury of the +Vandals was confined to the limits of the Western empire. The +Italians, destitute of a naval force, which alone was capable of +protecting their coasts, implored the aid of the more fortunate +nations of the East; who had formerly acknowledged, in peace and +war, the supremacy of Rome. But the perpetual divisions of the +two empires had alienated their interest and their inclinations; +the faith of a recent treaty was alleged; and the Western Romans, +instead of arms and ships, could only obtain the assistance of a +cold and ineffectual mediation. The haughty Ricimer, who had long +struggled with the difficulties of his situation, was at length +reduced to address the throne of Constantinople, in the humble +language of a subject; and Italy submitted, as the price and +security to accept a master from the choice of the emperor of the +East. ^63 It is not the purpose of the present chapter, or even +of the present volume, to continue the distinct series of the +Byzantine history; but a concise view of the reign and character +of the emperor Leo, may explain the last efforts that were +attempted to save the falling empire of the West. ^64 +[Footnote 63: The poet himself is compelled to acknowledge the +distress of Ricimer: - + + Praeterea invictus Ricimer, quem publica fata + Respiciunt, proprio solas vix Marte repellit + Piratam per rura vagum. + +Italy addresses her complaint to the Tyber, and Rome, at the +solicitation of the river god, transports herself to +Constantinople, renounces her ancient claims, and implores the +friendship of Aurora, the goddess of the East. This fabulous +machinery, which the genius of Claudian had used and abused, is +the constant and miserable resource of the muse of Sidonius.] +[Footnote 64: The original authors of the reigns of Marcian, Leo, +and Zeno, are reduced to some imperfect fragments, whose +deficiencies must be supplied from the more recent compilations +of Theophanes, Zonaras, and Cedrenus.] + Since the death of the younger Theodosius, the domestic +repose of Constantinople had never been interrupted by war or +faction. Pulcheria had bestowed her hand, and the sceptre of the +East, on the modest virtue of Marcian: he gratefully reverenced +her august rank and virgin chastity; and, after her death, he +gave his people the example of the religious worship that was due +to the memory of the Imperial saint. ^65 Attentive to the +prosperity of his own dominions, Marcian seemed to behold, with +indifference, the misfortunes of Rome; and the obstinate refusal +of a brave and active prince, to draw his sword against the +Vandals, was ascribed to a secret promise, which had formerly +been exacted from him when he was a captive in the power of +Genseric. ^66 The death of Marcian, after a reign of seven years, +would have exposed the East to the danger of a popular election; +if the superior weight of a single family had not been able to +incline the balance in favor of the candidate whose interest they +supported. The patrician Aspar might have placed the diadem on +his own head, if he would have subscribed the Nicene creed. ^67 +During three generations, the armies of the East were +successively commanded by his father, by himself, and by his son +Ardaburius; his Barbarian guards formed a military force that +overawed the palace and the capital; and the liberal distribution +of his immense treasures rendered Aspar as popular as he was +powerful. He recommended the obscure name of Leo of Thrace, a +military tribune, and the principal steward of his household. +His nomination was unanimously ratified by the senate; and the +servant of Aspar received the Imperial crown from the hands of +the patriarch or bishop, who was permitted to express, by this +unusual ceremony, the suffrage of the Deity. ^68 This emperor, +the first of the name of Leo, has been distinguished by the title +of the Great; from a succession of princes, who gradually fixed +in the opinion of the Greeks a very humble standard of heroic, or +at least of royal, perfection. Yet the temperate firmness with +which Leo resisted the oppression of his benefactor, showed that +he was conscious of his duty and of his prerogative. Aspar was +astonished to find that his influence could no longer appoint a +praefect of Constantinople: he presumed to reproach his sovereign +with a breach of promise, and insolently shaking his purple, "It +is not proper, (said he,) that the man who is invested with this +garment, should be guilty of lying." "Nor is it proper, (replied +Leo,) that a prince should be compelled to resign his own +judgment, and the public interest, to the will of a subject."69 +After this extraordinary scene, it was impossible that the +reconciliation of the emperor and the patrician could be sincere; +or, at least, that it could be solid and permanent. An army of +Isaurians ^70 was secretly levied, and introduced into +Constantinople; and while Leo undermined the authority, and +prepared the disgrace, of the family of Aspar, his mild and +cautious behavior restrained them from any rash and desperate +attempts, which might have been fatal to themselves, or their +enemies. The measures of peace and war were affected by this +internal revolution. As long as Aspar degraded the majesty of +the throne, the secret correspondence of religion and interest +engaged him to favor the cause of Genseric. When Leo had +delivered himself from that ignominious servitude, he listened to +the complaints of the Italians; resolved to extirpate the tyranny +of the Vandals; and declared his alliance with his colleague, +Anthemius, whom he solemnly invested with the diadem and purple +of the West. + +[Footnote 65: St. Pulcheria died A.D. 453, four years before her +nominal husband; and her festival is celebrated on the 10th of +September by the modern Greeks: she bequeathed an immense +patrimony to pious, or, at least, to ecclesiastical, uses. See +Tillemont, Memoires Eccles. tom. xv p. 181 - 184.] +[Footnote 66: See Procopius, de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 4, p. +185.] +[Footnote 67: From this disability of Aspar to ascend the throne, +it may be inferred that the stain of Heresy was perpetual and +indelible, while that of Barbarism disappeared in the second +generation.] + +[Footnote 68: Theophanes, p. 95. This appears to be the first +origin of a ceremony, which all the Christian princes of the +world have since adopted and from which the clergy have deduced +the most formidable consequences.] +[Footnote 69: Cedrenus, (p. 345, 346,) who was conversant with +the writers of better days, has preserved the remarkable words of +Aspar.] +[Footnote 70: The power of the Isaurians agitated the Eastern +empire in the two succeeding reigns of Zeno and Anastasius; but +it ended in the destruction of those Barbarians, who maintained +their fierce independences about two hundred and thirty years.] + The virtues of Anthemius have perhaps been magnified, since +the Imperial descent, which he could only deduce from the usurper +Procopius, has been swelled into a line of emperors. ^71 But the +merit of his immediate parents, their honors, and their riches, +rendered Anthemius one of the most illustrious subjects of the +East. His father, Procopius, obtained, after his Persian +embassy, the rank of general and patrician; and the name of +Anthemius was derived from his maternal grandfather, the +celebrated praefect, who protected, with so much ability and +success, the infant reign of Theodosius. The grandson of the +praefect was raised above the condition of a private subject, by +his marriage with Euphemia, the daughter of the emperor Marcian. +This splendid alliance, which might supersede the necessity of +merit, hastened the promotion of Anthemius to the successive +dignities of count, of master-general, of consul, and of +patrician; and his merit or fortune claimed the honors of a +victory, which was obtained on the banks of the Danube, over the +Huns. Without indulging an extravagant ambition, the son-in-law +of Marcian might hope to be his successor; but Anthemius +supported the disappointment with courage and patience; and his +subsequent elevation was universally approved by the public, who +esteemed him worthy to reign, till he ascended the throne. ^72 +The emperor of the West marched from Constantinople, attended by +several counts of high distinction, and a body of guards almost +equal to the strength and numbers of a regular army: he entered +Rome in triumph, and the choice of Leo was confirmed by the +senate, the people, and the Barbarian confederates of Italy. ^73 +The solemn inauguration of Anthemius was followed by the nuptials +of his daughter and the patrician Ricimer; a fortunate event, +which was considered as the firmest security of the union and +happiness of the state. The wealth of two empires was +ostentatiously displayed; and many senators completed their ruin, +by an expensive effort to disguise their poverty. All serious +business was suspended during this festival; the courts of +justice were shut; the streets of Rome, the theatres, the places +of public and private resort, resounded with hymeneal songs and +dances: and the royal bride, clothed in silken robes, with a +crown on her head, was conducted to the palace of Ricimer, who +had changed his military dress for the habit of a consul and a +senator. On this memorable occasion, Sidonius, whose early +ambition had been so fatally blasted, appeared as the orator of +Auvergne, among the provincial deputies who addressed the throne +with congratulations or complaints. ^74 The calends of January +were now approaching, and the venal poet, who had loved Avitus, +and esteemed Majorian, was persuaded by his friends to celebrate, +in heroic verse, the merit, the felicity, the second consulship, +and the future triumphs, of the emperor Anthemius. Sidonius +pronounced, with assurance and success, a panegyric which is +still extant; and whatever might be the imperfections, either of +the subject or of the composition, the welcome flatterer was +immediately rewarded with the praefecture of Rome; a dignity +which placed him among the illustrious personages of the empire, +till he wisely preferred the more respectable character of a +bishop and a saint. ^75 + +[Footnote 71: - Tali tu civis ab urbe + Procopio genitore micas; cui prisca propago + + Augustis venit a proavis. + +The poet (Sidon. Panegyr. Anthem. 67 - 306) then proceeds to +relate the private life and fortunes of the future emperor, with +which he must have been imperfectly acquainted.] + +[Footnote 72: Sidonius discovers, with tolerable ingenuity, that +this disappointment added new lustre to the virtues of Anthemius, +(210, &c.,) who declined one sceptre, and reluctantly accepted +another, (22, &c.)] +[Footnote 73: The poet again celebrates the unanimity of all +orders of the state, (15 - 22;) and the Chronicle of Idatius +mentions the forces which attended his march.] + +[Footnote 74: Interveni autem nuptiis Patricii Ricimeris, cui +filia perennis Augusti in spem publicae securitatis copulabator. +The journey of Sidonius from Lyons, and the festival of Rome, are +described with some spirit. L. i. epist. 5, p. 9 - 13, epist. 9, +p. 21.] + +[Footnote 75: Sidonius (l. i. epist. 9, p. 23, 24) very fairly +states his motive, his labor, and his reward. "Hic ipse +Panegyricus, si non judicium, certa eventum, boni operis, +accepit." He was made bishop of Clermont, A.D. 471. Tillemont, +Mem. Eccles. tom. xvi. p. 750.] + + The Greeks ambitiously commend the piety and catholic faith +of the emperor whom they gave to the West; nor do they forget to +observe, that when he left Constantinople, he converted his +palace into the pious foundation of a public bath, a church, and +a hospital for old men. ^76 Yet some suspicious appearances are +found to sully the theological fame of Anthemius. From the +conversation of Philotheus, a Macedonian sectary, he had imbibed +the spirit of religious toleration; and the Heretics of Rome +would have assembled with impunity, if the bold and vehement +censure which Pope Hilary pronounced in the church of St. Peter, +had not obliged him to abjure the unpopular indulgence. ^77 Even +the Pagans, a feeble and obscure remnant, conceived some vain +hopes, from the indifference, or partiality, of Anthemius; and +his singular friendship for the philosopher Severus, whom he +promoted to the consulship, was ascribed to a secret project, of +reviving the ancient worship of the gods. ^78 These idols were +crumbled into dust: and the mythology which had once been the +creed of nations, was so universally disbelieved, that it might +be employed without scandal, or at least without suspicion, by +Christian poets. ^79 Yet the vestiges of superstition were not +absolutely obliterated, and the festival of the Lupercalia, whose +origin had preceded the foundation of Rome, was still celebrated +under the reign of Anthemius. The savage and simple rites were +expressive of an early state of society before the invention of +arts and agriculture. The rustic deities who presided over the +toils and pleasures of the pastoral life, Pan, Faunus, and their +train of satyrs, were such as the fancy of shepherds might +create, sportive, petulant, and lascivious; whose power was +limited, and whose malice was inoffensive. A goat was the +offering the best adapted to their character and attributes; the +flesh of the victim was roasted on willow spits; and the riotous +youths, who crowded to the feast, ran naked about the fields, +with leather thongs in their hands, communicating, as it was +supposed, the blessing of fecundity to the women whom they +touched. ^80 The altar of Pan was erected, perhaps by Evander the +Arcadian, in a dark recess in the side of the Palantine hill, +watered by a perpetual fountain, and shaded by a hanging grove. +A tradition, that, in the same place, Romulus and Remus were +suckled by the wolf, rendered it still more sacred and venerable +in the eyes of the Romans; and this sylvan spot was gradually +surrounded by the stately edifices of the Forum. ^81 After the +conversion of the Imperial city, the Christians still continued, +in the month of February, the annual celebration of the +Lupercalia; to which they ascribed a secret and mysterious +influence on the genial powers of the animal and vegetable world. + +The bishops of Rome were solicitous to abolish a profane custom, +so repugnant to the spirit of Christianity; but their zeal was +not supported by the authority of the civil magistrate: the +inveterate abuse subsisted till the end of the fifth century, and +Pope Gelasius, who purified the capital from the last stain of +idolatry, appeased by a formal apology, the murmurs of the senate +and people. ^82 + +[Footnote 76: The palace of Anthemius stood on the banks of the +Propontis. In the ninth century, Alexius, the son-in-law of the +emperor Theophilus, obtained permission to purchase the ground; +and ended his days in a monastery which he founded on that +delightful spot. Ducange Constantinopolis Christiana, p. 117, +152.] + +[Footnote 77: Papa Hilarius ... apud beatum Petrum Apostolum, +palam ne id fieret, clara voce constrinxit, in tantum ut non ea +facienda cum interpositione juramenti idem promitteret Imperator. + +Gelasius Epistol ad Andronicum, apud Baron. A.D. 467, No. 3. The +cardinal observes, with some complacency, that it was much easier +to plant heresies at Constantinople, than at Rome.] + +[Footnote 78: Damascius, in the life of the philosopher Isidore, +apud Photium, p. 1049. Damascius, who lived under Justinian, +composed another work, consisting of 570 praeternatural stories +of souls, daemons, apparitions, the dotage of Platonic Paganism.] + +[Footnote 79: In the poetical works of Sidonius, which he +afterwards condemned, (l. ix. epist. 16, p. 285,) the fabulous +deities are the principal actors. If Jerom was scourged by the +angels for only reading Virgil, the bishop of Clermont, for such +a vile imitation, deserved an additional whipping from the +Muses.] + +[Footnote 80: Ovid (Fast. l. ii. 267 - 452) has given an amusing +description of the follies of antiquity, which still inspired so +much respect, that a grave magistrate, running naked through the +streets, was not an object of astonishment or laughter.] + +[Footnote 81: See Dionys. Halicarn. l. i. p. 25, 65, edit. +Hudson. The Roman antiquaries Donatus (l. ii. c. 18, p. 173, +174) and Nardini (p. 386, 387) have labored to ascertain the true +situation of the Lupercal.] + +[Footnote 82: Baronius published, from the MSS. of the Vatican, +this epistle of Pope Gelasius, (A.D. 496, No. 28 - 45,) which is +entitled Adversus Andromachum Senatorem, caeterosque Romanos, qui +Lupercalia secundum morem pristinum colenda constituebant. +Gelasius always supposes that his adversaries are nominal +Christians, and, that he may not yield to them in absurd +prejudice, he imputes to this harmless festival all the +calamities of the age.] + +Chapter XXXVI: Total Extinction Of The Western Empire. + +Part IV. + + In all his public declarations, the emperor Leo assumes the +authority, and professes the affection, of a father, for his son +Anthemius, with whom he had divided the administration of the +universe. ^83 The situation, and perhaps the character, of Leo, +dissuaded him from exposing his person to the toils and dangers +of an African war. But the powers of the Eastern empire were +strenuously exerted to deliver Italy and the Mediterranean from +the Vandals; and Genseric, who had so long oppressed both the +land and sea, was threatened from every side with a formidable +invasion. The campaign was opened by a bold and successful +enterprise of the praefect Heraclius. ^84 The troops of Egypt, +Thebais, and Libya, were embarked, under his command; and the +Arabs, with a train of horses and camels, opened the roads of the +desert. Heraclius landed on the coast of Tripoli, surprised and +subdued the cities of that province, and prepared, by a laborious +march, which Cato had formerly executed, ^85 to join the Imperial +army under the walls of Carthage. The intelligence of this loss +extorted from Genseric some insidious and ineffectual +propositions of peace; but he was still more seriously alarmed by +the reconciliation of Marcellinus with the two empires. The +independent patrician had been persuaded to acknowledge the +legitimate title of Anthemius, whom he accompanied in his journey +to Rome; the Dalmatian fleet was received into the harbors of +Italy; the active valor of Marcellinus expelled the Vandals from +the Island of Sardinia; and the languid efforts of the West added +some weight to the immense preparations of the Eastern Romans. +The expense of the naval armament, which Leo sent against the +Vandals, has been distinctly ascertained; and the curious and +instructive account displays the wealth of the declining empire. +The Royal demesnes, or private patrimony of the prince, supplied +seventeen thousand pounds of gold; forty-seven thousand pounds of +gold, and seven hundred thousand of silver, were levied and paid +into the treasury by the Praetorian praefects. But the cities +were reduced to extreme poverty; and the diligent calculation of +fines and forfeitures, as a valuable object of the revenue, does +not suggest the idea of a just or merciful administration. The +whole expense, by whatsoever means it was defrayed, of the +African campaign, amounted to the sum of one hundred and thirty +thousand pounds of gold, about five millions two hundred thousand +pounds sterling, at a time when the value of money appears, from +the comparative price of corn, to have been somewhat higher than +in the present age. ^86 The fleet that sailed from Constantinople +to Carthage, consisted of eleven hundred and thirteen ships, and +the number of soldiers and mariners exceeded one hundred thousand +men. Basiliscus, the brother of the empress Vorina, was +intrusted with this important command. His sister, the wife of +Leo, had exaggerated the merit of his former exploits against the +Scythians. But the discovery of his guilt, or incapacity, was +reserved for the African war; and his friends could only save his +military reputation by asserting, that he had conspired with +Aspar to spare Genseric, and to betray the last hope of the +Western empire. + +[Footnote 83: Itaque nos quibus totius mundi regimen commisit +superna provisio .... Pius et triumphator semper Augustus filius +noster Anthemius, licet Divina Majestas et nostra creatio pietati +ejus plenam Imperii commiserit potestatem, &c. .... Such is the +dignified style of Leo, whom Anthemius respectfully names, +Dominus et Pater meus Princeps sacratissimus Leo. See Novell. +Anthem. tit. ii. iii. p. 38, ad calcem Cod. Theod.] +[Footnote 84: The expedition of Heraclius is clouded with +difficulties, (Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, tom. vi. p. 640,) +and it requires some dexterity to use the circumstances afforded +by Theophanes, without injury to the more respectable evidence of +Procopius.] + +[Footnote 85: The march of Cato from Berenice, in the province of +Cyrene, was much longer than that of Heraclius from Tripoli. He +passed the deep sandy desert in thirty days, and it was found +necessary to provide, besides the ordinary supplies, a great +number of skins filled with water, and several Psylli, who were +supposed to possess the art of sucking the wounds which had been +made by the serpents of their native country. See Plutarch in +Caton. Uticens. tom. iv. p. 275. Straben Geograph. l. xxii. p. +1193.] +[Footnote 86: The principal sum is clearly expressed by +Procopius, (de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 6, p. 191;) the smaller +constituent parts, which Tillemont, (Hist. des Empereurs, tom. +vi. p. 396) has laboriously collected from the Byzantine writers, +are less certain, and less important. The historian Malchus +laments the public misery, (Excerpt. ex Suida in Corp. Hist. +Byzant. p. 58;) but he is surely unjust, when he charges Leo with +hoarding the treasures which he extorted from the people. + + Note: Compare likewise the newly-discovered work of Lydus, +de Magistratibus, ed. Hase, Paris, 1812, (and in the new +collection of the Byzantines,) l. iii. c. 43. Lydus states the +expenditure at 65,000 lbs. of gold, 700,000 of silver. But Lydus +exaggerates the fleet to the incredible number of 10,000 long +ships, (Liburnae,) and the troops to 400,000 men. Lydus describes +this fatal measure, of which he charges the blame on Basiliscus, +as the shipwreck of the state. From that time all the revenues +of the empire were anticipated; and the finances fell into +inextricable confusion. - M.] + Experience has shown, that the success of an invader most +commonly depends on the vigor and celerity of his operations. +The strength and sharpness of the first impression are blunted by +delay; the health and spirit of the troops insensibly languish in +a distant climate; the naval and military force, a mighty effort +which perhaps can never be repeated, is silently consumed; and +every hour that is wasted in negotiation, accustoms the enemy to +contemplate and examine those hostile terrors, which, on their +first appearance, he deemed irresistible. The formidable navy of +Basiliscus pursued its prosperous navigation from the Thracian +Bosphorus to the coast of Africa. He landed his troops at Cape +Bona, or the promontory of Mercury, about forty miles from +Carthage. ^87 The army of Heraclius, and the fleet of +Marcellinus, either joined or seconded the Imperial lieutenant; +and the Vandals who opposed his progress by sea or land, were +successively vanquished. ^88 If Basiliscus had seized the moment +of consternation, and boldly advanced to the capital, Carthage +must have surrendered, and the kingdom of the Vandals was +extinguished. Genseric beheld the danger with firmness, and +eluded it with his veteran dexterity. He protested, in the most +respectful language, that he was ready to submit his person, and +his dominions, to the will of the emperor; but he requested a +truce of five days to regulate the terms of his submission; and +it was universally believed, that his secret liberality +contributed to the success of this public negotiation. Instead +of obstinately refusing whatever indulgence his enemy so +earnestly solicited, the guilty, or the credulous, Basiliscus +consented to the fatal truce; and his imprudent security seemed +to proclaim, that he already considered himself as the conqueror +of Africa. During this short interval, the wind became favorable +to the designs of Genseric. He manned his largest ships of war +with the bravest of the Moors and Vandals; and they towed after +them many large barks, filled with combustible materials. In the +obscurity of the night, these destructive vessels were impelled +against the unguarded and unsuspecting fleet of the Romans, who +were awakened by the sense of their instant danger. Their close +and crowded order assisted the progress of the fire, which was +communicated with rapid and irresistible violence; and the noise +of the wind, the crackling of the flames, the dissonant cries of +the soldiers and mariners, who could neither command nor obey, +increased the horror of the nocturnal tumult. Whilst they labored +to extricate themselves from the fire-ships, and to save at least +a part of the navy, the galleys of Genseric assaulted them with +temperate and disciplined valor; and many of the Romans, who +escaped the fury of the flames, were destroyed or taken by the +victorious Vandals. Among the events of that disastrous night, +the heroic, or rather desperate, courage of John, one of the +principal officers of Basiliscus, has rescued his name from +oblivion. When the ship, which he had bravely defended, was +almost consumed, he threw himself in his armor into the sea, +disdainfully rejected the esteem and pity of Genso, the son of +Genseric, who pressed him to accept honorable quarter, and sunk +under the waves; exclaiming, with his last breath, that he would +never fall alive into the hands of those impious dogs. Actuated +by a far different spirit, Basiliscus, whose station was the most +remote from danger, disgracefully fled in the beginning of the +engagement, returned to Constantinople with the loss of more than +half of his fleet and army, and sheltered his guilty head in the +sanctuary of St. Sophia, till his sister, by her tears and +entreaties, could obtain his pardon from the indignant emperor. +Heraclius effected his retreat through the desert; Marcellinus +retired to Sicily, where he was assassinated, perhaps at the +instigation of Ricimer, by one of his own captains; and the king +of the Vandals expressed his surprise and satisfaction, that the +Romans themselves should remove from the world his most +formidable antagonists. ^89 After the failure of this great +expedition, ^* Genseric again became the tyrant of the sea: the +coasts of Italy, Greece, and Asia, were again exposed to his +revenge and avarice; Tripoli and Sardinia returned to his +obedience; he added Sicily to the number of his provinces; and +before he died, in the fulness of years and of glory, he beheld +the final extinction of the empire of the West. ^90 + +[Footnote 87: This promontory is forty miles from Carthage, +(Procop. l. i. c. 6, p. 192,) and twenty leagues from Sicily, +(Shaw's Travels, p. 89.) Scipio landed farther in the bay, at the +fair promontory; see the animated description of Livy, xxix. 26, +27.] + +[Footnote 88: Theophanes (p. 100) affirms that many ships of the +Vandals were sunk. The assertion of Jornandes, (de Successione +Regn.,) that Basiliscus attacked Carthage, must be understood in +a very qualified sense] +[Footnote 89: Damascius in Vit. Isidor. apud Phot. p. 1048. It +will appear, by comparing the three short chronicles of the +times, that Marcellinus had fought near Carthage, and was killed +in Sicily.] + +[Footnote *: According to Lydus, Leo, distracted by this and the +other calamities of his reign, particularly a dreadful fire at +Constantinople, abandoned the palace, like another Orestes, and +was preparing to quit Constantinople forever l iii. c. 44, p. +230. - M.] + +[Footnote 90: For the African war, see Procopius, de Bell. +Vandal. l. i. c. 6, p. 191, 192, 193,) Theophanes, (p. 99, 100, +101,) Cedrenus, (p. 349, 350,) and Zonaras, (tom. ii. l. xiv. p. +50, 51.) Montesquieu (Considerations sur la Grandeur, &c., c. xx. +tom. iii. p. 497) has made a judicious observation on the failure +of these great naval armaments.] + + During his long and active reign, the African monarch had +studiously cultivated the friendship of the Barbarians of Europe, +whose arms he might employ in a seasonable and effectual +diversion against the two empires. After the death of Attila, he +renewed his alliance with the Visigoths of Gaul; and the sons of +the elder Theodoric, who successively reigned over that warlike +nation, were easily persuaded, by the sense of interest, to +forget the cruel affront which Genseric had inflicted on their +sister. ^91 The death of the emperor Majorian delivered Theodoric +the Second from the restraint of fear, and perhaps of honor; he +violated his recent treaty with the Romans; and the ample +territory of Narbonne, which he firmly united to his dominions, +became the immediate reward of his perfidy. The selfish policy +of Ricimer encouraged him to invade the provinces which were in +the possession of Aegidius, his rival; but the active count, by +the defence of Arles, and the victory of Orleans, saved Gaul, and +checked, during his lifetime, the progress of the Visigoths. +Their ambition was soon rekindled; and the design of +extinguishing the Roman empire in Spain and Gaul was conceived, +and almost completed, in the reign of Euric, who assassinated his +brother Theodoric, and displayed, with a more savage temper, +superior abilities, both in peace and war. He passed the +Pyrenees at the head of a numerous army, subdued the cities of +Saragossa and Pampeluna, vanquished in battle the martial nobles +of the Tarragonese province, carried his victorious arms into the +heart of Lusitania, and permitted the Suevi to hold the kingdom +of Gallicia under the Gothic monarchy of Spain. ^92 The efforts +of Euric were not less vigorous, or less successful, in Gaul; and +throughout the country that extends from the Pyrenees to the +Rhone and the Loire, Berry and Auvergne were the only cities, or +dioceses, which refused to acknowledge him as their master. ^93 +In the defence of Clermont, their principal town, the inhabitants +of Auvergne sustained, with inflexible resolution, the miseries +of war, pestilence, and famine; and the Visigoths, relinquishing +the fruitless siege, suspended the hopes of that important +conquest. The youth of the province were animated by the heroic, +and almost incredible, valor of Ecdicius, the son of the emperor +Avitus, ^94 who made a desperate sally with only eighteen +horsemen, boldly attacked the Gothic army, and, after maintaining +a flying skirmish, retired safe and victorious within the walls +of Clermont. His charity was equal to his courage: in a time of +extreme scarcity, four thousand poor were fed at his expense; and +his private influence levied an army of Burgundians for the +deliverance of Auvergne. From his virtues alone the faithful +citizens of Gaul derived any hopes of safety or freedom; and even +such virtues were insufficient to avert the impending ruin of +their country, since they were anxious to learn, from his +authority and example, whether they should prefer the alternative +of exile or servitude. ^95 The public confidence was lost; the +resources of the state were exhausted; and the Gauls had too much +reason to believe, that Anthemius, who reigned in Italy, was +incapable of protecting his distressed subjects beyond the Alps. +The feeble emperor could only procure for their defence the +service of twelve thousand British auxiliaries. Riothamus, one of +the independent kings, or chieftains, of the island, was +persuaded to transport his troops to the continent of Gaul: he +sailed up the Loire, and established his quarters in Berry, where +the people complained of these oppressive allies, till they were +destroyed or dispersed by the arms of the Visigoths. ^96 + +[Footnote 91: Jornandes is our best guide through the reigns of +Theodoric II. and Euric, (de Rebus Geticis, c. 44, 45, 46, 47, p. +675 - 681.) Idatius ends too soon, and Isidore is too sparing of +the information which he might have given on the affairs of +Spain. The events that relate to Gaul are laboriously +illustrated in the third book of the Abbe Dubos, Hist. Critique, +tom. i. p. 424 - 620.] + +[Footnote 92: See Mariana, Hist. Hispan. tom. i. l. v. c. 5. p. +162.] +[Footnote 93: An imperfect, but original, picture of Gaul, more +especially of Auvergne, is shown by Sidonius; who, as a senator, +and afterwards as a bishop, was deeply interested in the fate of +his country. See l. v. epist. 1, 5, 9, &c.] + +[Footnote 94: Sidonius, l. iii. epist. 3, p. 65 - 68. Greg. +Turon. l. ii. c. 24, in tom. ii. p. 174. Jornandes, c. 45, p. +675. Perhaps Ecdicius was only the son-in-law of Avitus, his +wife's son by another husband.] +[Footnote 95: Si nullae a republica vires, nulla praesidia; si +nullae, quantum rumor est, Anthemii principis opes; statuit, te +auctore, nobilitas, seu patriaca dimittere seu capillos, (Sidon. +l. ii. epist. 1, p. 33.) The last words Sirmond, Not. p. 25) may +likewise denote the clerical tonsure, which was indeed the choice +of Sidonius himself.] + +[Footnote 96: The history of these Britons may be traced in +Jornandes, (c. 45, p. 678,) Sidonius, (l. iii. epistol. 9, p. 73, +74,) and Gregory of Tours, (l. ii. c. 18, in tom. ii. p. 170.) +Sidonius (who styles these mercenary troops argutos, armatos, +tumultuosos, virtute numero, contul ernio, contumaces) addresses +their general in a tone of friendship and familiarity.] + One of the last acts of jurisdiction, which the Roman senate +exercised over their subjects of Gaul, was the trial and +condemnation of Arvandus, the Praetorian praefect. Sidonius, who +rejoices that he lived under a reign in which he might pity and +assist a state criminal, has expressed, with tenderness and +freedom, the faults of his indiscreet and unfortunate friend. ^97 +From the perils which he had escaped, Arvandus imbibed confidence +rather than wisdom; and such was the various, though uniform, +imprudence of his behavior, that his prosperity must appear much +more surprising than his downfall. The second praefecture, which +he obtained within the term of five years, abolished the merit +and popularity of his preceding administration. His easy temper +was corrupted by flattery, and exasperated by opposition; he was +forced to satisfy his importunate creditors with the spoils of +the province; his capricious insolence offended the nobles of +Gaul, and he sunk under the weight of the public hatred. The +mandate of his disgrace summoned him to justify his conduct +before the senate; and he passed the Sea of Tuscany with a +favorable wind, the presage, as he vainly imagined, of his future +fortunes. A decent respect was still observed for the +Proefectorian rank; and on his arrival at Rome, Arvandus was +committed to the hospitality, rather than to the custody, of +Flavius Asellus, the count of the sacred largesses, who resided +in the Capitol. ^98 He was eagerly pursued by his accusers, the +four deputies of Gaul, who were all distinguished by their birth, +their dignities, or their eloquence. In the name of a great +province, and according to the forms of Roman jurisprudence, they +instituted a civil and criminal action, requiring such +restitution as might compensate the losses of individuals, and +such punishment as might satisfy the justice of the state. Their +charges of corrupt oppression were numerous and weighty; but they +placed their secret dependence on a letter which they had +intercepted, and which they could prove, by the evidence of his +secretary, to have been dictated by Arvandus himself. The author +of this letter seemed to dissuade the king of the Goths from a +peace with the Greek emperor: he suggested the attack of the +Britons on the Loire; and he recommended a division of Gaul, +according to the law of nations, between the Visigoths and the +Burgundians. ^99 These pernicious schemes, which a friend could +only palliate by the reproaches of vanity and indiscretion, were +susceptible of a treasonable interpretation; and the deputies had +artfully resolved not to produce their most formidable weapons +till the decisive moment of the contest. But their intentions +were discovered by the zeal of Sidonius. He immediately apprised +the unsuspecting criminal of his danger; and sincerely lamented, +without any mixture of anger, the haughty presumption of +Arvandus, who rejected, and even resented, the salutary advice of +his friends. Ignorant of his real situation, Arvandus showed +himself in the Capitol in the white robe of a candidate, accepted +indiscriminate salutations and offers of service, examined the +shops of the merchants, the silks and gems, sometimes with the +indifference of a spectator, and sometimes with the attention of +a purchaser; and complained of the times, of the senate, of the +prince, and of the delays of justice. His complaints were soon +removed. An early day was fixed for his trial; and Arvandus +appeared, with his accusers, before a numerous assembly of the +Roman senate. The mournful garb which they affected, excited the +compassion of the judges, who were scandalized by the gay and +splendid dress of their adversary: and when the praefect +Arvandus, with the first of the Gallic deputies, were directed to +take their places on the senatorial benches, the same contrast of +pride and modesty was observed in their behavior. In this +memorable judgment, which presented a lively image of the old +republic, the Gauls exposed, with force and freedom, the +grievances of the province; and as soon as the minds of the +audience were sufficiently inflamed, they recited the fatal +epistle. The obstinacy of Arvandus was founded on the strange +supposition, that a subject could not be convicted of treason, +unless he had actually conspired to assume the purple. As the +paper was read, he repeatedly, and with a loud voice, +acknowledged it for his genuine composition; and his astonishment +was equal to his dismay, when the unanimous voice of the senate +declared him guilty of a capital offence. By their decree, he +was degraded from the rank of a praefect to the obscure condition +of a plebeian, and ignominiously dragged by servile hands to the +public prison. After a fortnight's adjournment, the senate was +again convened to pronounce the sentence of his death; but while +he expected, in the Island of Aesculapius, the expiration of the +thirty days allowed by an ancient law to the vilest malefactors, +^100 his friends interposed, the emperor Anthemius relented, and +the praefect of Gaul obtained the milder punishment of exile and +confiscation. The faults of Arvandus might deserve compassion; +but the impunity of Seronatus accused the justice of the +republic, till he was condemned and executed, on the complaint of +the people of Auvergne. That flagitious minister, the Catiline +of his age and country, held a secret correspondence with the +Visigoths, to betray the province which he oppressed: his +industry was continually exercised in the discovery of new taxes +and obsolete offences; and his extravagant vices would have +inspired contempt, if they had not excited fear and abhorrence. +^101 +[Footnote 97: See Sidonius, l. i. epist. 7, p. 15 - 20, with +Sirmond's notes. This letter does honor to his heart, as well as +to his understanding. The prose of Sidonius, however vitiated by +a false and affected taste, is much superior to his insipid +verses.] + +[Footnote 98: When the Capitol ceased to be a temple, it was +appropriated to the use of the civil magistrate; and it is still +the residence of the Roman senator. The jewellers, &c., might be +allowed to expose then precious wares in the porticos.] + +[Footnote 99: Haec ad regem Gothorum, charta videbatur emitti, +pacem cum Graeco Imperatore dissuadens, Britannos super Ligerim +sitos impugnari oportere, demonstrans, cum Burgundionibus jure +gentium Gallias dividi debere confirmans.] + +[Footnote 100: Senatusconsultum Tiberianum, (Sirmond Not. p. 17;) +but that law allowed only ten days between the sentence and +execution; the remaining twenty were added in the reign of +Theodosius.] + +[Footnote 101: Catilina seculi nostri. Sidonius, l. ii. epist. +1, p. 33; l. v. epist 13, p. 143; l. vii. epist. vii. p. 185. He +execrates the crimes, and applauds the punishment, of Seronatus, +perhaps with the indignation of a virtuous citizen, perhaps with +the resentment of a personal enemy.] + Such criminals were not beyond the reach of justice; but +whatever might be the guilt of Ricimer, that powerful Barbarian +was able to contend or to negotiate with the prince, whose +alliance he had condescended to accept. The peaceful and +prosperous reign which Anthemius had promised to the West, was +soon clouded by misfortune and discord. Ricimer, apprehensive, +or impatient, of a superior, retired from Rome, and fixed his +residence at Milan; an advantageous situation either to invite or +to repel the warlike tribes that were seated between the Alps and +the Danube. ^102 Italy was gradually divided into two independent +and hostile kingdoms; and the nobles of Liguria, who trembled at +the near approach of a civil war, fell prostrate at the feet of +the patrician, and conjured him to spare their unhappy country. +"For my own part," replied Ricimer, in a tone of insolent +moderation, "I am still inclined to embrace the friendship of the +Galatian; ^103 but who will undertake to appease his anger, or to +mitigate the pride, which always rises in proportion to our +submission?" They informed him, that Epiphanius, bishop of Pavia, +^104 united the wisdom of the serpent with the innocence of the +dove; and appeared confident, that the eloquence of such an +ambassador must prevail against the strongest opposition, either +of interest or passion. Their recommendation was approved; and +Epiphanius, assuming the benevolent office of mediation, +proceeded without delay to Rome, where he was received with the +honors due to his merit and reputation. The oration of a bishop +in favor of peace may be easily supposed; he argued, that, in all +possible circumstances, the forgiveness of injuries must be an +act of mercy, or magnanimity, or prudence; and he seriously +admonished the emperor to avoid a contest with a fierce +Barbarian, which might be fatal to himself, and must be ruinous +to his dominions. Anthemius acknowledged the truth of his +maxims; but he deeply felt, with grief and indignation, the +behavior of Ricimer, and his passion gave eloquence and energy to +his discourse. "What favors," he warmly exclaimed, "have we +refused to this ungrateful man? What provocations have we not +endured! Regardless of the majesty of the purple, I gave my +daughter to a Goth; I sacrificed my own blood to the safety of +the republic. The liberality which ought to have secured the +eternal attachment of Ricimer has exasperated him against his +benefactor. What wars has he not excited against the empire! How +often has he instigated and assisted the fury of hostile nations! + +Shall I now accept his perfidious friendship? Can I hope that he +will respect the engagements of a treaty, who has already +violated the duties of a son?" But the anger of Anthemius +evaporated in these passionate exclamations: he insensibly +yielded to the proposals of Epiphanius; and the bishop returned +to his diocese with the satisfaction of restoring the peace of +Italy, by a reconciliation, ^105 of which the sincerity and +continuance might be reasonably suspected. The clemency of the +emperor was extorted from his weakness; and Ricimer suspended his +ambitious designs till he had secretly prepared the engines with +which he resolved to subvert the throne of Anthemius. The mask +of peace and moderation was then thrown aside. The army of +Ricimer was fortified by a numerous reenforcement of Burgundians +and Oriental Suevi: he disclaimed all allegiance to the Greek +emperor, marched from Milan to the Gates of Rome, and fixing his +camp on the banks of the Anio, impatiently expected the arrival +of Olybrius, his Imperial candidate. +[Footnote 102: Ricimer, under the reign of Anthemius, defeated +and slew in battle Beorgor, king of the Alani, (Jornandes, c. 45, +p. 678.) His sister had married the king of the Burgundians, and +he maintained an intimate connection with the Suevic colony +established in Pannonia and Noricum.] +[Footnote 103: Galatam concitatum. Sirmond (in his notes to +Ennodius) applies this appellation to Anthemius himself. The +emperor was probably born in the province of Galatia, whose +inhabitants, the Gallo-Grecians, were supposed to unite the vices +of a savage and a corrupted people.] + +[Footnote 104: Epiphanius was thirty years bishop of Pavia, (A.D. +467-497;) see Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. xvi. p. 788. His name +and actions would have been unknown to posterity, if Ennodius, +one of his successors, had not written his life; (Sirmond, Opera +tom. i. p. 1647 - 1692;) in which he represents him as one of the +greatest characters of the age] + +[Footnote 105: Ennodius (p. 1659 - 1664) has related this embassy +of Epiphanius; and his narrative, verbose and turgid as it must +appear, illustrates some curious passages in the fall of the +Western empire.] + The senator Olybrius, of the Anician family, might esteem +himself the lawful heir of the Western empire. He had married +Placidia, the younger daughter of Valentinian, after she was +restored by Genseric; who still detained her sister Eudoxia, as +the wife, or rather as the captive, of his son. The king of the +Vandals supported, by threats and solicitations, the fair +pretensions of his Roman ally; and assigned, as one of the +motives of the war, the refusal of the senate and people to +acknowledge their lawful prince, and the unworthy preference +which they had given to a stranger. ^106 The friendship of the +public enemy might render Olybrius still more unpopular to the +Italians; but when Ricimer meditated the ruin of the emperor +Anthemius, he tempted, with the offer of a diadem, the candidate +who could justify his rebellion by an illustrious name and a +royal alliance. The husband of Placidia, who, like most of his +ancestors, had been invested with the consular dignity, might +have continued to enjoy a secure and splendid fortune in the +peaceful residence of Constantinople; nor does he appear to have +been tormented by such a genius as cannot be amused or occupied, +unless by the administration of an empire. Yet Olybrius yielded +to the importunities of his friends, perhaps of his wife; rashly +plunged into the dangers and calamities of a civil war; and, with +the secret connivance of the emperor Leo, accepted the Italian +purple, which was bestowed, and resumed, at the capricious will +of a Barbarian. He landed without obstacle (for Genseric was +master of the sea) either at Ravenna, or the port of Ostia, and +immediately proceeded to the camp of Ricimer, where he was +received as the sovereign of the Western world. ^107 +[Footnote 106: Priscus, Excerpt. Legation p. 74. Procopius de +Bell. Vandel l. i. c. 6, p. 191. Eudoxia and her daughter were +restored after the death of Majorian. Perhaps the consulship of +Olybrius (A.D. 464) was bestowed as a nuptial present.] + +[Footnote 107: The hostile appearance of Olybrius is fixed +(notwithstanding the opinion of Pagi) by the duration of his +reign. The secret connivance of Leo is acknowledged by +Theophanes and the Paschal Chronicle. We are ignorant of his +motives; but in this obscure period, our ignorance extends to the +most public and important facts.] + + The patrician, who had extended his posts from the Anio to +the Melvian bridge, already possessed two quarters of Rome, the +Vatican and the Janiculum, which are separated by the Tyber from +the rest of the city; ^108 and it may be conjectured, that an +assembly of seceding senators imitated, in the choice of +Olybrius, the forms of a legal election. But the body of the +senate and people firmly adhered to the cause of Anthemius; and +the more effectual support of a Gothic army enabled him to +prolong his reign, and the public distress, by a resistance of +three months, which produced the concomitant evils of famine and +pestilence. At length Ricimer made a furious assault on the +bridge of Hadrian, or St. Angelo; and the narrow pass was +defended with equal valor by the Goths, till the death of +Gilimer, their leader. The victorious troops, breaking down +every barrier, rushed with irresistible violence into the heart +of the city, and Rome (if we may use the language of a +contemporary pope) was subverted by the civil fury of Anthemius +and Ricimer. ^109 The unfortunate Anthemius was dragged from his +concealment, and inhumanly massacred by the command of his +son-in-law; who thus added a third, or perhaps a fourth, emperor +to the number of his victims. The soldiers, who united the rage +of factious citizens with the savage manners of Barbarians, were +indulged, without control, in the license of rapine and murder: +the crowd of slaves and plebeians, who were unconcerned in the +event, could only gain by the indiscriminate pillage; and the +face of the city exhibited the strange contrast of stern cruelty +and dissolute intemperance. ^110 Forty days after this calamitous +event, the subject, not of glory, but of guilt, Italy was +delivered, by a painful disease, from the tyrant Ricimer, who +bequeathed the command of his army to his nephew Gundobald, one +of the princes of the Burgundians. In the same year all the +principal actors in this great revolution were removed from the +stage; and the whole reign of Olybrius, whose death does not +betray any symptoms of violence, is included within the term of +seven months. He left one daughter, the offspring of his +marriage with Placidia; and the family of the great Theodosius, +transplanted from Spain to Constantinople, was propagated in the +female line as far as the eighth generation. ^111 + +[Footnote 108: Of the fourteen regions, or quarters, into which +Rome was divided by Augustus, only one, the Janiculum, lay on the +Tuscan side of the Tyber. But, in the fifth century, the Vatican +suburb formed a considerable city; and in the ecclesiastical +distribution, which had been recently made by Simplicius, the +reigning pope, two of the seven regions, or parishes of Rome, +depended on the church of St. Peter. See Nardini Roma Antica, p. +67. It would require a tedious dissertation to mark the +circumstances, in which I am inclined to depart from the +topography of that learned Roman.] +[Footnote 109: Nuper Anthemii et Ricimeris civili furore subversa +est. Gelasius in Epist. ad Andromach. apud Baron. A.D. 496, No. +42, Sigonius (tom. i. l. xiv. de Occidentali Imperio, p. 542, +543,) and Muratori (Annali d'Italia, tom. iv. p. 308, 309,) with +the aid of a less imperfect Ms. of the Historia Miscella., have +illustrated this dark and bloody transaction.] +[Footnote 110: Such had been the saeva ac deformis urbe tota +facies, when Rome was assaulted and stormed by the troops of +Vespasian, (see Tacit. Hist. iii. 82, 83;) and every cause of +mischief had since acquired much additional energy. The +revolution of ages may bring round the same calamities; but ages +may revolve without producing a Tacitus to describe them.] +[Footnote 111: See Ducange, Familiae Byzantin. p. 74, 75. +Areobindus, who appears to have married the niece of the emperor +Justinian, was the eighth descendant of the elder Theodosius.] +Chapter XXXVI: Total Extinction Of The Western Empire. + +Part V. + + Whilst the vacant throne of Italy was abandoned to lawless +Barbarians, ^112 the election of a new colleague was seriously +agitated in the council of Leo. The empress Verina, studious to +promote the greatness of her own family, had married one of her +nieces to Julius Nepos, who succeeded his uncle Marcellinus in +the sovereignty of Dalmatia, a more solid possession than the +title which he was persuaded to accept, of Emperor of the West. +But the measures of the Byzantine court were so languid and +irresolute, that many months elapsed after the death of +Anthemius, and even of Olybrius, before their destined successor +could show himself, with a respectable force, to his Italian +subjects. During that interval, Glycerius, an obscure soldier, +was invested with the purple by his patron Gundobald; but the +Burgundian prince was unable, or unwilling, to support his +nomination by a civil war: the pursuits of domestic ambition +recalled him beyond the Alps, ^113 and his client was permitted +to exchange the Roman sceptre for the bishopric of Salona. After +extinguishing such a competitor, the emperor Nepos was +acknowledged by the senate, by the Italians, and by the +provincials of Gaul; his moral virtues, and military talents, +were loudly celebrated; and those who derived any private benefit +from his government, announced, in prophetic strains, the +restoration of the public felicity. ^114 Their hopes (if such +hopes had been entertained) were confounded within the term of a +single year, and the treaty of peace, which ceded Auvergue to the +Visigoths, is the only event of his short and inglorious reign. +The most faithful subjects of Gaul were sacrificed, by the +Italian emperor, to the hope of domestic security; ^115 but his +repose was soon invaded by a furious sedition of the Barbarian +confederates, who, under the command of Orestes, their general, +were in full march from Rome to Ravenna. Nepos trembled at their +approach; and, instead of placing a just confidence in the +strength of Ravenna, he hastily escaped to his ships, and retired +to his Dalmatian principality, on the opposite coast of the +Adriatic. By this shameful abdication, he protracted his life +about five years, in a very ambiguous state, between an emperor +and an exile, till he was assassinated at Salona by the +ungrateful Glycerius, who was translated, perhaps as the reward +of his crime, to the archbishopric of Milan. ^116 +[Footnote 112: The last revolutions of the Western empire are +faintly marked in Theophanes, (p. 102,) Jornandes, (c. 45, p. +679,) the Chronicle of Marcellinus, and the Fragments of an +anonymous writer, published by Valesius at the end of Ammianus, +(p. 716, 717.) If Photius had not been so wretchedly concise, we +should derive much information from the contemporary histories of +Malchus and Candidus. See his Extracts, p. 172 - 179.] + +[Footnote 113: See Greg. Turon. l. ii. c. 28, in tom. ii. p. 175. + +Dubos, Hist. Critique, tom. i. p. 613. By the murder or death of +his two brothers, Gundobald acquired the sole possession of the +kingdom of Burgundy, whose ruin was hastened by their discord.] +[Footnote 114: Julius Nepos armis pariter summus Augustus ac +moribus. Sidonius, l. v. ep. 16, p. 146. Nepos had given to +Ecdicius the title of Patrician, which Anthemius had promised, +decessoris Anthemii fidem absolvit. See l. viii. ep. 7, p. 224.] +[Footnote 115: Epiphanius was sent ambassador from Nepos to the +Visigoths, for the purpose of ascertaining the fines Imperii +Italici, (Ennodius in Sirmond, tom. i. p. 1665 - 1669.) His +pathetic discourse concealed the disgraceful secret which soon +excited the just and bitter complaints of the bishop of +Clermont.] + +[Footnote 116: Malchus, apud Phot. p. 172. Ennod. Epigram. +lxxxii. in Sirmond. Oper. tom. i. p. 1879. Some doubt may, +however, be raised on the identity of the emperor and the +archbishop.] + + The nations who had asserted their independence after the +death of Attila, were established, by the right of possession or +conquest, in the boundless countries to the north of the Danube; +or in the Roman provinces between the river and the Alps. But +the bravest of their youth enlisted in the army of confederates, +who formed the defence and the terror of Italy; ^117 and in this +promiscuous multitude, the names of the Heruli, the Scyrri, the +Alani, the Turcilingi, and the Rugians, appear to have +predominated. The example of these warriors was imitated by +Orestes, ^118 the son of Tatullus, and the father of the last +Roman emperor of the West. Orestes, who has been already +mentioned in this History, had never deserted his country. His +birth and fortunes rendered him one of the most illustrious +subjects of Pannonia. When that province was ceded to the Huns, +he entered into the service of Attila, his lawful sovereign, +obtained the office of his secretary, and was repeatedly sent +ambassador to Constantinople, to represent the person, and +signify the commands, of the imperious monarch. The death of +that conqueror restored him to his freedom; and Orestes might +honorably refuse either to follow the sons of Attila into the +Scythian desert, or to obey the Ostrogoths, who had usurped the +dominion of Pannonia. He preferred the service of the Italian +princes, the successors of Valentinian; and as he possessed the +qualifications of courage, industry, and experience, he advanced +with rapid steps in the military profession, till he was +elevated, by the favor of Nepos himself, to the dignities of +patrician, and master-general of the troops. These troops had +been long accustomed to reverence the character and authority of +Orestes, who affected their manners, conversed with them in their +own language, and was intimately connected with their national +chieftains, by long habits of familiarity and friendship. At his +solicitation they rose in arms against the obscure Greek, who +presumed to claim their obedience; and when Orestes, from some +secret motive, declined the purple, they consented, with the same +facility, to acknowledge his son Augustulus as the emperor of the +West. By the abdication of Nepos, Orestes had now attained the +summit of his ambitious hopes; but he soon discovered, before the +end of the first year, that the lessons of perjury and +ingratitude, which a rebel must inculcate, will be resorted to +against himself; and that the precarious sovereign of Italy was +only permitted to choose, whether he would be the slave, or the +victim, of his Barbarian mercenaries. The dangerous alliance of +these strangers had oppressed and insulted the last remains of +Roman freedom and dignity. At each revolution, their pay and +privileges were augmented; but their insolence increased in a +still more extravagant degree; they envied the fortune of their +brethren in Gaul, Spain, and Africa, whose victorious arms had +acquired an independent and perpetual inheritance; and they +insisted on their peremptory demand, that a third part of the +lands of Italy should be immediately divided among them. Orestes, +with a spirit, which, in another situation, might be entitled to +our esteem, chose rather to encounter the rage of an armed +multitude, than to subscribe the ruin of an innocent people. He +rejected the audacious demand; and his refusal was favorable to +the ambition of Odoacer; a bold Barbarian, who assured his +fellow-soldiers, that, if they dared to associate under his +command, they might soon extort the justice which had been denied +to their dutiful petitions. From all the camps and garrisons of +Italy, the confederates, actuated by the same resentment and the +same hopes, impatiently flocked to the standard of this popular +leader; and the unfortunate patrician, overwhelmed by the +torrent, hastily retreated to the strong city of Pavia, the +episcopal seat of the holy Epiphanites. Pavia was immediately +besieged, the fortifications were stormed, the town was pillaged; +and although the bishop might labor, with much zeal and some +success, to save the property of the church, and the chastity of +female captives, the tumult could only be appeased by the +execution of Orestes. ^119 His brother Paul was slain in an +action near Ravenna; and the helpless Augustulus, who could no +longer command the respect, was reduced to implore the clemency, +of Odoacer. +[Footnote 117: Our knowledge of these mercenaries, who subverted +the Western empire, is derived from Procopius, (de Bell. Gothico, +l. i. c. i. p. 308.) The popular opinion, and the recent +historians, represent Odoacer in the false light of a stranger, +and a king, who invaded Italy with an army of foreigners, his +native subjects.] + +[Footnote 118: Orestes, qui eo tempore quando Attila ad Italiam +venit, se illi unxit, ejus notarius factus fuerat. Anonym. +Vales. p. 716. He is mistaken in the date; but we may credit his +assertion, that the secretary of Attila was the father of +Augustulus] + +[Footnote 119: See Ennodius, (in Vit. Epiphan. Sirmond, tom. i. +p. 1669, 1670.) He adds weight to the narrative of Procopius, +though we may doubt whether the devil actually contrived the +siege of Pavia, to distress the bishop and his flock.] + + That successful Barbarian was the son of Edecon; who, in +some remarkable transactions, particularly described in a +preceding chapter, had been the colleague of Orestes himself. ^* +The honor of an ambassador should be exempt from suspicion; and +Edecon had listened to a conspiracy against the life of his +sovereign. But this apparent guilt was expiated by his merit or +repentance; his rank was eminent and conspicuous; he enjoyed the +favor of Attila; and the troops under his command, who guarded, +in their turn, the royal village, consisted of a tribe of Scyrri, +his immediate and hereditary subjects. In the revolt of the +nations, they still adhered to the Huns; and more than twelve +years afterwards, the name of Edecon is honorably mentioned, in +their unequal contests with the Ostrogoths; which was terminated, +after two bloody battles, by the defeat and dispersion of the +Scyrri. ^120 Their gallant leader, who did not survive this +national calamity, left two sons, Onulf and Odoacer, to struggle +with adversity, and to maintain as they might, by rapine or +service, the faithful followers of their exile. Onulf directed +his steps towards Constantinople, where he sullied, by the +assassination of a generous benefactor, the fame which he had +acquired in arms. His brother Odoacer led a wandering life among +the Barbarians of Noricum, with a mind and a fortune suited to +the most desperate adventures; and when he had fixed his choice, +he piously visited the cell of Severinus, the popular saint of +the country, to solicit his approbation and blessing. The +lowness of the door would not admit the lofty stature of Odoacer: +he was obliged to stoop; but in that humble attitude the saint +could discern the symptoms of his future greatness; and +addressing him in a prophetic tone, "Pursue" (said he) "your +design; proceed to Italy; you will soon cast away this coarse +garment of skins; and your wealth will be adequate to the +liberality of your mind." ^121 The Barbarian, whose daring spirit +accepted and ratified the prediction, was admitted into the +service of the Western empire, and soon obtained an honorable +rank in the guards. His manners were gradually polished, his +military skill was improved, and the confederates of Italy would +not have elected him for their general, unless the exploits of +Odoacer had established a high opinion of his courage and +capacity. ^122 Their military acclamations saluted him with the +title of king; but he abstained, during his whole reign, from the +use of the purple and diadem, ^123 lest he should offend those +princes, whose subjects, by their accidental mixture, had formed +the victorious army, which time and policy might insensibly unite +into a great nation. + +[Footnote *: Manso observes that the evidence which identifies +Edecon, the father of Odoacer, with the colleague of Orestes, is +not conclusive. Geschichte des Ost-Gothischen Reiches, p. 32. +But St. Martin inclines to agree with Gibbon, note, vi. 75. - M.] + +[Footnote 120: Jornandes, c. 53, 54, p. 692 - 695. M. de Buat +(Hist. des Peuples de l'Europe, tom. viii. p. 221 - 228) has +clearly explained the origin and adventures of Odoacer. I am +almost inclined to believe that he was the same who pillaged +Angers, and commanded a fleet of Saxon pirates on the ocean. +Greg. Turon. l. ii. c. 18, in tom. ii. p. 170. + + Note: According to St. Martin there is no foundation for +this conjecture, vii 5 - M.] + +[Footnote 121: Vade ad Italiam, vade vilissimis nunc pellibus +coopertis: sed multis cito plurima largiturus. Anonym. Vales. +p. 717. He quotes the life of St. Severinus, which is extant, +and contains much unknown and valuable history; it was composed +by his disciple Eugippius (A.D. 511) thirty years after his +death. See Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. xvi. p. 168 - 181.] +[Footnote 122: Theophanes, who calls him a Goth, affirms, that he +was educated, aursed in Italy, (p. 102;) and as this strong +expression will not bear a literal interpretation, it must be +explained by long service in the Imperial guards.] + +[Footnote 123: Nomen regis Odoacer assumpsit, cum tamen neque +purpura nee regalibus uteretur insignibus. Cassiodor. in Chron. +A.D. 476. He seems to have assumed the abstract title of a king, +without applying it to any particular nation or country. + + Note: Manso observes that Odoacer never called himself king +of Italy, assume the purple, and no coins are extant with his +name. Gescnichte Osi Goth. Reiches, p. 36 - M.] + + Royalty was familiar to the Barbarians, and the submissive +people of Italy was prepared to obey, without a murmur, the +authority which he should condescend to exercise as the +vicegerent of the emperor of the West. But Odoacer had resolved +to abolish that useless and expensive office; and such is the +weight of antique prejudice, that it required some boldness and +penetration to discover the extreme facility of the enterprise. +The unfortunate Augustulus was made the instrument of his own +disgrace: he signified his resignation to the senate; and that +assembly, in their last act of obedience to a Roman prince, still +affected the spirit of freedom, and the forms of the +constitution. An epistle was addressed, by their unanimous +decree, to the emperor Zeno, the son-in-law and successor of Leo; +who had lately been restored, after a short rebellion, to the +Byzantine throne. They solemnly "disclaim the necessity, or even +the wish, of continuing any longer the Imperial succession in +Italy; since, in their opinion, the majesty of a sole monarch is +sufficient to pervade and protect, at the same time, both the +East and the West. In their own name, and in the name of the +people, they consent that the seat of universal empire shall be +transferred from Rome to Constantinople; and they basely renounce +the right of choosing their master, the only vestige that yet +remained of the authority which had given laws to the world. The +republic (they repeat that name without a blush) might safely +confide in the civil and military virtues of Odoacer; and they +humbly request, that the emperor would invest him with the title +of Patrician, and the administration of the diocese of Italy." +The deputies of the senate were received at Constantinople with +some marks of displeasure and indignation: and when they were +admitted to the audience of Zeno, he sternly reproached them with +their treatment of the two emperors, Anthemius and Nepos, whom +the East had successively granted to the prayers of Italy. "The +first" (continued he) "you have murdered; the second you have +expelled; but the second is still alive, and whilst he lives he +is your lawful sovereign." But the prudent Zeno soon deserted the +hopeless cause of his abdicated colleague. His vanity was +gratified by the title of sole emperor, and by the statues +erected to his honor in the several quarters of Rome; he +entertained a friendly, though ambiguous, correspondence with the +patrician Odoacer; and he gratefully accepted the Imperial +ensigns, the sacred ornaments of the throne and palace, which the +Barbarian was not unwilling to remove from the sight of the +people. ^124 + +[Footnote 124: Malchus, whose loss excites our regret, has +preserved (in Excerpt. Legat. p. 93) this extraordinary embassy +from the senate to Zeno. The anonymous fragment, (p. 717,) and +the extract from Candidus, (apud Phot. p. 176,) are likewise of +some use.] + + In the space of twenty years since the death of Valentinian, +nine emperors had successively disappeared; and the son of +Orestes, a youth recommended only by his beauty, would be the +least entitled to the notice of posterity, if his reign, which +was marked by the extinction of the Roman empire in the West, did +not leave a memorable era in the history of mankind. ^125 The +patrician Orestes had married the daughter of Count Romulus, of +Petovio in Noricum: the name of Augustus, notwithstanding the +jealousy of power, was known at Aquileia as a familiar surname; +and the appellations of the two great founders, of the city and +of the monarchy, were thus strangely united in the last of their +successors. ^126 The son of Orestes assumed and disgraced the +names of Romulus Augustus; but the first was corrupted into +Momyllus, by the Greeks, and the second has been changed by the +Latins into the contemptible diminutive Augustulus. The life of +this inoffensive youth was spared by the generous clemency of +Odoacer; who dismissed him, with his whole family, from the +Imperial palace, fixed his annual allowance at six thousand +pieces of gold, and assigned the castle of Lucullus, in Campania, +for the place of his exile or retirement. ^127 As soon as the +Romans breathed from the toils of the Punic war, they were +attracted by the beauties and the pleasures of Campania; and the +country- house of the elder Scipio at Liternum exhibited a +lasting model of their rustic simplicity. ^128 The delicious +shores of the Bay of Naples were crowded with villas; and Sylla +applauded the masterly skill of his rival, who had seated himself +on the lofty promontory of Misenum, that commands, on every side, +the sea and land, as far as the boundaries of the horizon. ^129 +The villa of Marius was purchased, within a few years, by +Lucullus, and the price had increased from two thousand five +hundred, to more than fourscore thousand, pounds sterling. ^130 +It was adorned by the new proprietor with Grecian arts and +Asiatic treasures; and the houses and gardens of Lucullus +obtained a distinguished rank in the list of Imperial palaces. +^131 When the Vandals became formidable to the sea-coast, the +Lucullan villa, on the promontory of Misenum, gradually assumed +the strength and appellation of a strong castle, the obscure +retreat of the last emperor of the West. About twenty years +after that great revolution, it was converted into a church and +monastery, to receive the bones of St. Severinus. They securely +reposed, amidst the the broken trophies of Cimbric and Armenian +victories,till the beginning of the tenth century; when the +fortifications, which might afford a dangerous shelter to the +Saracens, were demolished by the people of Naples. ^132 + +[Footnote 125: The precise year in which the Western empire was +extinguished, is not positively ascertained. The vulgar era of +A.D. 476 appears to have the sanction of authentic chronicles. +But the two dates assigned by Jornandes (c. 46, p. 680) would +delay that great event to the year 479; and though M. de Buat has +overlooked his evidence, he produces (tom. viii. p. 261 - 288) +many collateral circumstances in support of the same opinion.] +[Footnote 126: See his medals in Ducange, (Fam. Byzantin. p. 81,) +Priscus, (Excerpt. Legat. p. 56,) Maffei, (Osservazioni +Letterarie, tom. ii p. 314.) We may allege a famous and similar +case. The meanest subjects of the Roman empire assumed the +illustrious name of Patricius, which, by the conversion of +Ireland has been communicated to a whole nation.] + +[Footnote 127: Ingrediens autem Ravennam deposuit Augustulum de +regno, cujus infantiam misertus concessit ei sanguinem; et quia +pulcher erat, tamen donavit ei reditum sex millia solidos, et +misit eum intra Campaniam cum parentibus suis libere vivere. +Anonym. Vales. p. 716. Jornandes says, (c 46, p. 680,) in +Lucullano Campaniae castello exilii poena damnavit.] + +[Footnote 128: See the eloquent Declamation of Seneca, (Epist. +lxxxvi.) The philosopher might have recollected, that all luxury +is relative; and that the elder Scipio, whose manners were +polished by study and conversation, was himself accused of that +vice by his ruder contemporaries, (Livy, xxix. 19.)] +[Footnote 129: Sylla, in the language of a soldier, praised his +peritia castrametandi, (Plin. Hist. Natur. xviii. 7.) Phaedrus, +who makes its shady walks (loeta viridia) the scene of an insipid +fable, (ii. 5,) has thus described the situation: - + + Caesar Tiberius quum petens Neapolim, + In Misenensem villam venissit suam; + Quae monte summo posita Luculli manu + Prospectat Siculum et prospicit Tuscum mare.] + +[Footnote 130: From seven myriads and a half to two hundred and +fifty myriads of drachmae. Yet even in the possession of Marius, +it was a luxurious retirement. The Romans derided his indolence; +they soon bewailed his activity. See Plutarch, in Mario, tom. +ii. p. 524.] + +[Footnote 131: Lucullus had other villa of equal, though various, +magnificence, at Baiae, Naples, Tusculum, &c., He boasted that he +changed his climate with the storks and cranes. Plutarch, in +Lucull. tom. iii. p. 193.] +[Footnote 132: Severinus died in Noricum, A.D. 482. Six years +afterwards, his body, which scattered miracles as it passed, was +transported by his disciples into Italy. The devotion of a +Neapolitan lady invited the saint to the Lucullan villa, in the +place of Augustulus, who was probably no more. See Baronius +(Annal. Eccles. A.D. 496, No. 50, 51) and Tillemont, (Mem. +Eccles. tom. xvi. p. 178 - 181,) from the original life by +Eugippius. The narrative of the last migration of Severinus to +Naples is likewise an authentic piece.] + Odoacer was the first Barbarian who reigned in Italy, over a +people who had once asserted their just superiority above the +rest of mankind. The disgrace of the Romans still excites our +respectful compassion, and we fondly sympathize with the +imaginary grief and indignation of their degenerate posterity. +But the calamities of Italy had gradually subdued the proud +consciousness of freedom and glory. In the age of Roman virtue +the provinces were subject to the arms, and the citizens to the +laws, of the republic; till those laws were subverted by civil +discord, and both the city and the province became the servile +property of a tyrant. The forms of the constitution, which +alleviated or disguised their abject slavery, were abolished by +time and violence; the Italians alternately lamented the presence +or the absence of the sovereign, whom they detested or despised; +and the succession of five centuries inflicted the various evils +of military license, capricious despotism, and elaborate +oppression. During the same period, the Barbarians had emerged +from obscurity and contempt, and the warriors of Germany and +Scythia were introduced into the provinces, as the servants, the +allies, and at length the masters, of the Romans, whom they +insulted or protected. The hatred of the people was suppressed +by fear; they respected the spirit and splendor of the martial +chiefs who were invested with the honors of the empire; and the +fate of Rome had long depended on the sword of those formidable +strangers. The stern Ricimer, who trampled on the ruins of +Italy, had exercised the power, without assuming the title, of a +king; and the patient Romans were insensibly prepared to +acknowledge the royalty of Odoacer and his Barbaric successors. + The king of Italy was not unworthy of the high station to +which his valor and fortune had exalted him: his savage manners +were polished by the habits of conversation; and he respected, +though a conqueror and a Barbarian, the institutions, and even +the prejudices, of his subjects. After an interval of seven +years, Odoacer restored the consulship of the West. For himself, +he modestly, or proudly, declined an honor which was still +accepted by the emperors of the East; but the curule chair was +successively filled by eleven of the most illustrious senators; +^133 and the list is adorned by the respectable name of Basilius, +whose virtues claimed the friendship and grateful applause of +Sidonius, his client. ^134 The laws of the emperors were strictly +enforced, and the civil administration of Italy was still +exercised by the Praetorian praefect and his subordinate +officers. Odoacer devolved on the Roman magistrates the odious +and oppressive task of collecting the public revenue; but he +reserved for himself the merit of seasonable and popular +indulgence. ^135 Like the rest of the Barbarians, he had been +instructed in the Arian heresy; but he revered the monastic and +episcopal characters; and the silence of the Catholics attest the +toleration which they enjoyed. The peace of the city required +the interposition of his praefect Basilius in the choice of a +Roman pontiff: the decree which restrained the clergy from +alienating their lands was ultimately designed for the benefit of +the people, whose devotions would have been taxed to repair the +dilapidations of the church. ^136 Italy was protected by the arms +of its conqueror; and its frontiers were respected by the +Barbarians of Gaul and Germany, who had so long insulted the +feeble race of Theodosius. Odoacer passed the Adriatic, to +chastise the assassins of the emperor Nepos, and to acquire the +maritime province of Dalmatia. He passed the Alps, to rescue the +remains of Noricum from Fava, or Feletheus, king of the Rugians, +who held his residence beyond the Danube. The king was +vanquished in battle, and led away prisoner; a numerous colony of +captives and subjects was transplanted into Italy; and Rome, +after a long period of defeat and disgrace, might claim the +triumph of her Barbarian master. ^137 + +[Footnote 133: The consular Fasti may be found in Pagi or +Muratori. The consuls named by Odoacer, or perhaps by the Roman +senate, appear to have been acknowledged in the Eastern empire.] +[Footnote 134: Sidonius Apollinaris (l. i. epist. 9, p. 22, edit. +Sirmond) has compared the two leading senators of his time, (A.D. +468,) Gennadius Avienus and Caecina Basilius. To the former he +assigns the specious, to the latter the solid, virtues of public +and private life. A Basilius junior, possibly his son, was +consul in the year 480.] + +[Footnote 135: Epiphanius interceded for the people of Pavia; and +the king first granted an indulgence of five years, and +afterwards relieved them from the oppression of Pelagius, the +Praetorian praefect, (Ennodius in Vit St. Epiphan., in Sirmond, +Oper. tom. i. p. 1670 - 1672.)] + +[Footnote 136: See Baronius, Annal. Eccles. A.D. 483, No. 10 - +15. Sixteen years afterwards the irregular proceedings of +Basilius were condemned by Pope Symmachus in a Roman synod.] +[Footnote 137: The wars of Odoacer are concisely mentioned by +Paul the Deacon, (de Gest. Langobard. l. i. c. 19, p. 757, edit. +Grot.,) and in the two Chronicles of Cassiodorus and Cuspinian. +The life of St. Severinus by Eugippius, which the count de Buat +(Hist. des Peuples, &c., tom. viii. c. 1, 4, 8, 9) has diligently +studied, illustrates the ruin of Noricum and the Bavarian +antiquities] + + Notwithstanding the prudence and success of Odoacer, his +kingdom exhibited the sad prospect of misery and desolation. +Since the age of Tiberius, the decay of agriculture had been felt +in Italy; and it was a just subject of complaint, that the life +of the Roman people depended on the accidents of the winds and +waves. ^138 In the division and the decline of the empire, the +tributary harvests of Egypt and Africa were withdrawn; the +numbers of the inhabitants continually diminished with the means +of subsistence; and the country was exhausted by the +irretrievable losses of war, famine, ^139 and pestilence. St. +Ambrose has deplored the ruin of a populous district, which had +been once adorned with the flourishing cities of Bologna, Modena, +Regium, and Placentia. ^140 Pope Gelasius was a subject of +Odoacer; and he affirms, with strong exaggeration, that in +Aemilia, Tuscany, and the adjacent provinces, the human species +was almost extirpated. ^141 The plebeians of Rome, who were fed +by the hand of their master, perished or disappeared, as soon as +his liberality was suppressed; the decline of the arts reduced +the industrious mechanic to idleness and want; and the senators, +who might support with patience the ruin of their country, +bewailed their private loss of wealth and luxury. ^* One third of +those ample estates, to which the ruin of Italy is originally +imputed, ^142 was extorted for the use of the conquerors. +Injuries were aggravated by insults; the sense of actual +sufferings was imbittered by the fear of more dreadful evils; and +as new lands were allotted to the new swarms of Barbarians, each +senator was apprehensive lest the arbitrary surveyors should +approach his favorite villa, or his most profitable farm. The +least unfortunate were those who submitted without a murmur to +the power which it was impossible to resist. Since they desired +to live, they owed some gratitude to the tyrant who had spared +their lives; and since he was the absolute master of their +fortunes, the portion which he left must be accepted as his pure +and voluntary gift. ^143 The distress of Italy ^! was mitigated +by the prudence and humanity of Odoacer, who had bound himself, +as the price of his elevation, to satisfy the demands of a +licentious and turbulent multitude. The kings of the Barbarians +were frequently resisted, deposed, or murdered, by their native +subjects, and the various bands of Italian mercenaries, who +associated under the standard of an elective general, claimed a +larger privilege of freedom and rapine. A monarchy destitute of +national union, and hereditary right, hastened to its +dissolution. After a reign of fourteen years, Odoacer was +oppressed by the superior genius of Theodoric, king of the +Ostrogoths; a hero alike excellent in the arts of war and of +government, who restored an age of peace and prosperity, and +whose name still excites and deserves the attention of mankind. +[Footnote 138: Tacit. Annal. iii. 53. The Recherches sur +l'Administration des Terres chez les Romains (p. 351 - 361) +clearly state the progress of internal decay.] + +[Footnote 139: A famine, which afflicted Italy at the time of the +irruption of Odoacer, king of the Heruli, is eloquently +described, in prose and verse, by a French poet, (Les Mois, tom. +ii. p. 174, 205, edit. in 12 mo.) I am ignorant from whence he +derives his information; but I am well assured that he relates +some facts incompatible with the truth of history] + +[Footnote 140: See the xxxixth epistle of St. Ambrose, as it is +quoted by Muratori, sopra le Antichita Italiane, tom. i. Dissert. +xxi. p. 354.] +[Footnote 141: Aemilia, Tuscia, ceteraeque provinciae in quibus +hominum propenullus exsistit. Gelasius, Epist. ad Andromachum, +ap. Baronium, Annal. Eccles. A.D. 496, No. 36.] + +[Footnote *: Denina supposes that the Barbarians were compelled +by necessity to turn their attention to agriculture. Italy, +either imperfectly cultivated, or not at all, by the indolent or +ruined proprietors, not only could not furnish the imposts, on +which the pay of the soldiery depended, but not even a certain +supply of the necessaries of life. The neighboring countries +were now occupied by warlike nations; the supplies of corn from +Africa were cut off; foreign commerce nearly destroyed; they +could not look for supplies beyond the limits of Italy, +throughout which the agriculture had been long in a state of +progressive but rapid depression. (Denina, Rev. d'Italia t. v. +c. i.) - M.] +[Footnote 142: Verumque confitentibus, latifundia perdidere +Italiam. Plin. Hist. Natur. xviii. 7.] + +[Footnote 143: Such are the topics of consolation, or rather of +patience, which Cicero (ad Familiares, lib. ix. Epist. 17) +suggests to his friend Papirius Paetus, under the military +despotism of Caesar. The argument, however, of "vivere +pulcherrimum duxi," is more forcibly addressed to a Roman +philosopher, who possessed the free alternative of life or death] + +[Footnote !: Compare, on the desolation and change of property in +Italy, Manno des Ost-Gothischen Reiches, Part ii. p. 73, et seq. +- M.] + +Chapter XXXVII: Conversion Of The Barbarians To Christianity. +Part I. + + Origin Progress, And Effects Of The Monastic Life. - +Conversion Of The Barbarians To Christianity And Arianism. - +Persecution Of The Vandals In Africa. - Extinction Of Arianism +Among The Barbarians. + + The indissoluble connection of civil and ecclesiastical +affairs has compelled, and encouraged, me to relate the progress, +the persecutions, the establishment, the divisions, the final +triumph, and the gradual corruption, of Christianity. I have +purposely delayed the consideration of two religious events, +interesting in the study of human nature, and important in the +decline and fall of the Roman empire. I. The institution of the +monastic life; ^1 and, II. The conversion of the northern +Barbarians. + +[Footnote 1: The origin of the monastic institution has been +laboriously discussed by Thomassin (Discipline de l'Eglise, tom. +i. p. 1119 - 1426) and Helyot, (Hist. des Ordres Monastiques, +tom. i. p. 1 - 66.) These authors are very learned, and tolerably +honest, and their difference of opinion shows the subject in its +full extent. Yet the cautious Protestant, who distrusts any +popish guides, may consult the seventh book of Bingham's +Christian Antiquities.] + + I. Prosperity and peace introduced the distinction of the +vulgar and the Ascetic Christians. ^2 The loose and imperfect +practice of religion satisfied the conscience of the multitude. +The prince or magistrate, the soldier or merchant, reconciled +their fervent zeal, and implicit faith, with the exercise of +their profession, the pursuit of their interest, and the +indulgence of their passions: but the Ascetics, who obeyed and +abused the rigid precepts of the gospel, were inspired by the +savage enthusiasm which represents man as a criminal, and God as +a tyrant. They seriously renounced the business, and the +pleasures, of the age; abjured the use of wine, of flesh, and of +marriage; chastised their body, mortified their affections, and +embraced a life of misery, as the price of eternal happiness. In +the reign of Constantine, the Ascetics fled from a profane and +degenerate world, to perpetual solitude, or religious society. +Like the first Christians of Jerusalem, ^3 ^* they resigned the +use, or the property of their temporal possessions; established +regular communities of the same sex, and a similar disposition; +and assumed the names of Hermits, Monks, and Anachorets, +expressive of their lonely retreat in a natural or artificial +desert. They soon acquired the respect of the world, which they +despised; and the loudest applause was bestowed on this Divine +Philosophy, ^4 which surpassed, without the aid of science or +reason, the laborious virtues of the Grecian schools. The monks +might indeed contend with the Stoics, in the contempt of fortune, +of pain, and of death: the Pythagorean silence and submission +were revived in their servile discipline; and they disdained, as +firmly as the Cynics themselves, all the forms and decencies of +civil society. But the votaries of this Divine Philosophy +aspired to imitate a purer and more perfect model. They trod in +the footsteps of the prophets, who had retired to the desert; ^5 +and they restored the devout and contemplative life, which had +been instituted by the Essenians, in Palestine and Egypt. The +philosophic eye of Pliny had surveyed with astonishment a +solitary people, who dwelt among the palm-trees near the Dead +Sea; who subsisted without money, who were propagated without +women; and who derived from the disgust and repentance of mankind +a perpetual supply of voluntary associates. ^6 + +[Footnote 2: See Euseb. Demonstrat. Evangel., (l. i. p. 20, 21, +edit. Graec. Rob. Stephani, Paris, 1545.) In his Ecclesiastical +History, published twelve years after the Demonstration, Eusebius +(l. ii. c. 17) asserts the Christianity of the Therapeutae; but +he appears ignorant that a similar institution was actually +revived in Egypt.] + +[Footnote 3: Cassian (Collat. xviii. 5.) claims this origin for +the institution of the Coenobites, which gradually decayed till +it was restored by Antony and his disciples.] + +[Footnote *: It has before been shown that the first Christian +community was not strictly coenobitic. See vol. ii. - M.] +[Footnote 4: These are the expressive words of Sozomen, who +copiously and agreeably describes (l. i. c. 12, 13, 14) the +origin and progress of this monkish philosophy, (see Suicer. +Thesau, Eccles., tom. ii. p. 1441.) Some modern writers, Lipsius +(tom. iv. p. 448. Manuduct. ad Philosoph. Stoic. iii. 13) and La +Mothe le Vayer, (tom. ix. de la Vertu des Payens, p. 228 - 262,) +have compared the Carmelites to the Pythagoreans, and the Cynics +to the Capucins.] + +[Footnote 5: The Carmelites derive their pedigree, in regular +succession, from the prophet Elijah, (see the Theses of Beziers, +A.D. 1682, in Bayle's Nouvelles de la Republique des Lettres, +Oeuvres, tom. i. p. 82, &c., and the prolix irony of the Ordres +Monastiques, an anonymous work, tom. i. p. 1 - 433, Berlin, +1751.) Rome, and the inquisition of Spain, silenced the profane +criticism of the Jesuits of Flanders, (Helyot, Hist. des Ordres +Monastiques, tom. i. p. 282 - 300,) and the statue of Elijah, the +Carmelite, has been erected in the church of St. Peter, (Voyages +du P. Labat tom. iii. p. 87.)] +[Footnote 6: Plin. Hist. Natur. v. 15. Gens sola, et in toto +orbe praeter ceteras mira, sine ulla femina, omni venere +abdicata, sine pecunia, socia palmarum. Ita per seculorum millia +(incredibile dictu) gens aeterna est in qua nemo nascitur. Tam +foecunda illis aliorum vitae poenitentia est. He places them +just beyond the noxious influence of the lake, and names Engaddi +and Massada as the nearest towns. The Laura, and monastery of +St. Sabas, could not be far distant from this place. See Reland. +Palestin., tom. i. p. 295; tom. ii. p. 763, 874, 880, 890.] + Egypt, the fruitful parent of superstition, afforded the +first example of the monastic life. Antony, ^7 an illiterate ^8 +youth of the lower parts of Thebais, distributed his patrimony, +^9 deserted his family and native home, and executed his monastic +penance with original and intrepid fanaticism. After a long and +painful novitiate, among the tombs, and in a ruined tower, he +boldly advanced into the desert three days' journey to the +eastward of the Nile; discovered a lonely spot, which possessed +the advantages of shade and water, and fixed his last residence +on Mount Colzim, near the Red Sea; where an ancient monastery +still preserves the name and memory of the saint. ^10 The curious +devotion of the Christians pursued him to the desert; and when he +was obliged to appear at Alexandria, in the face of mankind, he +supported his fame with discretion and dignity. He enjoyed the +friendship of Athanasius, whose doctrine he approved; and the +Egyptian peasant respectfully declined a respectful invitation +from the emperor Constantine. The venerable patriarch (for +Antony attained the age of one hundred and five years) beheld the +numerous progeny which had been formed by his example and his +lessons. The prolific colonies of monks multiplied with rapid +increase on the sands of Libya, upon the rocks of Thebais, and in +the cities of the Nile. To the south of Alexandria, the +mountain, and adjacent desert, of Nitria, were peopled by five +thousand anachorets; and the traveller may still investigate the +ruins of fifty monasteries, which were planted in that barren +soil by the disciples of Antony. ^11 In the Upper Thebais, the +vacant island of Tabenne, ^12 was occupied by Pachomius and +fourteen hundred of his brethren. That holy abbot successively +founded nine monasteries of men, and one of women; and the +festival of Easter sometimes collected fifty thousand religious +persons, who followed his angelic rule of discipline. ^13 The +stately and populous city of Oxyrinchus, the seat of Christian +orthodoxy, had devoted the temples, the public edifices, and even +the ramparts, to pious and charitable uses; and the bishop, who +might preach in twelve churches, computed ten thousand females +and twenty thousand males, of the monastic profession. ^14 The +Egyptians, who gloried in this marvellous revolution, were +disposed to hope, and to believe, that the number of the monks +was equal to the remainder of the people; ^15 and posterity might +repeat the saying, which had formerly been applied to the sacred +animals of the same country, That in Egypt it was less difficult +to find a god than a man. + +[Footnote 7: See Athanas. Op. tom. ii. p. 450 - 505, and the Vit. +Patrum, p. 26 - 74, with Rosweyde's Annotations. The former is +the Greek original the latter, a very ancient Latin version by +Evagrius, the friend of St. Jerom.] +[Footnote 8: Athanas. tom. ii. in Vit. St. Anton. p. 452; and the +assertion of his total ignorance has been received by many of the +ancients and moderns. But Tillemont (Mem. Eccles. tom. vii. p. +666) shows, by some probable arguments, that Antony could read +and write in the Coptic, his native tongue; and that he was only +a stranger to the Greek letters. The philosopher Synesius (p. +51) acknowledges that the natural genius of Antony did not +require the aid of learning.] + +[Footnote 9: Aruroe autem erant ei trecentae uberes, et valde +optimae, (Vit. Patr. l. v. p. 36.) If the Arura be a square +measure, of a hundred Egyptian cubits, (Rosweyde, Onomasticon ad +Vit. Patrum, p. 1014, 1015,) and the Egyptian cubit of all ages +be equal to twenty-two English inches, (Greaves, vol. i. p. 233,) +the arura will consist of about three quarters of an English +acre.] + +[Footnote 10: The description of the monastery is given by Jerom +(tom. i. p. 248, 249, in Vit. Hilarion) and the P. Sicard, +(Missions du Levant tom. v. p. 122 - 200.) Their accounts cannot +always be reconciled the father painted from his fancy, and the +Jesuit from his experience.] + +[Footnote 11: Jerom, tom. i. p. 146, ad Eustochium. Hist. +Lausiac. c. 7, in Vit. Patrum, p. 712. The P. Sicard (Missions +du Levant, tom. ii. p. 29 - 79) visited and has described this +desert, which now contains four monasteries, and twenty or thirty +monks. See D'Anville, Description de l'Egypte, p. 74.] +[Footnote 12: Tabenne is a small island in the Nile, in the +diocese of Tentyra or Dendera, between the modern town of Girge +and the ruins of ancient Thebes, (D'Anville, p. 194.) M. de +Tillemont doubts whether it was an isle; but I may conclude, from +his own facts, that the primitive name was afterwards transferred +to the great monastery of Bau or Pabau, (Mem. Eccles. tom. vii. +p. 678, 688.)] + +[Footnote 13: See in the Codex Regularum (published by Lucas +Holstenius, Rome, 1661) a preface of St. Jerom to his Latin +version of the Rule of Pachomius, tom. i. p. 61.] + +[Footnote 14: Rufin. c. 5, in Vit. Patrum, p. 459. He calls it +civitas ampla ralde et populosa, and reckons twelve churches. +Strabo (l. xvii. p. 1166) and Ammianus (xxii. 16) have made +honorable mention of Oxyrinchus, whose inhabitants adored a small +fish in a magnificent temple.] + +[Footnote 15: Quanti populi habentur in urbibus, tantae paene +habentur in desertis multitudines monachorum. Rufin. c. 7, in +Vit. Patrum, p. 461. He congratulates the fortunate change.] + Athanasius introduced into Rome the knowledge and practice +of the monastic life; and a school of this new philosophy was +opened by the disciples of Antony, who accompanied their primate +to the holy threshold of the Vatican. The strange and savage +appearance of these Egyptians excited, at first, horror and +contempt, and, at length, applause and zealous imitation. The +senators, and more especially the matrons, transformed their +palaces and villas into religious houses; and the narrow +institution of six vestals was eclipsed by the frequent +monasteries, which were seated on the ruins of ancient temples, +and in the midst of the Roman forum. ^16 Inflamed by the example +of Antony, a Syrian youth, whose name was Hilarion, ^17 fixed his +dreary abode on a sandy beach, between the sea and a morass, +about seven miles from Gaza. The austere penance, in which he +persisted forty-eight years, diffused a similar enthusiasm; and +the holy man was followed by a train of two or three thousand +anachorets, whenever he visited the innumerable monasteries of +Palestine. The fame of Basil ^18 is immortal in the monastic +history of the East. With a mind that had tasted the learning +and eloquence of Athens; with an ambition scarcely to be +satisfied with the archbishopric of Caesarea, Basil retired to a +savage solitude in Pontus; and deigned, for a while, to give laws +to the spiritual colonies which he profusely scattered along the +coast of the Black Sea. In the West, Martin of Tours, ^19 a +soldier, a hermit, a bishop, and a saint, established the +monasteries of Gaul; two thousand of his disciples followed him +to the grave; and his eloquent historian challenges the deserts +of Thebais to produce, in a more favorable climate, a champion of +equal virtue. The progress of the monks was not less rapid, or +universal, than that of Christianity itself. Every province, +and, at last, every city, of the empire, was filled with their +increasing multitudes; and the bleak and barren isles, from +Lerins to Lipari, that arose out of the Tuscan Sea, were chosen +by the anachorets for the place of their voluntary exile. An +easy and perpetual intercourse by sea and land connected the +provinces of the Roman world; and the life of Hilarion displays +the facility with which an indigent hermit of Palestine might +traverse Egypt, embark for Sicily, escape to Epirus, and finally +settle in the Island of Cyprus. ^20 The Latin Christians embraced +the religious institutions of Rome. The pilgrims, who visited +Jerusalem, eagerly copied, in the most distant climates of the +earth, the faithful model of the monastic life. The disciples of +Antony spread themselves beyond the tropic, over the Christian +empire of Aethiopia. ^21 The monastery of Banchor, ^22 in +Flintshire, which contained above two thousand brethren, +dispersed a numerous colony among the Barbarians of Ireland; ^23 +and Iona, one of the Hebrides, which was planted by the Irish +monks, diffused over the northern regions a doubtful ray of +science and superstition. ^24 + +[Footnote 16: The introduction of the monastic life into Rome and +Italy is occasionally mentioned by Jerom, tom. i. p. 119, 120, +199.] +[Footnote 17: See the Life of Hilarion, by St. Jerom, (tom. i. p. +241, 252.) The stories of Paul, Hilarion, and Malchus, by the +same author, are admirably told: and the only defect of these +pleasing compositions is the want of truth and common sense.] +[Footnote 18: His original retreat was in a small village on the +banks of the Iris, not far from Neo-Caesarea. The ten or twelve +years of his monastic life were disturbed by long and frequent +avocations. Some critics have disputed the authenticity of his +Ascetic rules; but the external evidence is weighty, and they can +only prove that it is the work of a real or affected enthusiast. +See Tillemont, Mem. Eccles tom. ix. p. 636 - 644. Helyot, Hist. +des Ordres Monastiques tom. i. p. 175 - 181] + +[Footnote 19: See his Life, and the three Dialogues by Sulpicius +Severus, who asserts (Dialog. i. 16) that the booksellers of Rome +were delighted with the quick and ready sale of his popular +work.] + +[Footnote 20: When Hilarion sailed from Paraetonium to Cape +Pachynus, he offered to pay his passage with a book of the +Gospels. Posthumian, a Gallic monk, who had visited Egypt, found +a merchant ship bound from Alexandria to Marseilles, and +performed the voyage in thirty days, (Sulp. Sever. Dialog. i. 1.) +Athanasius, who addressed his Life of St. Antony to the foreign +monks, was obliged to hasten the composition, that it might be +ready for the sailing of the fleets, (tom. ii. p. 451.)] + +[Footnote 21: See Jerom, (tom. i. p. 126,) Assemanni, Bibliot. +Orient. tom. iv. p. 92, p. 857 - 919, and Geddes, Church History +of Aethiopia, p. 29 - 31. The Abyssinian monks adhere very +strictly to the primitive institution.] +[Footnote 22: Camden's Britannia, vol. i. p. 666, 667.] + +[Footnote 23: All that learning can extract from the rubbish of +the dark ages is copiously stated by Archbishop Usher in his +Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates, cap. xvi. p. 425 - 503.] +[Footnote 24: This small, though not barren, spot, Iona, Hy, or +Columbkill, only two miles in length, aud one mile in breadth, +has been distinguished, 1. By the monastery of St. Columba, +founded A.D. 566; whose abbot exercised an extraordinary +jurisdiction over the bishops of Caledonia; 2. By a classic +library, which afforded some hopes of an entire Livy; and, 3. By +the tombs of sixty kings, Scots, Irish, and Norwegians, who +reposed in holy ground. See Usher (p. 311, 360 - 370) and +Buchanan, (Rer. Scot. l. ii. p. 15, edit. Ruddiman.)] + + These unhappy exiles from social life were impelled by the +dark and implacable genius of superstition. Their mutual +resolution was supported by the example of millions, of either +sex, of every age, and of every rank; and each proselyte who +entered the gates of a monastery, was persuaded that he trod the +steep and thorny path of eternal happiness. ^25 But the operation +of these religious motives was variously determined by the temper +and situation of mankind. Reason might subdue, or passion might +suspend, their influence: but they acted most forcibly on the +infirm minds of children and females; they were strengthened by +secret remorse, or accidental misfortune; and they might derive +some aid from the temporal considerations of vanity or interest. +It was naturally supposed, that the pious and humble monks, who +had renounced the world to accomplish the work of their +salvation, were the best qualified for the spiritual government +of the Christians. The reluctant hermit was torn from his cell, +and seated, amidst the acclamations of the people, on the +episcopal throne: the monasteries of Egypt, of Gaul, and of the +East, supplied a regular succession of saints and bishops; and +ambition soon discovered the secret road which led to the +possession of wealth and honors. ^26 The popular monks, whose +reputation was connected with the fame and success of the order, +assiduously labored to multiply the number of their +fellow-captives. They insinuated themselves into noble and +opulent families; and the specious arts of flattery and seduction +were employed to secure those proselytes who might bestow wealth +or dignity on the monastic profession. The indignant father +bewailed the loss, perhaps, of an only son; ^27 the credulous +maid was betrayed by vanity to violate the laws of nature; and +the matron aspired to imaginary perfection, by renouncing the +virtues of domestic life. Paula yielded to the persuasive +eloquence of Jerom; ^28 and the profane title of mother-in-law of +God ^29 tempted that illustrious widow to consecrate the +virginity of her daughter Eustochium. By the advice, and in the +company, of her spiritual guide, Paula abandoned Rome and her +infant son; retired to the holy village of Bethlem; founded a +hospital and four monasteries; and acquired, by her alms and +penance, an eminent and conspicuous station in the Catholic +church. Such rare and illustrious penitents were celebrated as +the glory and example of their age; but the monasteries were +filled by a crowd of obscure and abject plebeians, ^30 who gained +in the cloister much more than they had sacrificed in the world. +Peasants, slaves, and mechanics, might escape from poverty and +contempt to a safe and honorable profession; whose apparent +hardships are mitigated by custom, by popular applause, and by +the secret relaxation of discipline. ^31 The subjects of Rome, +whose persons and fortunes were made responsible for unequal and +exorbitant tributes, retired from the oppression of the Imperial +government; and the pusillanimous youth preferred the penance of +a monastic, to the dangers of a military, life. The affrighted +provincials of every rank, who fled before the Barbarians, found +shelter and subsistence: whole legions were buried in these +religious sanctuaries; and the same cause, which relieved the +distress of individuals, impaired the strength and fortitude of +the empire. ^32 + +[Footnote 25: Chrysostom (in the first tome of the Benedictine +edition) has consecrated three books to the praise and defence of +the monastic life. He is encouraged, by the example of the ark, +to presume that none but the elect (the monks) can possibly be +saved (l. i. p. 55, 56.) Elsewhere, indeed, he becomes more +merciful, (l. iii. p. 83, 84,) and allows different degrees of +glory, like the sun, moon, and stars. In his lively comparison +of a king and a monk, (l. iii. p. 116 - 121,) he supposes (what +is hardly fair) that the king will be more sparingly rewarded, +and more rigorously punished.] +[Footnote 26: Thomassin (Discipline de l'Eglise tom. i. p. 1426 - +1469) and Mabillon, (Oeuvres Posthumes, tom. ii. p. 115 - 158.) +The monks were gradually adopted as a part of the ecclesiastical +hierarchy.] + +[Footnote 27: Dr. Middleton (vol. i. p. 110) liberally censures +the conduct and writings of Chrysostom, one of the most eloquent +and successful advocates for the monastic life.] + +[Footnote 28: Jerom's devout ladies form a very considerable +portion of his works: the particular treatise, which he styles +the Epitaph of Paula, (tom. i. p. 169 - 192,) is an elaborate and +extravagant panegyric. The exordium is ridiculously turgid: "If +all the members of my body were changed into tongues, and if all +my limbs resounded with a human voice, yet should I be +incapable," &c.] + +[Footnote 29: Socrus Dei esse coepisti, (Jerom, tom. i. p. 140, +ad Eustochium.) Rufinus, (in Hieronym. Op. tom. iv. p. 223,) who +was justly scandalized, asks his adversary, from what Pagan poet +he had stolen an expression so impious and absurd.] + +[Footnote 30: Nunc autem veniunt plerumque ad hanc professionem +servitutis Dei, et ex conditione servili, vel etiam liberati, vel +propter hoc a Dominis liberati sive liberandi; et ex vita +rusticana et ex opificum exercitatione, et plebeio labore. +Augustin, de Oper. Monach. c. 22, ap. Thomassin, Discipline de +l'Eglise, tom. iii. p. 1094. The Egyptian, who blamed Arsenius, +owned that he led a more comfortable life as a monk than as a +shepherd. See Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. xiv. p. 679.] + +[Footnote 31: A Dominican friar, (Voyages du P. Labat, tom. i. p. +10,) who lodged at Cadiz in a convent of his brethren, soon +understood that their repose was never interrupted by nocturnal +devotion; "quoiqu'on ne laisse pas de sonner pour l'edification +du peuple."] + +[Footnote 32: See a very sensible preface of Lucas Holstenius to +the Codex Regularum. The emperors attempted to support the +obligation of public and private duties; but the feeble dikes +were swept away by the torrent of superstition; and Justinian +surpassed the most sanguine wishes of the monks, (Thomassin, tom. +i. p. 1782 - 1799, and Bingham, l. vii. c. iii. p. 253.) + Note: The emperor Valens, in particular, promulgates a law +contra ignavise quosdam sectatores, qui desertis civitatum +muneribus, captant solitudines secreta, et specie religionis cum +coetibus monachorum congregantur. Cad. Theod l. xii. tit. i. +leg. 63. - G.] + + The monastic profession of the ancients ^33 was an act of +voluntary devotion. The inconstant fanatic was threatened with +the eternal vengeance of the God whom he deserted; but the doors +of the monastery were still open for repentance. Those monks, +whose conscience was fortified by reason or passion, were at +liberty to resume the character of men and citizens; and even the +spouses of Christ might accept the legal embraces of an earthly +lover. ^34 The examples of scandal, and the progress of +superstition, suggested the propriety of more forcible +restraints. After a sufficient trial, the fidelity of the novice +was secured by a solemn and perpetual vow; and his irrevocable +engagement was ratified by the laws of the church and state. A +guilty fugitive was pursued, arrested, and restored to his +perpetual prison; and the interposition of the magistrate +oppressed the freedom and the merit, which had alleviated, in +some degree, the abject slavery of the monastic discipline. ^35 +The actions of a monk, his words, and even his thoughts, were +determined by an inflexible rule, ^36 or a capricious superior: +the slightest offences were corrected by disgrace or confinement, +extraordinary fasts, or bloody flagellation; and disobedience, +murmur, or delay, were ranked in the catalogue of the most +heinous sins. ^37 A blind submission to the commands of the +abbot, however absurd, or even criminal, they might seem, was the +ruling principle, the first virtue of the Egyptian monks; and +their patience was frequently exercised by the most extravagant +trials. They were directed to remove an enormous rock; +assiduously to water a barren staff, that was planted in the +ground, till, at the end of three years, it should vegetate and +blossom like a tree; to walk into a fiery furnace; or to cast +their infant into a deep pond: and several saints, or madmen, +have been immortalized in monastic story, by their thoughtless +and fearless obedience. ^38 The freedom of the mind, the source +of every generous and rational sentiment, was destroyed by the +habits of credulity and submission; and the monk, contracting the +vices of a slave, devoutly followed the faith and passions of his +ecclesiastical tyrant. The peace of the Eastern church was +invaded by a swarm of fanatics, incapable of fear, or reason, or +humanity; and the Imperial troops acknowledged, without shame, +that they were much less apprehensive of an encounter with the +fiercest Barbarians. ^39 + +[Footnote 33: The monastic institutions, particularly those of +Egypt, about the year 400, are described by four curious and +devout travellers; Rufinus, (Vit. Patrum, l. ii. iii. p. 424 - +536,) Posthumian, (Sulp. Sever. Dialog. i.) Palladius, (Hist. +Lausiac. in Vit. Patrum, p. 709 - 863,) and Cassian, (see in tom. +vii. Bibliothec. Max. Patrum, his four first books of Institutes, +and the twenty-four Collations or Conferences.)] + +[Footnote 34: The example of Malchus, (Jerom, tom. i. p. 256,) +and the design of Cassian and his friend, (Collation. xxiv. 1,) +are incontestable proofs of their freedom; which is elegantly +described by Erasmus in his Life of St. Jerom. See Chardon, +Hist. des Sacremens, tom. vi. p. 279 - 300.] +[Footnote 35: See the Laws of Justinian, (Novel. cxxiii. No. 42,) +and of Lewis the Pious, (in the Historians of France, tom vi. p. +427,) and the actual jurisprudence of France, in Denissart, +(Decisions, &c., tom. iv. p. 855,) &c.] +[Footnote 36: The ancient Codex Regularum, collected by Benedict +Anianinus, the reformer of the monks in the beginning of the +ninth century, and published in the seventeenth, by Lucas +Holstenius, contains thirty different rules for men and women. +Of these, seven were composed in Egypt, one in the East, one in +Cappadocia, one in Italy, one in Africa, four in Spain, eight in +Gaul, or France, and one in England.] + +[Footnote 37: The rule of Columbanus, so prevalent in the West, +inflicts one hundred lashes for very slight offences, (Cod. Reg. +part ii. p. 174.) Before the time of Charlemagne, the abbots +indulged themselves in mutilating their monks, or putting out +their eyes; a punishment much less cruel than the tremendous vade +in pace (the subterraneous dungeon or sepulchre) which was +afterwards invented. See an admirable discourse of the learned +Mabillon, (Oeuvres Posthumes, tom. ii. p. 321 - 336,) who, on +this occasion, seems to be inspired by the genius of humanity. +For such an effort, I can forgive his defence of the holy tear of +Vendeme (p. 361 - 399.)] + +[Footnote 38: Sulp. Sever. Dialog. i. 12, 13, p. 532, &c. +Cassian. Institut. l. iv. c. 26, 27. "Praecipua ibi virtus et +prima est obedientia." Among the Verba seniorum, (in Vit. Patrum, +l. v. p. 617,) the fourteenth libel or discourse is on the +subject of obedience; and the Jesuit Rosweyde, who published that +huge volume for the use of convents, has collected all the +scattered passages in his two copious indexes.] + +[Footnote 39: Dr. Jortin (Remarks on Ecclesiastical History, vol. +iv. p. 161) has observed the scandalous valor of the Cappadocian +monks, which was exemplified in the banishment of Chrysostom.] + Superstition has often framed and consecrated the fantastic +garments of the monks: ^40 but their apparent singularity +sometimes proceeds from their uniform attachment to a simple and +primitive model, which the revolutions of fashion have made +ridiculous in the eyes of mankind. The father of the +Benedictines expressly disclaims all idea of choice of merit; and +soberly exhorts his disciples to adopt the coarse and convenient +dress of the countries which they may inhabit. ^41 The monastic +habits of the ancients varied with the climate, and their mode of +life; and they assumed, with the same indifference, the +sheep-skin of the Egyptian peasants, or the cloak of the Grecian +philosophers. They allowed themselves the use of linen in Egypt, +where it was a cheap and domestic manufacture; but in the West +they rejected such an expensive article of foreign luxury. ^42 It +was the practice of the monks either to cut or shave their hair; +they wrapped their heads in a cowl to escape the sight of profane +objects; their legs and feet were naked, except in the extreme +cold of winter; and their slow and feeble steps were supported by +a long staff. The aspect of a genuine anachoret was horrid and +disgusting: every sensation that is offensive to man was thought +acceptable to God; and the angelic rule of Tabenne condemned the +salutary custom of bathing the limbs in water, and of anointing +them with oil. ^43 ^* The austere monks slept on the ground, on a +hard mat, or a rough blanket; and the same bundle of palm-leaves +served them as a seat in the lay, and a pillow in the night. +Their original cells were low, narrow huts, built of the +slightest materials; which formed, by the regular distribution of +the streets, a large and populous village, enclosing, within the +common wall, a church, a hospital, perhaps a library, some +necessary offices, a garden, and a fountain or reservoir of fresh +water. Thirty or forty brethren composed a family of separate +discipline and diet; and the great monasteries of Egypt consisted +of thirty or forty families. + +[Footnote 40: Cassian has simply, though copiously, described the +monastic habit of Egypt, (Institut. l. i.,) to which Sozomen (l. +iii. c. 14) attributes such allegorical meaning and virtue.] +[Footnote 41: Regul. Benedict. No. 55, in Cod. Regul. part ii. p. +51.] +[Footnote 42: See the rule of Ferreolus, bishop of Usez, (No. 31, +in Cod. Regul part ii. p. 136,) and of Isidore, bishop of +Seville, (No. 13, in Cod. Regul part ii. p. 214.)] + +[Footnote 43: Some partial indulgences were granted for the hands +and feet "Totum autem corpus nemo unguet nisi causa infirmitatis, +nec lavabitur aqua nudo corpore, nisi languor perspicuus sit," +(Regul. Pachom xcii. part i. p. 78.)] + +[Footnote *: Athanasius (Vit. Ant. c. 47) boasts of Antony's holy +horror of clear water, by which his feet were uncontaminated +except under dire necessity - M.] + +Chapter XXXVII: Conversion Of The Barbarians To Christianity. +Part II. + + Pleasure and guilt are synonymous terms in the language of +the monks, and they discovered, by experience, that rigid fasts, +and abstemious diet, are the most effectual preservatives against +the impure desires of the flesh. ^44 The rules of abstinence +which they imposed, or practised, were not uniform or perpetual: +the cheerful festival of the Pentecost was balanced by the +extraordinary mortification of Lent; the fervor of new +monasteries was insensibly relaxed; and the voracious appetite of +the Gauls could not imitate the patient and temperate virtue of +the Egyptians. ^45 The disciples of Antony and Pachomius were +satisfied with their daily pittance, ^46 of twelve ounces of +bread, or rather biscuit, ^47 which they divided into two frugal +repasts, of the afternoon and of the evening. It was esteemed a +merit, and almost a duty, to abstain from the boiled vegetables +which were provided for the refectory; but the extraordinary +bounty of the abbot sometimes indulged them with the luxury of +cheese, fruit, salad, and the small dried fish of the Nile. ^48 A +more ample latitude of sea and river fish was gradually allowed +or assumed; but the use of flesh was long confined to the sick or +travellers; and when it gradually prevailed in the less rigid +monasteries of Europe, a singular distinction was introduced; as +if birds, whether wild or domestic, had been less profane than +the grosser animals of the field. Water was the pure and +innocent beverage of the primitive monks; and the founder of the +Benedictines regrets the daily portion of half a pint of wine, +which had been extorted from him by the intemperance of the age. +^49 Such an allowance might be easily supplied by the vineyards +of Italy; and his victorious disciples, who passed the Alps, the +Rhine, and the Baltic, required, in the place of wine, an +adequate compensation of strong beer or cider. + +[Footnote 44: St. Jerom, in strong, but indiscreet, language, +expresses the most important use of fasting and abstinence: "Non +quod Deus universitatis Creator et Dominus, intestinorum +nostrorum rugitu, et inanitate ventris, pulmonisque ardore +delectetur, sed quod aliter pudicitia tuta esse non possit." (Op. +tom. i. p. 32, ad Eustochium.) See the twelfth and twenty- second +Collations of Cassian, de Castitate and de Illusionibus +Nocturnis.] +[Footnote 45: Edacitas in Graecis gula est, in Gallis natura, +(Dialog. i. c. 4 p. 521.) Cassian fairly owns, that the perfect +model of abstinence cannot be imitated in Gaul, on account of the +aerum temperies, and the qualitas nostrae fragilitatis, +(Institut. iv. 11.) Among the Western rules, that of Columbanus +is the most austere; he had been educated amidst the poverty of +Ireland, as rigid, perhaps, and inflexible as the abstemious +virtue of Egypt. The rule of Isidore of Seville is the mildest; +on holidays he allows the use of flesh.] +[Footnote 46: "Those who drink only water, and have no nutritious +liquor, ought, at least, to have a pound and a half (twenty-four +ounces) of bread every day." State of Prisons, p. 40, by Mr. +Howard.] + +[Footnote 47: See Cassian. Collat. l. ii. 19 - 21. The small +loaves, or biscuit, of six ounces each, had obtained the name of +Paximacia, (Rosweyde, Onomasticon, p. 1045.) Pachomius, however, +allowed his monks some latitude in the quantity of their food; +but he made them work in proportion as they ate, (Pallad. in +Hist. Lausiac. c. 38, 39, in Vit. Patrum, l. viii. p. 736, 737.)] + +[Footnote 48: See the banquet to which Cassian (Collation viii. +1) was invited by Serenus, an Egyptian abbot.] + +[Footnote 49: See the Rule of St. Benedict, No. 39, 40, (in Cod. +Reg. part ii. p. 41, 42.) Licet legamus vinum omnino monachorum +non esse, sed quia nostris temporibus id monachis persuaderi non +potest; he allows them a Roman hemina, a measure which may be +ascertained from Arbuthnot's Tables.] + The candidate who aspired to the virtue of evangelical +poverty, abjured, at his first entrance into a regular community, +the idea, and even the name, of all separate or exclusive +possessions. ^50 The brethren were supported by their manual +labor; and the duty of labor was strenuously recommended as a +penance, as an exercise, and as the most laudable means of +securing their daily subsistence. ^51 The garden and fields, +which the industry of the monks had often rescued from the forest +or the morass, were diligently cultivated by their hands. They +performed, without reluctance, the menial offices of slaves and +domestics; and the several trades that were necessary to provide +their habits, their utensils, and their lodging, were exercised +within the precincts of the great monasteries. The monastic +studies have tended, for the most part, to darken, rather than to +dispel, the cloud of superstition. Yet the curiosity or zeal of +some learned solitaries has cultivated the ecclesiastical, and +even the profane, sciences; and posterity must gratefully +acknowledge, that the monuments of Greek and Roman literature +have been preserved and multiplied by their indefatigable pens. +^52 But the more humble industry of the monks, especially in +Egypt, was contented with the silent, sedentary occupation of +making wooden sandals, or of twisting the leaves of the palm-tree +into mats and baskets. The superfluous stock, which was not +consumed in domestic use, supplied, by trade, the wants of the +community: the boats of Tabenne, and the other monasteries of +Thebais, descended the Nile as far as Alexandria; and, in a +Christian market, the sanctity of the workmen might enhance the +intrinsic value of the work. + +[Footnote 50: Such expressions as my book, my cloak, my shoes, +(Cassian Institut. l. iv. c. 13,) were not less severely +prohibited among the Western monks, (Cod. Regul. part ii. p. 174, +235, 288;) and the rule of Columbanus punished them with six +lashes. The ironical author of the Ordres Monastiques, who +laughs at the foolish nicety of modern convents, seems ignorant +that the ancients were equally absurd.] + +[Footnote 51: Two great masters of ecclesiastical science, the P. +Thomassin, (Discipline de l'Eglise, tom. iii. p. 1090 - 1139,) +and the P. Mabillon, (Etudes Monastiques, tom. i. p. 116 - 155,) +have seriously examined the manual labor of the monks, which the +former considers as a merit and the latter as a duty.] + +[Footnote 52: Mabillon (Etudes Monastiques, tom. i. p. 47 - 55) +has collected many curious facts to justify the literary labors +of his predecessors, both in the East and West. Books were +copied in the ancient monasteries of Egypt, (Cassian. Institut. +l. iv. c. 12,) and by the disciples of St. Martin, (Sulp. Sever. +in Vit. Martin. c. 7, p. 473.) Cassiodorus has allowed an ample +scope for the studies of the monks; and we shall not be +scandalized, if their pens sometimes wandered from Chrysostom and +Augustin to Homer and Virgil.] + But the necessity of manual labor was insensibly superseded. + +The novice was tempted to bestow his fortune on the saints, in +whose society he was resolved to spend the remainder of his life; +and the pernicious indulgence of the laws permitted him to +receive, for their use, any future accessions of legacy or +inheritance. ^53 Melania contributed her plate, three hundred +pounds weight of silver; and Paula contracted an immense debt, +for the relief of their favorite monks; who kindly imparted the +merits of their prayers and penance to a rich and liberal sinner. +^54 Time continually increased, and accidents could seldom +diminish, the estates of the popular monasteries, which spread +over the adjacent country and cities: and, in the first century +of their institution, the infidel Zosimus has maliciously +observed, that, for the benefit of the poor, the Christian monks +had reduced a great part of mankind to a state of beggary. ^55 As +long as they maintained their original fervor, they approved +themselves, however, the faithful and benevolent stewards of the +charity, which was entrusted to their care. But their discipline +was corrupted by prosperity: they gradually assumed the pride of +wealth, and at last indulged the luxury of expense. Their public +luxury might be excused by the magnificence of religious worship, +and the decent motive of erecting durable habitations for an +immortal society. But every age of the church has accused the +licentiousness of the degenerate monks; who no longer remembered +the object of their institution, embraced the vain and sensual +pleasures of the world, which they had renounced, ^56 and +scandalously abused the riches which had been acquired by the +austere virtues of their founders. ^57 Their natural descent, +from such painful and dangerous virtue, to the common vices of +humanity, will not, perhaps, excite much grief or indignation in +the mind of a philosopher. + +[Footnote 53: Thomassin (Discipline de l'Eglise, tom. iii. p. +118, 145, 146, 171 - 179) has examined the revolution of the +civil, canon, and common law. Modern France confirms the death +which monks have inflicted on themselves, and justly deprives +them of all right of inheritance.] + +[Footnote 54: See Jerom, (tom. i. p. 176, 183.) The monk Pambo +made a sublime answer to Melania, who wished to specify the value +of her gift: "Do you offer it to me, or to God? If to God, He +who suspends the mountain in a balance, need not be informed of +the weight of your plate." (Pallad. Hist. Lausiac. c. 10, in the +Vit. Patrum, l. viii. p. 715.)] + +[Footnote 55: Zosim. l. v. p. 325. Yet the wealth of the Eastern +monks was far surpassed by the princely greatness of the +Benedictines.] +[Footnote 56: The sixth general council (the Quinisext in Trullo, +Canon xlvii in Beveridge, tom. i. p. 213) restrains women from +passing the night in a male, or men in a female, monastery. The +seventh general council (the second Nicene, Canon xx. in +Beveridge, tom. i. p. 325) prohibits the erection of double or +promiscuous monasteries of both sexes; but it appears from +Balsamon, that the prohibition was not effectual. On the +irregular pleasures and expenses of the clergy and monks, see +Thomassin, tom. iii. p. 1334 - 1368.] +[Footnote 57: I have somewhere heard or read the frank confession +of a Benedictine abbot: "My vow of poverty has given me a hundred +thousand crowns a year; my vow of obedience has raised me to the +rank of a sovereign prince." - I forget the consequences of his +vow of chastity.] + + The lives of the primitive monks were consumed in penance +and solitude; undisturbed by the various occupations which fill +the time, and exercise the faculties, of reasonable, active, and +social beings. Whenever they were permitted to step beyond the +precincts of the monastery, two jealous companions were the +mutual guards and spies of each other's actions; and, after their +return, they were condemned to forget, or, at least, to suppress, +whatever they had seen or heard in the world. Strangers, who +professed the orthodox faith, were hospitably entertained in a +separate apartment; but their dangerous conversation was +restricted to some chosen elders of approved discretion and +fidelity. Except in their presence, the monastic slave might not +receive the visits of his friends or kindred; and it was deemed +highly meritorious, if he afflicted a tender sister, or an aged +parent, by the obstinate refusal of a word or look. ^58 The monks +themselves passed their lives, without personal attachments, +among a crowd which had been formed by accident, and was +detained, in the same prison, by force or prejudice. Recluse +fanatics have few ideas or sentiments to communicate: a special +license of the abbot regulated the time and duration of their +familiar visits; and, at their silent meals, they were enveloped +in their cowls, inaccessible, and almost invisible, to each +other. ^59 Study is the resource of solitude: but education had +not prepared and qualified for any liberal studies the mechanics +and peasants who filled the monastic communities. They might +work: but the vanity of spiritual perfection was tempted to +disdain the exercise of manual labor; and the industry must be +faint and languid, which is not excited by the sense of personal +interest. + +[Footnote 58: Pior, an Egyptian monk, allowed his sister to see +him; but he shut his eyes during the whole visit. See Vit. +Patrum, l. iii. p. 504. Many such examples might be added.] +[Footnote 59: The 7th, 8th, 29th, 30th, 31st, 34th, 57th, 60th, +86th, and 95th articles of the Rule of Pachomius, impose most +intolerable laws of silence and mortification.] + + According to their faith and zeal, they might employ the +day, which they passed in their cells, either in vocal or mental +prayer: they assembled in the evening, and they were awakened in +the night, for the public worship of the monastery. The precise +moment was determined by the stars, which are seldom clouded in +the serene sky of Egypt; and a rustic horn, or trumpet, the +signal of devotion, twice interrupted the vast silence of the +desert. ^60 Even sleep, the last refuge of the unhappy, was +rigorously measured: the vacant hours of the monk heavily rolled +along, without business or pleasure; and, before the close of +each day, he had repeatedly accused the tedious progress of the +sun. ^61 In this comfortless state, superstition still pursued +and tormented her wretched votaries. ^62 The repose which they +had sought in the cloister was disturbed by a tardy repentance, +profane doubts, and guilty desires; and, while they considered +each natural impulse as an unpardonable sin, they perpetually +trembled on the edge of a flaming and bottomless abyss. From the +painful struggles of disease and despair, these unhappy victims +were sometimes relieved by madness or death; and, in the sixth +century, a hospital was founded at Jerusalem for a small portion +of the austere penitents, who were deprived of their senses. ^63 +Their visions, before they attained this extreme and acknowledged +term of frenzy, have afforded ample materials of supernatural +history. It was their firm persuasion, that the air, which they +breathed, was peopled with invisible enemies; with innumerable +demons, who watched every occasion, and assumed every form, to +terrify, and above all to tempt, their unguarded virtue. The +imagination, and even the senses, were deceived by the illusions +of distempered fanaticism; and the hermit, whose midnight prayer +was oppressed by involuntary slumber, might easily confound the +phantoms of horror or delight, which had occupied his sleeping +and his waking dreams. ^64 +[Footnote 60: The diurnal and nocturnal prayers of the monks are +copiously discussed by Cassian, in the third and fourth books of +his Institutions; and he constantly prefers the liturgy, which an +angel had dictated to the monasteries of Tebennoe.] + +[Footnote 61: Cassian, from his own experience, describes the +acedia, or listlessness of mind and body, to which a monk was +exposed, when he sighed to find himself alone. Saepiusque +egreditur et ingreditur cellam, et Solem velut ad occasum tardius +properantem crebrius intuetur, (Institut. x. l.)] +[Footnote 62: The temptations and sufferings of Stagirius were +communicated by that unfortunate youth to his friend St. +Chrysostom. See Middleton's Works, vol. i. p. 107 - 110. +Something similar introduces the life of every saint; and the +famous Inigo, or Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits, (vide +d'Inigo de Guiposcoa, tom. i. p. 29 - 38,) may serve as a +memorable example.] +[Footnote 63: Fleury, Hist. Ecclesiastique, tom. vii. p. 46. I +have read somewhere, in the Vitae Patrum, but I cannot recover +the place that several, I believe many, of the monks, who did not +reveal their temptations to the abbot, became guilty of suicide.] + +[Footnote 64: See the seventh and eighth Collations of Cassian, +who gravely examines, why the demons were grown less active and +numerous since the time of St. Antony. Rosweyde's copious index +to the Vitae Patrum will point out a variety of infernal scenes. +The devils were most formidable in a female shape.] + + The monks were divided into two classes: the Coenobites, who +lived under a common and regular discipline; and the Anachorets, +who indulged their unsocial, independent fanaticism. ^65 The most +devout, or the most ambitious, of the spiritual brethren, +renounced the convent, as they had renounced the world. The +fervent monasteries of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria, were +surrounded by a Laura, ^66 a distant circle of solitary cells; +and the extravagant penance of Hermits was stimulated by applause +and emulation. ^67 They sunk under the painful weight of crosses +and chains; and their emaciated limbs were confined by collars, +bracelets, gauntlets, and greaves of massy and rigid iron. All +superfluous encumbrance of dress they contemptuously cast away; +and some savage saints of both sexes have been admired, whose +naked bodies were only covered by their long hair. They aspired +to reduce themselves to the rude and miserable state in which the +human brute is scarcely distinguishable above his kindred +animals; and the numerous sect of Anachorets derived their name +from their humble practice of grazing in the fields of +Mesopotamia with the common herd. ^68 They often usurped the den +of some wild beast whom they affected to resemble; they buried +themselves in some gloomy cavern, which art or nature had scooped +out of the rock; and the marble quarries of Thebais are still +inscribed with the monuments of their penance. ^69 The most +perfect Hermits are supposed to have passed many days without +food, many nights without sleep, and many years without speaking; +and glorious was the man ( I abuse that name) who contrived any +cell, or seat, of a peculiar construction, which might expose +him, in the most inconvenient posture, to the inclemency of the +seasons. + +[Footnote 65: For the distinction of the Coenobites and the +Hermits, especially in Egypt, see Jerom, (tom. i. p. 45, ad +Rusticum,) the first Dialogue of Sulpicius Severus, Rufinus, (c. +22, in Vit. Patrum, l. ii. p. 478,) Palladius, (c. 7, 69, in Vit. +Patrum, l. viii. p. 712, 758,) and, above all, the eighteenth and +nineteenth Collations of Cassian. These writers, who compare the +common and solitary life, reveal the abuse and danger of the +latter.] + +[Footnote 66: Suicer. Thesaur. Ecclesiast. tom. ii. p. 205, 218. +Thomassin (Discipline de l'Eglise, tom. i. p. 1501, 1502) gives a +good account of these cells. When Gerasimus founded his +monastery in the wilderness of Jordan, it was accompanied by a +Laura of seventy cells.] + +[Footnote 67: Theodoret, in a large volume, (the Philotheus in +Vit. Patrum, l. ix. p. 793 - 863,) has collected the lives and +miracles of thirty Anachorets. Evagrius (l. i. c. 12) more +briefly celebrates the monks and hermits of Palestine.] + +[Footnote 68: Sozomen, l. vi. c. 33. The great St. Ephrem +composed a panegyric on these or grazing monks, (Tillemont, Mem. +Eccles. tom. viii. p. 292.)] + +[Footnote 69: The P. Sicard (Missions du Levant, tom. ii. p. 217 +- 233) examined the caverns of the Lower Thebais with wonder and +devotion. The inscriptions are in the old Syriac character, +which was used by the Christians of Abyssinia.] + + Among these heroes of the monastic life, the name and genius +of Simeon Stylites ^70 have been immortalized by the singular +invention of an aerial penance. At the age of thirteen, the +young Syrian deserted the profession of a shepherd, and threw +himself into an austere monastery. After a long and painful +novitiate, in which Simeon was repeatedly saved from pious +suicide, he established his residence on a mountain, about thirty +or forty miles to the east of Antioch. Within the space of a +mandra, or circle of stones, to which he had attached himself by +a ponderous chain, he ascended a column, which was successively +raised from the height of nine, to that of sixty, feet from the +ground. ^71 In this last and lofty station, the Syrian Anachoret +resisted the heat of thirty summers, and the cold of as many +winters. Habit and exercise instructed him to maintain his +dangerous situation without fear or giddiness, and successively +to assume the different postures of devotion. He sometimes +prayed in an erect attitude, with his outstretched arms in the +figure of a cross, but his most familiar practice was that of +bending his meagre skeleton from the forehead to the feet; and a +curious spectator, after numbering twelve hundred and forty- four +repetitions, at length desisted from the endless account. The +progress of an ulcer in his thigh ^72 might shorten, but it could +not disturb, this celestial life; and the patient Hermit expired, +without descending from his column. A prince, who should +capriciously inflict such tortures, would be deemed a tyrant; but +it would surpass the power of a tyrant to impose a long and +miserable existence on the reluctant victims of his cruelty. +This voluntary martyrdom must have gradually destroyed the +sensibility both of the mind and body; nor can it be presumed +that the fanatics, who torment themselves, are susceptible of any +lively affection for the rest of mankind. A cruel, unfeeling +temper has distinguiseed the monks of every age and country: +their stern indifference, which is seldom mollified by personal +friendship, is inflamed by religious hatred; and their merciless +zeal has strenuously administered the holy office of the +Inquisition. +[Footnote 70: See Theodoret (in Vit. Patrum, l. ix. p. 848 - +854,) Antony, (in Vit. Patrum, l. i. p. 170 - 177,) Cosmas, (in +Asseman. Bibliot. Oriental tom. i. p. 239 - 253,) Evagrius, (l. +i. c. 13, 14,) and Tillemont, (Mem. Eccles. tom. xv. p. 347 - +392.)] + +[Footnote 71: The narrow circumference of two cubits, or three +feet, which Evagrius assigns for the summit of the column is +inconsistent with reason, with facts, and with the rules of +architecture. The people who saw it from below might be easily +deceived.] + +[Footnote 72: I must not conceal a piece of ancient scandal +concerning the origin of this ulcer. It has been reported that +the Devil, assuming an angelic form, invited him to ascend, like +Elijah, into a fiery chariot. The saint too hastily raised his +foot, and Satan seized the moment of inflicting this chastisement +on his vanity.] + + The monastic saints, who excite only the contempt and pity +of a philosopher, were respected, and almost adored, by the +prince and people. Successive crowds of pilgrims from Gaul and +India saluted the divine pillar of Simeon: the tribes of Saracens +disputed in arms the honor of his benediction; the queens of +Arabia and Persia gratefully confessed his supernatural virtue; +and the angelic Hermit was consulted by the younger Theodosius, +in the most important concerns of the church and state. His +remains were transported from the mountain of Telenissa, by a +solemn procession of the patriarch, the master-general of the +East, six bishops, twenty-one counts or tribunes, and six +thousand soldiers; and Antioch revered his bones, as her glorious +ornament and impregnable defence. The fame of the apostles and +martyrs was gradually eclipsed by these recent and popular +Anachorets; the Christian world fell prostrate before their +shrines; and the miracles ascribed to their relics exceeded, at +least in number and duration, the spiritual exploits of their +lives. But the golden legend of their lives ^73 was embellished +by the artful credulity of their interested brethren; and a +believing age was easily persuaded, that the slightest caprice of +an Egyptian or a Syrian monk had been sufficient to interrupt the +eternal laws of the universe. The favorites of Heaven were +accustomed to cure inveterate diseases with a touch, a word, or a +distant message; and to expel the most obstinate demons from the +souls or bodies which they possessed. They familiarly accosted, +or imperiously commanded, the lions and serpents of the desert; +infused vegetation into a sapless trunk; suspended iron on the +surface of the water; passed the Nile on the back of a crocodile, +and refreshed themselves in a fiery furnace. These extravagant +tales, which display the fiction without the genius, of poetry, +have seriously affected the reason, the faith, and the morals, of +the Christians. Their credulity debased and vitiated the +faculties of the mind: they corrupted the evidence of history; +and superstition gradually extinguished the hostile light of +philosophy and science. Every mode of religious worship which +had been practised by the saints, every mysterious doctrine which +they believed, was fortified by the sanction of divine +revelation, and all the manly virtues were oppressed by the +servile and pusillanimous reign of the monks. If it be possible +to measure the interval between the philosophic writings of +Cicero and the sacred legend of Theodoret, between the character +of Cato and that of Simeon, we may appreciate the memorable +revolution which was accomplished in the Roman empire within a +period of five hundred years. + +[Footnote 73: I know not how to select or specify the miracles +contained in the Vitae Patrum of Rosweyde, as the number very +much exceeds the thousand pages of that voluminous work. An +elegant specimen may be found in the dialogues of Sulpicius +Severus, and his Life of St. Martin. He reveres the monks of +Egypt; yet he insults them with the remark, that they never +raised the dead; whereas the bishop of Tours had restored three +dead men to life.] + II. The progress of Christianity has been marked by two +glorious and decisive victories: over the learned and luxurious +citizens of the Roman empire; and over the warlike Barbarians of +Scythia and Germany, who subverted the empire, and embraced the +religion, of the Romans. The Goths were the foremost of these +savage proselytes; and the nation was indebted for its conversion +to a countryman, or, at least, to a subject, worthy to be ranked +among the inventors of useful arts, who have deserved the +remembrance and gratitude of posterity. A great number of Roman +provincials had been led away into captivity by the Gothic bands, +who ravaged Asia in the time of Gallienus; and of these captives, +many were Christians, and several belonged to the ecclesiastical +order. Those involuntary missionaries, dispersed as slaves in +the villages of Dacia, successively labored for the salvation of +their masters. The seeds which they planted, of the evangelic +doctrine, were gradually propagated; and before the end of a +century, the pious work was achieved by the labors of Ulphilas, +whose ancestors had been transported beyond the Danube from a +small town of Cappadocia. + + Ulphilas, the bishop and apostle of the Goths, ^74 acquired +their love and reverence by his blameless life and indefatigable +zeal; and they received, with implicit confidence, the doctrines +of truth and virtue which he preached and practised. He executed +the arduous task of translating the Scriptures into their native +tongue, a dialect of the German or Teutonic language; but he +prudently suppressed the four books of Kings, as they might tend +to irritate the fierce and sanguinary spirit of the Barbarians. +The rude, imperfect idiom of soldiers and shepherds, so ill +qualified to communicate any spiritual ideas, was improved and +modulated by his genius: and Ulphilas, before he could frame his +version, was obliged to compose a new alphabet of twenty-four +letters; ^* four of which he invented, to express the peculiar +sounds that were unknown to the Greek and Latin pronunciation. +^75 But the prosperous state of the Gothic church was soon +afflicted by war and intestine discord, and the chieftains were +divided by religion as well as by interest. Fritigern, the friend +of the Romans, became the proselyte of Ulphilas; while the +haughty soul of Athanaric disdained the yoke of the empire and of +the gospel The faith of the new converts was tried by the +persecution which he excited. A wagon, bearing aloft the +shapeless image of Thor, perhaps, or of Woden, was conducted in +solemn procession through the streets of the camp; and the +rebels, who refused to worship the god of their fathers, were +immediately burnt, with their tents and families. The character +of Ulphilas recommended him to the esteem of the Eastern court, +where he twice appeared as the minister of peace; he pleaded the +cause of the distressed Goths, who implored the protection of +Valens; and the name of Moses was applied to this spiritual +guide, who conducted his people through the deep waters of the +Danube to the Land of Promise. ^76 The devout shepherds, who were +attached to his person, and tractable to his voice, acquiesced in +their settlement, at the foot of the Maesian mountains, in a +country of woodlands and pastures, which supported their flocks +and herds, and enabled them to purchase the corn and wine of the +more plentiful provinces. These harmless Barbarians multiplied +in obscure peace and the profession of Christianity. ^77 + +[Footnote 74: On the subject of Ulphilas, and the conversion of +the Goths, see Sozomen, l. vi. c. 37. Socrates, l. iv. c. 33. +Theodoret, l. iv. c. 37. Philostorg. l. ii. c. 5. The heresy of +Philostorgius appears to have given him superior means of +information.] + +[Footnote *: This is the Moeso-Gothic alphabet of which many of +the letters are evidently formed from the Greek and Roman. M. +St. Martin, however contends, that it is impossible but that some +written alphabet must have been known long before among the +Goths. He supposes that their former letters were those +inscribed on the runes, which, being inseparably connected with +the old idolatrous superstitions, were proscribed by the +Christian missionaries. Everywhere the runes, so common among all +the German tribes, disappear after the propagation of +Christianity. S. Martin iv. p. 97, 98. - M.] +[Footnote 75: A mutilated copy of the four Gospels, in the Gothic +version, was published A.D. 1665, and is esteemed the most +ancient monument of the Teutonic language, though Wetstein +attempts, by some frivolous conjectures, to deprive Ulphilas of +the honor of the work. Two of the four additional letters +express the W, and our own Th. See Simon, Hist. Critique du +Nouveau Testament, tom ii. p. 219 - 223. Mill. Prolegom p. 151, +edit. Kuster. Wetstein, Prolegom. tom. i. p. 114. + + Note: The Codex Argenteus, found in the sixteenth century at +Wenden, near Cologne, and now preserved at Upsal, contains almost +the entire four Gospels. The best edition is that of J. Christ. +Zahn, Weissenfels, 1805. In 1762 Knettel discovered and +published from a Palimpsest MS. four chapters of the Epistle to +the Romans: they were reprinted at Upsal, 1763. M. Mai has since +that time discovered further fragments, and other remains of +Moeso-Gothic literature, from a Palimpsest at Milan. See +Ulphilae partium inedi arum in Ambrosianis Palimpsestis ab Ang. +Maio repertarum specimen Milan. Ito. 1819. - M.] + +[Footnote 76: Philostorgius erroneously places this passage under +the reign of Constantine; but I am much inclined to believe that +it preceded the great emigration.] + +[Footnote 77: We are obliged to Jornandes (de Reb. Get. c. 51, p. +688) for a short and lively picture of these lesser Goths. Gothi +minores, populus immensus, cum suo Pontifice ipsoque primate +Wulfila. The last words, if they are not mere tautology, imply +some temporal jurisdiction.] + Their fiercer brethren, the formidable Visigoths, +universally adopted the religion of the Romans, with whom they +maintained a perpetual intercourse, of war, of friendship, or of +conquest. In their long and victorious march from the Danube to +the Atlantic Ocean, they converted their allies; they educated +the rising generation; and the devotion which reigned in the camp +of Alaric, or the court of Thoulouse, might edify or disgrace the +palaces of Rome and Constantinople. ^78 During the same period, +Christianity was embraced by almost all the Barbarians, who +established their kingdoms on the ruins of the Western empire; +the Burgundians in Gaul, the Suevi in Spain, the Vandals in +Africa, the Ostrogoths in Pannonia, and the various bands of +mercenaries, that raised Odoacer to the throne of Italy. The +Franks and the Saxons still persevered in the errors of Paganism; +but the Franks obtained the monarchy of Gaul by their submission +to the example of Clovis; and the Saxon conquerors of Britain +were reclaimed from their savage superstition by the missionaries +of Rome. These Barbarian proselytes displayed an ardent and +successful zeal in the propagation of the faith. The Merovingian +kings, and their successors, Charlemagne and the Othos, extended, +by their laws and victories, the dominion of the cross. England +produced the apostle of Germany; and the evangelic light was +gradually diffused from the neighborhood of the Rhine, to the +nations of the Elbe, the Vistula, and the Baltic. ^79 + +[Footnote 78: At non ita Gothi non ita Vandali; malis licet +doctoribus instituti meliores tamen etiam in hac parte quam +nostri. Salvian, de Gubern, Dei, l. vii. p. 243.] + +[Footnote 79: Mosheim has slightly sketched the progress of +Christianity in the North, from the fourth to the fourteenth +century. The subject would afford materials for an +ecclesiastical and even philosophical, history] + +Chapter XXXVII: Conversion Of The Barbarians To Christianity. +Part III. + + The different motives which influenced the reason, or the +passions, of the Barbarian converts, cannot easily be +ascertained. They were often capricious and accidental; a dream, +an omen, the report of a miracle, the example of some priest, or +hero, the charms of a believing wife, and, above all, the +fortunate event of a prayer, or vow, which, in a moment of +danger, they had addressed to the God of the Christians. ^80 The +early prejudices of education were insensibly erased by the +habits of frequent and familiar society, the moral precepts of +the gospel were protected by the extravagant virtues of the +monks; and a spiritual theology was supported by the visible +power of relics, and the pomp of religious worship. But the +rational and ingenious mode of persuasion, which a Saxon bishop +^81 suggested to a popular saint, might sometimes be employed by +the missionaries, who labored for the conversion of infidels. +"Admit," says the sagacious disputant, "whatever they are pleased +to assert of the fabulous, and carnal, genealogy of their gods +and goddesses, who are propagated from each other. From this +principle deduce their imperfect nature, and human infirmities, +the assurance they were born, and the probability that they will +die. At what time, by what means, from what cause, were the +eldest of the gods or goddesses produced? Do they still +continue, or have they ceased, to propagate? If they have +ceased, summon your antagonists to declare the reason of this +strange alteration. If they still continue, the number of the +gods must become infinite; and shall we not risk, by the +indiscreet worship of some impotent deity, to excite the +resentment of his jealous superior? The visible heavens and +earth, the whole system of the universe, which may be conceived +by the mind, is it created or eternal? If created, how, or +where, could the gods themselves exist before creation? If +eternal, how could they assume the empire of an independent and +preexisting world? Urge these arguments with temper and +moderation; insinuate, at seasonable intervals, the truth and +beauty of the Christian revelation; and endeavor to make the +unbelievers ashamed, without making them angry." This +metaphysical reasoning, too refined, perhaps, for the Barbarians +of Germany, was fortified by the grosser weight of authority and +popular consent. The advantage of temporal prosperity had +deserted the Pagan cause, and passed over to the service of +Christianity. The Romans themselves, the most powerful and +enlightened nation of the globe, had renounced their ancient +superstition; and, if the ruin of their empire seemed to accuse +the efficacy of the new faith, the disgrace was already retrieved +by the conversion of the victorious Goths. The valiant and +fortunate Barbarians, who subdued the provinces of the West, +successively received, and reflected, the same edifying example. +Before the age of Charlemagne, the Christian nations of Europe +might exult in the exclusive possession of the temperate +climates, of the fertile lands, which produced corn, wine, and +oil; while the savage idolaters, and their helpless idols, were +confined to the extremities of the earth, the dark and frozen +regions of the North. ^82 + +[Footnote 80: To such a cause has Socrates (l. vii. c. 30) +ascribed the conversion of the Burgundians, whose Christian piety +is celebrated by Orosius, (l. vii. c. 19.)] + +[Footnote 81: See an original and curious epistle from Daniel, +the first bishop of Winchester, (Beda, Hist. Eccles. Anglorum, l. +v. c. 18, p. 203, edit Smith,) to St. Boniface, who preached the +gospel among the savages of Hesse and Thuringia. Epistol. +Bonifacii, lxvii., in the Maxima Bibliotheca Patrum, tom. xiii. +p. 93] + +[Footnote 82: The sword of Charlemagne added weight to the +argument; but when Daniel wrote this epistle, (A.D. 723,) the +Mahometans, who reigned from India to Spain, might have retorted +it against the Christians.] + + Christianity, which opened the gates of Heaven to the +Barbarians, introduced an important change in their moral and +political condition. They received, at the same time, the use of +letters, so essential to a religion whose doctrines are contained +in a sacred book; and while they studied the divine truth, their +minds were insensibly enlarged by the distant view of history, of +nature, of the arts, and of society. The version of the +Scriptures into their native tongue, which had facilitated their +conversion, must excite among their clergy some curiosity to read +the original text, to understand the sacred liturgy of the +church, and to examine, in the writings of the fathers, the chain +of ecclesiastical tradition. These spiritual gifts were +preserved in the Greek and Latin languages, which concealed the +inestimable monuments of ancient learning. The immortal +productions of Virgil, Cicero, and Livy, which were accessible to +the Christian Barbarians, maintained a silent intercourse between +the reign of Augustus and the times of Clovis and Charlemagne. +The emulation of mankind was encouraged by the remembrance of a +more perfect state; and the flame of science was secretly kept +alive, to warm and enlighten the mature age of the Western world. + +In the most corrupt state of Christianity, the Barbarians might +learn justice from the law, and mercy from the gospel; and if the +knowledge of their duty was insufficient to guide their actions, +or to regulate their passions, they were sometimes restrained by +conscience, and frequently punished by remorse. But the direct +authority of religion was less effectual than the holy communion, +which united them with their Christian brethren in spiritual +friendship. The influence of these sentiments contributed to +secure their fidelity in the service, or the alliance, of the +Romans, to alleviate the horrors of war, to moderate the +insolence of conquest, and to preserve, in the downfall of the +empire, a permanent respect for the name and institutions of +Rome. In the days of Paganism, the priests of Gaul and Germany +reigned over the people, and controlled the jurisdiction of the +magistrates; and the zealous proselytes transferred an equal, or +more ample, measure of devout obedience, to the pontiffs of the +Christian faith. The sacred character of the bishops was +supported by their temporal possessions; they obtained an +honorable seat in the legislative assemblies of soldiers and +freemen; and it was their interest, as well as their duty, to +mollify, by peaceful counsels, the fierce spirit of the +Barbarians. The perpetual correspondence of the Latin clergy, +the frequent pilgrimages to Rome and Jerusalem, and the growing +authority of the popes, cemented the union of the Christian +republic, and gradually produced the similar manners, and common +jurisprudence, which have distinguished, from the rest of +mankind, the independent, and even hostile, nations of modern +Europe. + + But the operation of these causes was checked and retarded +by the unfortunate accident, which infused a deadly poison into +the cup of Salvation. Whatever might be the early sentiments of +Ulphilas, his connections with the empire and the church were +formed during the reign of Arianism. The apostle of the Goths +subscribed the creed of Rimini; professed with freedom, and +perhaps with sincerity, that the Son was not equal, or +consubstantial to the Father; ^83 communicated these errors to +the clergy and people; and infected the Barbaric world with a +heresy, ^84 which the great Theodosius proscribed and +extinguished among the Romans. The temper and understanding of +the new proselytes were not adapted to metaphysical subtilties; +but they strenuously maintained, what they had piously received, +as the pure and genuine doctrines of Christianity. The advantage +of preaching and expounding the Scriptures in the Teutonic +language promoted the apostolic labors of Ulphilas and his +successors; and they ordained a competent number of bishops and +presbyters for the instruction of the kindred tribes. The +Ostrogoths, the Burgundians, the Suevi, and the Vandals, who had +listened to the eloquence of the Latin clergy, ^85 preferred the +more intelligible lessons of their domestic teachers; and +Arianism was adopted as the national faith of the warlike +converts, who were seated on the ruins of the Western empire. +This irreconcilable difference of religion was a perpetual source +of jealousy and hatred; and the reproach of Barbarian was +imbittered by the more odious epithet of Heretic. The heroes of +the North, who had submitted, with some reluctance, to believe +that all their ancestors were in hell, ^86 were astonished and +exasperated to learn, that they themselves had only changed the +mode of their eternal condemnation. Instead of the smooth +applause, which Christian kings are accustomed to expect from +their royal prelates, the orthodox bishops and their clergy were +in a state of opposition to the Arian courts; and their +indiscreet opposition frequently became criminal, and might +sometimes be dangerous. ^87 The pulpit, that safe and sacred +organ of sedition, resounded with the names of Pharaoh and +Holofernes; ^88 the public discontent was inflamed by the hope or +promise of a glorious deliverance; and the seditious saints were +tempted to promote the accomplishment of their own predictions. +Notwithstanding these provocations, the Catholics of Gaul, Spain, +and Italy, enjoyed, under the reign of the Arians, the free and +peaceful exercise of their religion. Their haughty masters +respected the zeal of a numerous people, resolved to die at the +foot of their altars; and the example of their devout constancy +was admired and imitated by the Barbarians themselves. The +conquerors evaded, however, the disgraceful reproach, or +confession, of fear, by attributing their toleration to the +liberal motives of reason and humanity; and while they affected +the language, they imperceptiby imbibed the spirit, of genuine +Christianity. + +[Footnote 83: The opinions of Ulphilas and the Goths inclined to +semi- Arianism, since they would not say that the Son was a +creature, though they held communion with those who maintained +that heresy. Their apostle represented the whole controversy as +a question of trifling moment, which had been raised by the +passions of the clergy. Theodoret l. iv. c. 37.] +[Footnote 84: The Arianism of the Goths has been imputed to the +emperor Valens: "Itaque justo Dei judicio ipsi eum vivum +incenderunt, qui propter eum etiam mortui, vitio erroris arsuri +sunt." Orosius, l. vii. c. 33, p. 554. This cruel sentence is +confirmed by Tillemont, (Mem. Eccles. tom. vi. p. 604 - 610,) who +coolly observes, "un seul homme entraina dans l'enfer un nombre +infini de Septentrionaux, &c." Salvian (de Gubern. Dei, l. v p. +150, 151) pities and excuses their involuntary error.] + +[Footnote 85: Orosius affirms, in the year 416, (l. vii. c. 41, +p. 580,) that the Churches of Christ (of the Catholics) were +filled with Huns, Suevi, Vandals, Burgundians.] + +[Footnote 86: Radbod, king of the Frisons, was so much +scandalized by this rash declaration of a missionary, that he +drew back his foot after he had entered the baptismal font. See +Fleury, Hist. Eccles. tom. ix p. 167.] +[Footnote 87: The epistles of Sidonius, bishop of Clermont, under +the Visigotha, and of Avitus, bishop of Vienna, under the +Burgundians, explain sometimes in dark hints, the general +dispositions of the Catholics. The history of Clovis and +Theodoric will suggest some particular facts] +[Footnote 88: Genseric confessed the resemblance, by the severity +with which he punished such indiscreet allusions. Victor +Vitensis, l. 7, p. 10.] + The peace of the church was sometimes interrupted. The +Catholics were indiscreet, the Barbarians were impatient; and the +partial acts of severity or injustice, which had been recommended +by the Arian clergy, were exaggerated by the orthodox writers. +The guilt of persecution may be imputed to Euric, king of the +Visigoths; who suspended the exercise of ecclesiastical, or, at +least, of episcopal functions; and punished the popular bishops +of Aquitain with imprisonment, exile, and confiscation. ^89 But +the cruel and absurd enterprise of subduing the minds of a whole +people was undertaken by the Vandals alone. Genseric himself, in +his early youth, had renounced the orthodox communion; and the +apostate could neither grant, nor expect, a sincere forgiveness. +He was exasperated to find that the Africans, who had fled before +him in the field, still presumed to dispute his will in synods +and churches; and his ferocious mind was incapable of fear or of +compassion. His Catholic subjects were oppressed by intolerant +laws and arbitrary punishments. The language of Genseric was +furious and formidable; the knowledge of his intentions might +justify the most unfavorable interpretation of his actions; and +the Arians were reproached with the frequent executions which +stained the palace and the dominions of the tyrant. Arms and +ambition were, however, the ruling passions of the monarch of the +sea. But Hunneric, his inglorious son, who seemed to inherit +only his vices, tormented the Catholics with the same unrelenting +fury which had been fatal to his brother, his nephews, and the +friends and favorites of his father; and even to the Arian +patriarch, who was inhumanly burnt alive in the midst of +Carthage. The religious war was preceded and prepared by an +insidious truce; persecution was made the serious and important +business of the Vandal court; and the loathsome disease which +hastened the death of Hunneric, revenged the injuries, without +contributing to the deliverance, of the church. The throne of +Africa was successively filled by the two nephews of Hunneric; by +Gundamund, who reigned about twelve, and by Thrasimund, who +governed the nation about twenty-seven, years. Their +administration was hostile and oppressive to the orthodox party. +Gundamund appeared to emulate, or even to surpass, the cruelty of +his uncle; and, if at length he relented, if he recalled the +bishops, and restored the freedom of Athanasian worship, a +premature death intercepted the benefits of his tardy clemency. +His brother, Thrasimund, was the greatest and most accomplished +of the Vandal kings, whom he excelled in beauty, prudence, and +magnanimity of soul. But this magnanimous character was degraded +by his intolerant zeal and deceitful clemency. Instead of +threats and tortures, he employed the gentle, but efficacious, +powers of seduction. Wealth, dignity, and the royal favor, were +the liberal rewards of apostasy; the Catholics, who had violated +the laws, might purchase their pardon by the renunciation of +their faith; and whenever Thrasimund meditated any rigorous +measure, he patiently waited till the indiscretion of his +adversaries furnished him with a specious opportunity. Bigotry +was his last sentiment in the hour of death; and he exacted from +his successor a solemn oath, that he would never tolerate the +sectaries of Athanasius. But his successor, Hilderic, the gentle +son of the savage Hunneric, preferred the duties of humanity and +justice to the vain obligation of an impious oath; and his +accession was gloriously marked by the restoration of peace and +universal freedom. The throne of that virtuous, though feeble +monarch, was usurped by his cousin Gelimer, a zealous Arian: but +the Vandal kingdom, before he could enjoy or abuse his power, was +subverted by the arms of Belisarius; and the orthodox party +retaliated the injuries which they had endured. ^90 + +[Footnote 89: Such are the contemporary complaints of Sidonius, +bishop of Clermont (l. vii. c. 6, p. 182, &c., edit. Sirmond.) +Gregory of Tours who quotes this Epistle, (l. ii. c. 25, in tom. +ii. p. 174,) extorts an unwarrantable assertion, that of the nine +vacancies in Aquitain, some had been produced by episcopal +martyrdoms] + +[Footnote 90: The original monuments of the Vandal persecution +are preserved in the five books of the history of Victor +Vitensis, (de Persecutione Vandalica,) a bishop who was exiled by +Hunneric; in the life of St. Fulgentius, who was distinguished in +the persecution of Thrasimund (in Biblioth. Max. Patrum, tom. ix. +p. 4 - 16;) and in the first book of the Vandalic War, by the +impartial Procopius, (c. 7, 8, p. 196, 197, 198, 199.) Dom +Ruinart, the last editor of Victor, has illustrated the whole +subject with a copious and learned apparatus of notes and +supplement (Paris, 1694.)] + The passionate declamations of the Catholics, the sole +historians of this persecution, cannot afford any distinct series +of causes and events; any impartial view of the characters, or +counsels; but the most remarkable circumstances that deserve +either credit or notice, may be referred to the following heads; +I. In the original law, which is still extant, ^91 Hunneric +expressly declares, (and the declaration appears to be correct,) +that he had faithfully transcribed the regulations and penalties +of the Imperial edicts, against the heretical congregations, the +clergy, and the people, who dissented from the established +religion. If the rights of conscience had been understood, the +Catholics must have condemned their past conduct or acquiesced in +their actual suffering. But they still persisted to refuse the +indulgence which they claimed. While they trembled under the +lash of persecution, they praised the laudable severity of +Hunneric himself, who burnt or banished great numbers of +Manichaeans; ^92 and they rejected, with horror, the ignominious +compromise, that the disciples of Arius and of Athanasius should +enjoy a reciprocal and similar toleration in the territories of +the Romans, and in those of the Vandals. ^93 II. The practice of +a conference, which the Catholics had so frequently used to +insult and punish their obstinate antagonists, was retorted +against themselves. ^94 At the command of Hunneric, four hundred +and sixty-six orthodox bishops assembled at Carthage; but when +they were admitted into the hall of audience, they had the +mortification of beholding the Arian Cyrila exalted on the +patriarchal throne. The disputants were separated, after the +mutual and ordinary reproaches of noise and silence, of delay and +precipitation, of military force and of popular clamor. One +martyr and one confessor were selected among the Catholic +bishops; twenty- eight escaped by flight, and eighty-eight by +conformity; forty-six were sent into Corsica to cut timber for +the royal navy; and three hundred and two were banished to the +different parts of Africa, exposed to the insults of their +enemies, and carefully deprived of all the temporal and spiritual +comforts of life. ^95 The hardships of ten years' exile must have +reduced their numbers; and if they had complied with the law of +Thrasimund, which prohibited any episcopal consecrations, the +orthodox church of Africa must have expired with the lives of its +actual members. They disobeyed, and their disobedience was +punished by a second exile of two hundred and twenty bishops into +Sardinia; where they languished fifteen years, till the accession +of the gracious Hilderic. ^96 The two islands were judiciously +chosen by the malice of their Arian tyrants. Seneca, from his +own experience, has deplored and exaggerated the miserable state +of Corsica, ^97 and the plenty of Sardinia was overbalanced by +the unwholesome quality of the air. ^98 III. The zeal of Generic +and his successors, for the conversion of the Catholics, must +have rendered them still more jealous to guard the purity of the +Vandal faith. Before the churches were finally shut, it was a +crime to appear in a Barbarian dress; and those who presumed to +neglect the royal mandate were rudely dragged backwards by their +long hair. ^99 The palatine officers, who refused to profess the +religion of their prince, were ignominiously stripped of their +honors and employments; banished to Sardinia and Sicily; or +condemned to the servile labors of slaves and peasants in the +fields of Utica. In the districts which had been peculiarly +allotted to the Vandals, the exercise of the Catholic worship was +more strictly prohibited; and severe penalties were denounced +against the guilt both of the missionary and the proselyte. By +these arts, the faith of the Barbarians was preserved, and their +zeal was inflamed: they discharged, with devout fury, the office +of spies, informers, or executioners; and whenever their cavalry +took the field, it was the favorite amusement of the march to +defile the churches, and to insult the clergy of the adverse +faction. ^100 IV. The citizens who had been educated in the +luxury of the Roman province, were delivered, with exquisite +cruelty, to the Moors of the desert. A venerable train of +bishops, presbyters, and deacons, with a faithful crowd of four +thousand and ninety- six persons, whose guilt is not precisely +ascertained, were torn from their native homes, by the command of +Hunneric. During the night they were confined, like a herd of +cattle, amidst their own ordure: during the day they pursued +their march over the burning sands; and if they fainted under the +heat and fatigue, they were goaded, or dragged along, till they +expired in the hands of their tormentors. ^101 These unhappy +exiles, when they reached the Moorish huts, might excite the +compassion of a people, whose native humanity was neither +improved by reason, nor corrupted by fanaticism: but if they +escaped the dangers, they were condemned to share the distress of +a savage life. V. It is incumbent on the authors of persecution +previously to reflect, whether they are determined to support it +in the last extreme. They excite the flame which they strive to +extinguish; and it soon becomes necessary to chastise the +contumacy, as well as the crime, of the offender. The fine, +which he is unable or unwilling to discharge, exposes his person +to the severity of the law; and his contempt of lighter penalties +suggests the use and propriety of capital punishment. Through the +veil of fiction and declamation we may clearly perceive, that the +Catholics more especially under the reign of Hunneric, endured +the most cruel and ignominious treatment. ^102 Respectable +citizens, noble matrons, and consecrated virgins, were stripped +naked, and raised in the air by pulleys, with a weight suspended +at their feet. In this painful attitude their naked bodies were +torn with scourges, or burnt in the most tender parts with +red-hot plates of iron. The amputation of the ears the nose, the +tongue, and the right hand, was inflicted by the Arians; and +although the precise number cannot be defined, it is evident that +many persons, among whom a bishop ^103 and a proconsul ^104 may +be named, were entitled to the crown of martyrdom. The same honor +has been ascribed to the memory of Count Sebastian, who professed +the Nicene creed with unshaken constancy; and Genseric might +detest, as a heretic, the brave and ambitious fugitive whom he +dreaded as a rival. ^105 VI. A new mode of conversion, which +might subdue the feeble, and alarm the timorous, was employed by +the Arian ministers. They imposed, by fraud or violence, the +rites of baptism; and punished the apostasy of the Catholics, if +they disclaimed this odious and profane ceremony, which +scandalously violated the freedom of the will, and the unity of +the sacrament. ^106 The hostile sects had formerly allowed the +validity of each other's baptism; and the innovation, so fiercely +maintained by the Vandals, can be imputed only to the example and +advice of the Donatists. VII. The Arian clergy surpassed in +religious cruelty the king and his Vandals; but they were +incapable of cultivating the spiritual vineyard, which they were +so desirous to possess. A patriarch ^107 might seat himself on +the throne of Carthage; some bishops, in the principal cities, +might usurp the place of their rivals; but the smallness of their +numbers, and their ignorance of the Latin language, ^108 +disqualified the Barbarians for the ecclesiastical ministry of a +great church; and the Africans, after the loss of their orthodox +pastors, were deprived of the public exercise of Christianity. +VIII. The emperors were the natural protectors of the Homoousian +doctrine; and the faithful people of Africa, both as Romans and +as Catholics, preferred their lawful sovereignty to the +usurpation of the Barbarous heretics. During an interval of +peace and friendship, Hunneric restored the cathedral of +Carthage; at the intercession of Zeno, who reigned in the East, +and of Placidia, the daughter and relict of emperors, and the +sister of the queen of the Vandals. ^109 But this decent regard +was of short duration; and the haughty tyrant displayed his +contempt for the religion of the empire, by studiously arranging +the bloody images of persecution, in all the principal streets +through which the Roman ambassador must pass in his way to the +palace. ^110 An oath was required from the bishops, who were +assembled at Carthage, that they would support the succession of +his son Hilderic, and that they would renounce all foreign or +transmarine correspondence. This engagement, consistent, as it +should seem, with their moral and religious duties, was refused +by the more sagacious members ^111 of the assembly. Their +refusal, faintly colored by the pretence that it is unlawful for +a Christian to swear, must provoke the suspicions of a jealous +tyrant. + +[Footnote 91: Victor, iv. 2, p. 65. Hunneric refuses the name of +Catholics to the Homoousians. He describes, as the veri Divinae +Majestatis cultores, his own party, who professed the faith, +confirmed by more than a thousand bishops, in the synods of +Rimini and Seleucia.] + +[Footnote 92: Victor, ii, 1, p. 21, 22: Laudabilior ... +videbatur. In the Mss which omit this word, the passage is +unintelligible. See Ruinart Not. p. 164.] + +[Footnote 93: Victor, ii. p. 22, 23. The clergy of Carthage +called these conditions periculosoe; and they seem, indeed, to +have been proposed as a snare to entrap the Catholic bishops.] +[Footnote 94: See the narrative of this conference, and the +treatment of the bishops, in Victor, ii. 13 - 18, p. 35 - 42 and +the whole fourth book p. 63 - 171. The third book, p. 42 - 62, +is entirely filled by their apology or confession of faith.] +[Footnote 95: See the list of the African bishops, in Victor, p. +117 - 140, and Ruinart's notes, p. 215 - 397. The schismatic +name of Donatus frequently occurs, and they appear to have +adopted (like our fanatics of the last age) the pious +appellations of Deodatus, Deogratias, Quidvultdeus, Habetdeum, +&c. + Note: These names appear to have been introduced by the +Donatists. - M.] +[Footnote 96: Fulgent. Vit. c. 16 - 29. Thrasimund affected the +praise of moderation and learning; and Fulgentius addressed three +books of controversy to the Arian tyrant, whom he styles piissime +Rex. Biblioth. Maxim. Patrum, tom. ix. p. 41. Only sixty +bishops are mentioned as exiles in the life of Fulgentius; they +are increased to one hundred and twenty by Victor Tunnunensis and +Isidore; but the number of two hundred and twenty is specified in +the Historia Miscella, and a short authentic chronicle of the +times. See Ruinart, p. 570, 571.] + +[Footnote 97: See the base and insipid epigrams of the Stoic, who +could not support exile with more fortitude than Ovid. Corsica +might not produce corn, wine, or oil; but it could not be +destitute of grass, water, and even fire.] +[Footnote 98: Si ob gravitatem coeli interissent vile damnum. +Tacit. Annal. ii. 85. In this application, Thrasimund would have +adopted the reading of some critics, utile damnum.] + +[Footnote 99: See these preludes of a general persecution, in +Victor, ii. 3, 4, 7 and the two edicts of Hunneric, l. ii. p. 35, +l. iv. p. 64.] +[Footnote 100: See Procopius de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 7, p. 197, +198. A Moorish prince endeavored to propitiate the God of the +Christians, by his diligence to erase the marks of the Vandal +sacrilege.] + +[Footnote 101: See this story in Victor. ii. 8 - 12, p. 30 - 34. +Victor describes the distress of these confessors as an +eye-witness.] +[Footnote 102: See the fifth book of Victor. His passionate +complaints are confirmed by the sober testimony of Procopius, and +the public declaration of the emperor Justinian. Cod. l. i. tit. +xxvii.] + +[Footnote 103: Victor, ii. 18, p. 41.] + +[Footnote 104: Victor, v. 4, p. 74, 75. His name was +Victorianus, and he was a wealthy citizen of Adrumetum, who +enjoyed the confidence of the king; by whose favor he had +obtained the office, or at least the title, of proconsul of +Africa.] + +[Footnote 105: Victor, i. 6, p. 8, 9. After relating the firm +resistance and dexterous reply of Count Sebastian, he adds, quare +alio generis argumento postea bellicosum virum eccidit.] + +[Footnote 106: Victor, v. 12, 13. Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. +vi. p. 609.] +[Footnote 107: Primate was more properly the title of the bishop +of Carthage; but the name of patriarch was given by the sects and +nations to their principal ecclesiastic. See Thomassin, +Discipline de l'Eglise, tom. i. p. 155, 158.] + +[Footnote 108: The patriarch Cyrila himself publicly declared, +that he did not understand Latin (Victor, ii. 18, p. 42:) Nescio +Latine; and he might converse with tolerable ease, without being +capable of disputing or preaching in that language. His Vandal +clergy were still more ignorant; and small confidence could be +placed in the Africans who had conformed.] + +[Footnote 109: Victor, ii. 1, 2, p. 22.] + +[Footnote 110: Victor, v. 7, p. 77. He appeals to the ambassador +himself, whose name was Uranius.] + +[Footnote 111: Astutiores, Victor, iv. 4, p. 70. He plainly +intimates that their quotation of the gospel "Non jurabitis in +toto," was only meant to elude the obligation of an inconvenient +oath. The forty-six bishops who refused were banished to +Corsica; the three hundred and two who swore were distributed +through the provinces of Africa.] + +Chapter XXXVII: Conversion Of The Barbarians To Christianity. +Part V. + + The Catholics, oppressed by royal and military force, were +far superior to their adversaries in numbers and learning. With +the same weapons which the Greek ^112 and Latin fathers had +already provided for the Arian controversy, they repeatedly +silenced, or vanquished, the fierce and illiterate successors of +Ulphilas. The consciousness of their own superiority might have +raised them above the arts and passions of religious warfare. +Yet, instead of assuming such honorable pride, the orthodox +theologians were tempted, by the assurance of impunity, to +compose fictions, which must be stigmatized with the epithets of +fraud and forgery. They ascribed their own polemical works to the +most venerable names of Christian antiquity; the characters of +Athanasius and Augustin were awkwardly personated by Vigilius and +his disciples; ^113 and the famous creed, which so clearly +expounds the mysteries of the Trinity and the Incarnation, is +deduced, with strong probability, from this African school. ^114 +Even the Scriptures themselves were profaned by their rash and +sacrilegious hands. The memorable text, which asserts the unity +of the three who bear witness in heaven, ^115 is condemned by the +universal silence of the orthodox fathers, ancient versions, and +authentic manuscripts. ^116 It was first alleged by the Catholic +bishops whom Hunneric summoned to the conference of Carthage. +^117 An allegorical interpretation, in the form, perhaps, of a +marginal note, invaded the text of the Latin Bibles, which were +renewed and corrected in a dark period of ten centuries. ^118 +After the invention of printing, ^119 the editors of the Greek +Testament yielded to their own prejudices, or those of the times; +^120 and the pious fraud, which was embraced with equal zeal at +Rome and at Geneva, has been infinitely multiplied in every +country and every language of modern Europe. + +[Footnote 112: Fulgentius, bishop of Ruspae, in the Byzacene +province, was of a senatorial family, and had received a liberal +education. He could repeat all Homer and Menander before he was +allowed to study Latin his native tongue, (Vit. Fulgent. c. l.) +Many African bishops might understand Greek, and many Greek +theologians were translated into Latin.] + +[Footnote 113: Compare the two prefaces to the Dialogue of +Vigilius of Thapsus, (p. 118, 119, edit. Chiflet.) He might amuse +his learned reader with an innocent fiction; but the subject was +too grave, and the Africans were too ignorant.] + +[Footnote 114: The P. Quesnel started this opinion, which has +been favorably received. But the three following truths, however +surprising they may seem, are now universally acknowledged, +(Gerard Vossius, tom. vi. p. 516 - 522. Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. +tom. viii. p. 667 - 671.) 1. St. Athanasius is not the author of +the creed which is so frequently read in our churches. 2. It +does not appear to have existed within a century after his death. + +3. It was originally composed in the Latin tongue, and, +consequently in the Western provinces. Gennadius patriarch of +Constantinople, was so much amazed by this extraordinary +composition, that he frankly pronounced it to be the work of a +drunken man. Petav. Dogmat. Theologica, tom. ii. l. vii. c. 8, +p. 687.] +[Footnote 115: 1 John, v. 7. See Simon, Hist. Critique du +Nouveau Testament, part i. c. xviii. p. 203 - 218; and part ii. +c. ix. p. 99 - 121; and the elaborate Prolegomena and Annotations +of Dr. Mill and Wetstein to their editions of the Greek +Testament. In 1689, the papist Simon strove to be free; in 1707, +the Protestant Mill wished to be a slave; in 1751, the Armenian +Wetstein used the liberty of his times, and of his sect. + + Note: This controversy has continued to be agitated, but +with declining interest even in the more religious part of the +community; and may now be considered to have terminated in an +almost general acquiescence of the learned to the conclusions of +Porson in his Letters to Travis. See the pamphlets of the late +Bishop of Salisbury and of Crito Cantabrigiensis, Dr. Turton of +Cambridge. - M.] + +[Footnote 116: Of all the Mss. now extant, above fourscore in +number, some of which are more than 1200 years old, (Wetstein ad +loc.) The orthodox copies of the Vatican, of the Complutensian +editors, of Robert Stephens, are become invisible; and the two +Mss. of Dublin and Berlin are unworthy to form an exception. See +Emlyn's Works, vol. ii. p 227 - 255, 269 - 299; and M. de Missy's +four ingenious letters, in tom. viii. and ix. of the Journal +Britannique.] + +[Footnote 117: Or, more properly, by the four bishops who +composed and published the profession of faith in the name of +their brethren. They styled this text, luce clarius, (Victor +Vitensis de Persecut. Vandal. l. iii. c. 11, p. 54.) It is quoted +soon afterwards by the African polemics, Vigilius and +Fulgentius.] + +[Footnote 118: In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the Bibles +were corrected by Lanfranc, archbishop of Canterbury, and by +Nicholas, cardinal and librarian of the Roman church, secundum +orthodoxam fidem, (Wetstein, Prolegom. p. 84, 85.) +Notwithstanding these corrections, the passage is still wanting +in twenty-five Latin Mss., (Wetstein ad loc.,) the oldest and the +fairest; two qualities seldom united, except in manuscripts.] +[Footnote 119: The art which the Germans had invented was applied +in Italy to the profane writers of Rome and Greece. The original +Greek of the New Testament was published about the same time +(A.D. 1514, 1516, 1520,) by the industry of Erasmus, and the +munificence of Cardinal Ximenes. The Complutensian Polyglot cost +the cardinal 50,000 ducats. See Mattaire, Annal. Typograph. tom. +ii. p. 2 - 8, 125 - 133; and Wetstein, Prolegomena, p. 116 - +127.] + +[Footnote 120: The three witnesses have been established in our +Greek Testaments by the prudence of Erasmus; the honest bigotry +of the Complutensian editors; the typographical fraud, or error, +of Robert Stephens, in the placing a crotchet; and the deliberate +falsehood, or strange misapprehension, of Theodore Beza.] + + The example of fraud must excite suspicion: and the specious +miracles by which the African Catholics have defended the truth +and justice of their cause, may be ascribed, with more reason, to +their own industry, than to the visible protection of Heaven. +Yet the historian, who views this religious conflict with an +impartial eye, may condescend to mention one preternatural event, +which will edify the devout, and surprise the incredulous. +Tipasa, ^121 a maritime colony of Mauritania, sixteen miles to +the east of Caesarea, had been distinguished, in every age, by +the orthodox zeal of its inhabitants. They had braved the fury of +the Donatists; ^122 they resisted, or eluded, the tyranny of the +Arians. The town was deserted on the approach of an heretical +bishop: most of the inhabitants who could procure ships passed +over to the coast of Spain; and the unhappy remnant, refusing all +communion with the usurper, still presumed to hold their pious, +but illegal, assemblies. Their disobedience exasperated the +cruelty of Hunneric. A military count was despatched from +Carthage to Tipasa: he collected the Catholics in the Forum, and, +in the presence of the whole province, deprived the guilty of +their right hands and their tongues. But the holy confessors +continued to speak without tongues; and this miracle is attested +by Victor, an African bishop, who published a history of the +persecution within two years after the event. ^123 "If any one," +says Victor, "should doubt of the truth, let him repair to +Constantinople, and listen to the clear and perfect language of +Restitutus, the sub-deacon, one of these glorious sufferers, who +is now lodged in the palace of the emperor Zeno, and is respected +by the devout empress." At Constantinople we are astonished to +find a cool, a learned, and unexceptionable witness, without +interest, and without passion. Aeneas of Gaza, a Platonic +philosopher, has accurately described his own observations on +these African sufferers. "I saw them myself: I heard them speak: +I diligently inquired by what means such an articulate voice +could be formed without any organ of speech: I used my eyes to +examine the report of my ears; I opened their mouth, and saw that +the whole tongue had been completely torn away by the roots; an +operation which the physicians generally suppose to be mortal." +^124 The testimony of Aeneas of Gaza might be confirmed by the +superfluous evidence of the emperor Justinian, in a perpetual +edict; of Count Marcellinus, in his Chronicle of the times; and +of Pope Gregory the First, who had resided at Constantinople, as +the minister of the Roman pontiff. ^125 They all lived within the +compass of a century; and they all appeal to their personal +knowledge, or the public notoriety, for the truth of a miracle, +which was repeated in several instances, displayed on the +greatest theatre of the world, and submitted, during a series of +years, to the calm examination of the senses. This supernatural +gift of the African confessors, who spoke without tongues, will +command the assent of those, and of those only, who already +believe, that their language was pure and orthodox. But the +stubborn mind of an infidel, is guarded by secret, incurable +suspicion; and the Arian, or Socinian, who has seriously rejected +the doctrine of a Trinity, will not be shaken by the most +plausible evidence of an Athanasian miracle. +[Footnote 121: Plin. Hist. Natural. v. 1. Itinerar. Wesseling, +p. 15. Cellanius, Geograph. Antiq. tom. ii. part ii. p. 127. +This Tipasa (which must not be confounded with another in +Numidia) was a town of some note since Vespasian endowed it with +the right of Latium.] + +[Footnote 122: Optatus Milevitanus de Schism. Donatist. l. ii. p. +38.] +[Footnote 123: Victor Vitensis, v. 6, p. 76. Ruinart, p. 483 - +487.] +[Footnote 124: Aeneas Gazaeus in Theophrasto, in Biblioth. +Patrum, tom. viii. p. 664, 665. He was a Christian, and composed +this Dialogue (the Theophrastus) on the immortality of the soul, +and the resurrection of the body; besides twenty-five Epistles, +still extant. See Cave, (Hist. Litteraria, p. 297,) and +Fabricius, (Biblioth. Graec. tom. i. p. 422.)] +[Footnote 125: Justinian. Codex. l. i. tit. xxvii. Marcellin. in +Chron. p. 45, in Thesaur. Temporum Scaliger. Procopius, de Bell. +Vandal. l. i. c. 7. p. 196. Gregor. Magnus, Dialog. iii. 32. +None of these witnesses have specified the number of the +confessors, which is fixed at sixty in an old menology, (apud +Ruinart. p. 486.) Two of them lost their speech by fornication; +but the miracle is enhanced by the singular instance of a boy who +had never spoken before his tongue was cut out. ] + + The Vandals and the Ostrogoths persevered in the profession +of Arianism till the final ruin of the kingdoms which they had +founded in Africa and Italy. The Barbarians of Gaul submitted to +the orthodox dominion of the Franks; and Spain was restored to +the Catholic church by the voluntary conversion of the Visigoths. + + This salutary revolution ^126 was hastened by the example of +a royal martyr, whom our calmer reason may style an ungrateful +rebel. Leovigild, the Gothic monarch of Spain, deserved the +respect of his enemies, and the love of his subjects; the +Catholics enjoyed a free toleration, and his Arian synods +attempted, without much success, to reconcile their scruples by +abolishing the unpopular rite of a second baptism. His eldest +son Hermenegild, who was invested by his father with the royal +diadem, and the fair principality of Boetica, contracted an +honorable and orthodox alliance with a Merovingian princess, the +daughter of Sigebert, king of Austrasia, and of the famous +Brunechild. The beauteous Ingundis, who was no more than +thirteen years of age, was received, beloved, and persecuted, in +the Arian court of Toledo; and her religious constancy was +alternately assaulted with blandishments and violence by +Goisvintha, the Gothic queen, who abused the double claim of +maternal authority. ^127 Incensed by her resistance, Goisvintha +seized the Catholic princess by her long hair, inhumanly dashed +her against the ground, kicked her till she was covered with +blood, and at last gave orders that she should be stripped, and +thrown into a basin, or fish-pond. ^128 Love and honor might +excite Hermenegild to resent this injurious treatment of his +bride; and he was gradually persuaded that Ingundis suffered for +the cause of divine truth. Her tender complaints, and the +weighty arguments of Le ander, archbishop of Seville, +accomplished his conversion and the heir of the Gothic monarchy +was initiated in the Nicene faith by the solemn rites of +confirmation. ^129 The rash youth, inflamed by zeal, and perhaps +by ambition, was tempted to violate the duties of a son and a +subject; and the Catholics of Spain, although they could not +complain of persecution, applauded his pious rebellion against an +heretical father. The civil war was protracted by the long and +obstinate sieges of Merida, Cordova, and Seville, which had +strenuously espoused the party of Hermenegild He invited the +orthodox Barbarians, the Seuvi, and the Franks, to the +destruction of his native land; he solicited the dangerous aid of +the Romans, who possessed Africa, and a part of the Spanish +coast; and his holy ambassador, the archbishop Leander, +effectually negotiated in person with the Byzantine court. But +the hopes of the Catholics were crushed by the active diligence +of the monarch who commanded the troops and treasures of Spain; +and the guilty Hermenegild, after his vain attempts to resist or +to escape, was compelled to surrender himself into the hands of +an incensed father. Leovigild was still mindful of that sacred +character; and the rebel, despoiled of the regal ornaments, was +still permitted, in a decent exile, to profess the Catholic +religion. His repeated and unsuccessful treasons at length +provoked the indignation of the Gothic king; and the sentence of +death, which he pronounced with apparent reluctance, was +privately executed in the tower of Seville. The inflexible +constancy with which he refused to accept the Arian communion, as +the price of his safety, may excuse the honors that have been +paid to the memory of St. Hermenegild. His wife and infant son +were detained by the Romans in ignominious captivity; and this +domestic misfortune tarnished the glories of Leovigild, and +imbittered the last moments of his life. + +[Footnote 126: See the two general historians of Spain, Mariana +(Hist. de Rebus Hispaniae, tom. i. l. v. c. 12 - 15, p. 182 - +194) and Ferreras, (French translation, tom. ii. p. 206 - 247.) +Mariana almost forgets that he is a Jesuit, to assume the style +and spirit of a Roman classic. Ferreras, an industrious +compiler, reviews his facts, and rectifies his chronology.] +[Footnote 127: Goisvintha successively married two kings of the +Visigoths: Athanigild, to whom she bore Brunechild, the mother of +Ingundis; and Leovigild, whose two sons, Hermenegild and Recared, +were the issue of a former marriage.] + +[Footnote 128: Iracundiae furore succensa, adprehensam per comam +capitis puellam in terram conlidit, et diu calcibus verberatam, +ac sanguins cruentatam, jussit exspoliari, et piscinae immergi. +Greg. Turon. l. v. c. 39. in tom. ii. p. 255. Gregory is one of +our best originals for this portion of history.] + +[Footnote 129: The Catholics who admitted the baptism of heretics +repeated the rite, or, as it was afterwards styled, the +sacrament, of confirmation, to which they ascribed many mystic +and marvellous prerogatives both visible and invisible. See +Chardon. Hist. des Sacremens, tom. 1. p. 405 - 552.] + His son and successor, Recared, the first Catholic king of +Spain, had imbibed the faith of his unfortunate brother, which he +supported with more prudence and success. Instead of revolting +against his father, Recared patiently expected the hour of his +death. Instead of condemning his memory, he piously supposed, +that the dying monarch had abjured the errors of Arianism, and +recommended to his son the conversion of the Gothic nation. To +accomplish that salutary end, Recared convened an assembly of the +Arian clergy and nobles, declared himself a Catholic, and +exhorted them to imitate the example of their prince. The +laborious interpretation of doubtful texts, or the curious +pursuit of metaphysical arguments, would have excited an endless +controversy; and the monarch discreetly proposed to his +illiterate audience two substantial and visible arguments, - the +testimony of Earth, and of Heaven. The Earth had submitted to +the Nicene synod: the Romans, the Barbarians, and the inhabitants +of Spain, unanimously professed the same orthodox creed; and the +Visigoths resisted, almost alone, the consent of the Christian +world. A superstitious age was prepared to reverence, as the +testimony of Heaven, the preternatural cures, which were +performed by the skill or virtue of the Catholic clergy; the +baptismal fonts of Osset in Boetica, ^130 which were +spontaneously replenished every year, on the vigil of Easter; +^131 and the miraculous shrine of St. Martin of Tours, which had +already converted the Suevic prince and people of Gallicia. ^132 +The Catholic king encountered some difficulties on this important +change of the national religion. A conspiracy, secretly fomented +by the queen-dowager, was formed against his life; and two counts +excited a dangerous revolt in the Narbonnese Gaul. But Recared +disarmed the conspirators, defeated the rebels, and executed +severe justice; which the Arians, in their turn, might brand with +the reproach of persecution. Eight bishops, whose names betray +their Barbaric origin, abjured their errors; and all the books of +Arian theology were reduced to ashes, with the house in which +they had been purposely collected. The whole body of the +Visigoths and Suevi were allured or driven into the pale of the +Catholic communion; the faith, at least of the rising generation, +was fervent and sincere: and the devout liberality of the +Barbarians enriched the churches and monasteries of Spain. +Seventy bishops, assembled in the council of Toledo, received the +submission of their conquerors; and the zeal of the Spaniards +improved the Nicene creed, by declaring the procession of the +Holy Ghost from the Son, as well as from the Father; a weighty +point of doctrine, which produced, long afterwards, the schism of +the Greek and Latin churches. ^133 The royal proselyte +immediately saluted and consulted Pope Gregory, surnamed the +Great, a learned and holy prelate, whose reign was distinguished +by the conversion of heretics and infidels. The ambassadors of +Recared respectfully offered on the threshold of the Vatican his +rich presents of gold and gems; they accepted, as a lucrative +exchange, the hairs of St. John the Baptist; a cross, which +enclosed a small piece of the true wood; and a key, that +contained some particles of iron which had been scraped from the +chains of St. Peter. ^134 + +[Footnote 130: Osset, or Julia Constantia, was opposite to +Seville, on the northern side of the Boetis, (Plin. Hist. Natur. +iii. 3:) and the authentic reference of Gregory of Tours (Hist. +Francor. l. vi. c. 43, p. 288) deserves more credit than the name +of Lusitania, (de Gloria Martyr. c. 24,) which has been eagerly +embraced by the vain and superstitious Portuguese, (Ferreras, +Hist. d'Espagne, tom. ii. p. 166.)] + +[Footnote 131: This miracle was skilfully performed. An Arian +king sealed the doors, and dug a deep trench round the church, +without being able to intercept the Easter supply of baptismal +water.] + +[Footnote 132: Ferreras (tom. ii. p. 168 - 175, A.D. 550) has +illustrated the difficulties which regard the time and +circumstances of the conversion of the Suevi. They had been +recently united by Leovigild to the Gothic monarchy of Spain.] +[Footnote 133: This addition to the Nicene, or rather the +Constantinopolitan creed, was first made in the eighth council of +Toledo, A.D. 653; but it was expressive of the popular doctrine, +(Gerard Vossius, tom. vi. p. 527, de tribus Symbolis.)] + +[Footnote 134: See Gregor. Magn. l. vii. epist. 126, apud +Baronium, Annal. Eccles. A.D. 559, No. 25, 26.] + + The same Gregory, the spiritual conqueror of Britain, +encouraged the pious Theodelinda, queen of the Lombards, to +propagate the Nicene faith among the victorious savages, whose +recent Christianity was polluted by the Arian heresy. Her devout +labors still left room for the industry and success of future +missionaries; and many cities of Italy were still disputed by +hostile bishops. But the cause of Arianism was gradually +suppressed by the weight of truth, of interest, and of example; +and the controversy, which Egypt had derived from the Platonic +school, was terminated, after a war of three hundred years, by +the final conversion of the Lombards of Italy. ^135 +[Footnote 135: Paul Warnefrid (de Gestis Langobard. l. iv. c. 44, +p. 153, edit Grot.) allows that Arianism still prevailed under +the reign of Rotharis, (A.D. 636 - 652.) The pious deacon does +not attempt to mark the precise era of the national conversion, +which was accomplished, however, before the end of the seventh +century.] + + The first missionaries who preached the gospel to the +Barbarians, appealed to the evidence of reason, and claimed the +benefit of toleration. ^136 But no sooner had they established +their spiritual dominion, than they exhorted the Christian kings +to extirpate, without mercy, the remains of Roman or Barbaric +superstition. The successors of Clovis inflicted one hundred +lashes on the peasants who refused to destroy their idols; the +crime of sacrificing to the demons was punished by the +Anglo-Saxon laws with the heavier penalties of imprisonment and +confiscation; and even the wise Alfred adopted, as an +indispensable duty, the extreme rigor of the Mosaic institutions. +^137 But the punishment and the crime were gradually abolished +among a Christian people; the theological disputes of the schools +were suspended by propitious ignorance; and the intolerant spirit +which could find neither idolaters nor heretics, was reduced to +the persecution of the Jews. That exiled nation had founded some +synagogues in the cities of Gaul; but Spain, since the time of +Hadrian, was filled with their numerous colonies. ^138 The wealth +which they accumulated by trade, and the management of the +finances, invited the pious avarice of their masters; and they +might be oppressed without danger, as they had lost the use, and +even the remembrance, of arms. Sisebut, a Gothic king, who +reigned in the beginning of the seventh century, proceeded at +once to the last extremes of persecution. ^139 Ninety thousand +Jews were compelled to receive the sacrament of baptism; the +fortunes of the obstinate infidels were confiscated, their bodies +were tortured; and it seems doubtful whether they were permitted +to abandon their native country. The excessive zeal of the +Catholic king was moderated, even by the clergy of Spain, who +solemnly pronounced an inconsistent sentence: that the sacraments +should not be forcibly imposed; but that the Jews who had been +baptized should be constrained, for the honor of the church, to +persevere in the external practice of a religion which they +disbelieved and detested. Their frequent relapses provoked one +of the successors of Sisebut to banish the whole nation from his +dominions; and a council of Toledo published a decree, that every +Gothic king should swear to maintain this salutary edict. But +the tyrants were unwilling to dismiss the victims, whom they +delighted to torture, or to deprive themselves of the industrious +slaves, over whom they might exercise a lucrative oppression. +The Jews still continued in Spain, under the weight of the civil +and ecclesiastical laws, which in the same country have been +faithfully transcribed in the Code of the Inquisition. The Gothic +kings and bishops at length discovered, that injuries will +produce hatred, and that hatred will find the opportunity of +revenge. A nation, the secret or professed enemies of +Christianity, still multiplied in servitude and distress; and the +intrigues of the Jews promoted the rapid success of the Arabian +conquerors. ^140 + +[Footnote 136: Quorum fidei et conversioni ita congratulatus esse +rex perhibetur, ut nullum tamen cogeret ad Christianismum. ... +Didiceret enim a doctoribus auctoribusque suae salutis, servitium +Christi voluntarium non coactitium esse debere. Bedae Hist. +Ecclesiastic. l. i. c. 26, p. 62, edit. Smith.] + +[Footnote 137: See the Historians of France, tom. iv. p. 114; and +Wilkins, Leges Anglo-Saxonicae, p. 11, 31. Siquis sacrificium +immolaverit praeter Deo soli morte moriatur.] + +[Footnote 138: The Jews pretend that they were introduced into +Spain by the fleets of Solomon, and the arms of Nebuchadnezzar; +that Hadrian transported forty thousand families of the tribe of +Judah, and ten thousand of the tribe of Benjamin, &c. Basnage, +Hist. des Juifs, tom. vii. c. 9, p. 240 - 256.] +[Footnote 139: Isidore, at that time archbishop of Seville, +mentions, disapproves and congratulates, the zeal of Sisebut +(Chron. Goth. p. 728.) Barosins (A.D. 614, No. 41) assigns the +number of the evidence of Almoin, (l. iv. c. 22;) but the +evidence is weak, and I have not been able to verify the +quotation, (Historians of France, tom. iii. p. 127.)] + +[Footnote 140: Basnage (tom. viii. c. 13, p. 388 - 400) +faithfully represents the state of the Jews; but he might have +added from the canons of the Spanish councils, and the laws of +the Visigoths, many curious circumstances, essential to his +subject, though they are foreign to mine. + + Note: Compare Milman, Hist. of Jews iii. 256 - M] + + As soon as the Barbarians withdrew their powerful support, +the unpopular heresy of Arius sunk into contempt and oblivion. +But the Greeks still retained their subtle and loquacious +disposition: the establishment of an obscure doctrine suggested +new questions, and new disputes; and it was always in the power +of an ambitious prelate, or a fanatic monk, to violate the peace +of the church, and, perhaps, of the empire. The historian of the +empire may overlook those disputes which were confined to the +obscurity of schools and synods. The Manichaeans, who labored to +reconcile the religions of Christ and of Zoroaster, had secretly +introduced themselves into the provinces: but these foreign +sectaries were involved in the common disgrace of the Gnostics, +and the Imperial laws were executed by the public hatred. The +rational opinions of the Pelagians were propagated from Britain +to Rome, Africa, and Palestine, and silently expired in a +superstitious age. But the East was distracted by the Nestorian +and Eutychian controversies; which attempted to explain the +mystery of the incarnation, and hastened the ruin of Christianity +in her native land. These controversies were first agitated under +the reign of the younger Theodosius: but their important +consequences extend far beyond the limits of the present volume. +The metaphysical chain of argument, the contests of +ecclesiastical ambition, and their political influence on the +decline of the Byzantine empire, may afford an interesting and +instructive series of history, from the general councils of +Ephesus and Chalcedon, to the conquest of the East by the +successors of Mahomet. + +Chapter XXXVIII: Reign Of Clovis. + +Part I. + + Reign And Conversion Of Clovis. - His Victories Over The +Alemanni, Burgundians, And Visigoths. - Establishment Of The +French Monarchy In Gaul. - Laws Of The Barbarians. - State Of The +Romans. - The Visigoths Of Spain. - Conquest Of Britain By The +Saxons. + + The Gauls, ^1 who impatiently supported the Roman yoke, +received a memorable lesson from one of the lieutenants of +Vespasian, whose weighty sense has been refined and expressed by +the genius of Tacitus. ^2 "The protection of the republic has +delivered Gaul from internal discord and foreign invasions. By +the loss of national independence, you have acquired the name and +privileges of Roman citizens. You enjoy, in common with +yourselves, the permanent benefits of civil government; and your +remote situation is less exposed to the accidental mischiefs of +tyranny. Instead of exercising the rights of conquest, we have +been contented to impose such tributes as are requisite for your +own preservation. Peace cannot be secured without armies; and +armies must be supported at the expense of the people. It is for +your sake, not for our own, that we guard the barrier of the +Rhine against the ferocious Germans, who have so often attempted, +and who will always desire, to exchange the solitude of their +woods and morasses for the wealth and fertility of Gaul. The +fall of Rome would be fatal to the provinces; and you would be +buried in the ruins of that mighty fabric, which has been raised +by the valor and wisdom of eight hundred years. Your imaginary +freedom would be insulted and oppressed by a savage master; and +the expulsion of the Romans would be succeeded by the eternal +hostilities of the Barbarian conquerors." ^3 This salutary advice +was accepted, and this strange prediction was accomplished. In +the space of four hundred years, the hardy Gauls, who had +encountered the arms of Caesar, were imperceptibly melted into +the general mass of citizens and subjects: the Western empire was +dissolved; and the Germans, who had passed the Rhine, fiercely +contended for the possession of Gaul, and excited the contempt, +or abhorrence, of its peaceful and polished inhabitants. With +that conscious pride which the preeminence of knowledge and +luxury seldom fails to inspire, they derided the hairy and +gigantic savages of the North; their rustic manners, dissonant +joy, voracious appetite, and their horrid appearance, equally +disgusting to the sight and to the smell. The liberal studies +were still cultivated in the schools of Autun and Bordeaux; and +the language of Cicero and Virgil was familiar to the Gallic +youth. Their ears were astonished by the harsh and unknown +sounds of the Germanic dialect, and they ingeniously lamented +that the trembling muses fled from the harmony of a Burgundian +lyre. The Gauls were endowed with all the advantages of art and +nature; but as they wanted courage to defend them, they were +justly condemned to obey, and even to flatter, the victorious +Barbarians, by whose clemency they held their precarious fortunes +and their lives. ^4 + +[Footnote 1: In this chapter I shall draw my quotations from the +Recueil des Historiens des Gaules et de la France, Paris, 1738 - +1767, in eleven volumes in folio. By the labor of Dom Bouquet, +and the other Benedictines, all the original testimonies, as far +as A.D. 1060, are disposed in chronological order, and +illustrated with learned notes. Such a national work, which will +be continued to the year 1500, might provoke our emulation.] +[Footnote 2: Tacit. Hist. iv. 73, 74, in tom. i. p. 445. To +abridge Tacitus would indeed be presumptuous; but I may select +the general ideas which he applies to the present state and +future revelations of Gaul.] +[Footnote 3: Eadem semper causa Germanis transcendendi in Gallias +libido atque avaritiae et mutandae sedis amor; ut relictis +paludibus et solitudinibus, suis, fecundissimum hoc solum vosque +ipsos possiderent .... Nam pulsis Romanis quid aliud quam bella +omnium inter se gentium exsistent?] + +[Footnote 4: Sidonius Apollinaris ridicules, with affected wit +and pleasantry, the hardships of his situation, (Carm. xii. in +tom. i. p. 811.)] + As soon as Odoacer had extinguished the Western empire, he +sought the friendship of the most powerful of the Barbarians. +The new sovereign of Italy resigned to Euric, king of the +Visigoths, all the Roman conquests beyond the Alps, as far as the +Rhine and the Ocean: ^5 and the senate might confirm this liberal +gift with some ostentation of power, and without any real loss of +revenue and dominion. The lawful pretensions of Euric were +justified by ambition and success; and the Gothic nation might +aspire, under his command, to the monarchy of Spain and Gaul. +Arles and Marseilles surrendered to his arms: he oppressed the +freedom of Auvergne; and the bishop condescended to purchase his +recall from exile by a tribute of just, but reluctant praise. +Sidonius waited before the gates of the palace among a crowd of +ambassadors and suppliants; and their various business at the +court of Bordeaux attested the power, and the renown, of the king +of the Visigoths. The Heruli of the distant ocean, who painted +their naked bodies with its coerulean color, implored his +protection; and the Saxons respected the maritime provinces of a +prince, who was destitute of any naval force. The tall +Burgundians submitted to his authority; nor did he restore the +captive Franks, till he had imposed on that fierce nation the +terms of an unequal peace. The Vandals of Africa cultivated his +useful friendship; and the Ostrogoths of Pannonia were supported +by his powerful aid against the oppression of the neighboring +Huns. The North (such are the lofty strains of the poet) was +agitated or appeased by the nod of Euric; the great king of +Persia consulted the oracle of the West; and the aged god of the +Tyber was protected by the swelling genius of the Garonne. ^6 The +fortune of nations has often depended on accidents; and France +may ascribe her greatness to the premature death of the Gothic +king, at a time when his son Alaric was a helpless infant, and +his adversary Clovis ^7 an ambitious and valiant youth. + +[Footnote 5: See Procopius de Bell. Gothico, l. i. c. 12, in tom. +ii. p. 81. The character of Grotius inclines me to believe, that +he has not substituted the Rhine for the Rhone (Hist. Gothorum, +p. 175) without the authority of some Ms.] + +[Footnote 6: Sidonius, l. viii. epist. 3, 9, in tom. i. p. 800. +Jornandes (de Rebus Geticis, c. 47 p. 680) justifies, in some +measure, this portrait of the Gothic hero.] + +[Footnote 7: I use the familiar appellation of Clovis, from the +Latin Chlodovechus, or Chlodovoeus. But the Ch expresses only +the German aspiration, and the true name is not different from +Lewis, (Mem. de 'Academie des Inscriptions, tom. xx. p. 68.)] + While Childeric, the father of Clovis, lived an exile in +Germany, he was hospitably entertained by the queen, as well as +by the king, of the Thuringians. After his restoration, Basina +escaped from her husband's bed to the arms of her lover; freely +declaring, that if she had known a man wiser, stronger, or more +beautiful, than Childeric, that man should have been the object +of her preference. ^8 Clovis was the offspring of this voluntary +union; and, when he was no more than fifteen years of age, he +succeeded, by his father's death, to the command of the Salian +tribe. The narrow limits of his kingdom were confined to the +island of the Batavians, with the ancient dioceses of Tournay and +Arras; ^10 and at the baptism of Clovis the number of his +warriors could not exceed five thousand. The kindred tribes of +the Franks, who had seated themselves along the Belgic rivers, +the Scheld, the Meuse, the Moselle, and the Rhine, were governed +by their independent kings, of the Merovingian race; the equals, +the allies, and sometimes the enemies of the Salic prince. But +the Germans, who obeyed, in peace, the hereditary jurisdiction of +their chiefs, were free to follow the standard of a popular and +victorious general; and the superior merit of Clovis attracted +the respect and allegiance of the national confederacy. When he +first took the field, he had neither gold and silver in his +coffers, nor wine and corn in his magazine; ^11 but he imitated +the example of Caesar, who, in the same country, had acquired +wealth by the sword, and purchased soldiers with the fruits of +conquest. After each successful battle or expedition, the spoils +were accumulated in one common mass; every warrior received his +proportionable share; and the royal prerogative submitted to the +equal regulations of military law. The untamed spirit of the +Barbarians was taught to acknowledge the advantages of regular +discipline. ^12 At the annual review of the month of March, their +arms were diligently inspected; and when they traversed a +peaceful territory, they were prohibited from touching a blade of +grass. The justice of Clovis was inexorable; and his careless or +disobedient soldiers were punished with instant death. It would +be superfluous to praise the valor of a Frank; but the valor of +Clovis was directed by cool and consummate prudence. ^13 In all +his transactions with mankind, he calculated the weight of +interest, of passion, and of opinion; and his measures were +sometimes adapted to the sanguinary manners of the Germans, and +sometimes moderated by the milder genius of Rome, and +Christianity. He was intercepted in the career of victory, since +he died in the forty-fifth year of his age: but he had already +accomplished, in a reign of thirty years, the establishment of +the French monarchy in Gaul. + +[Footnote 8: Greg. l. ii. c. 12, in tom. i. p. 168. Basina speaks +the language of nature; the Franks, who had seen her in their +youth, might converse with Gregory in their old age; and the +bishop of Tours could not wish to defame the mother of the first +Christian king.] + +[Footnote 9: The Abbe Dubos (Hist. Critique de l'Etablissement de +la Monarchie Francoise dans les Gaules, tom. i. p. 630 - 650) has +the merit of defining the primitive kingdom of Clovis, and of +ascertaining the genuine number of his subjects.] + +[Footnote 10: Ecclesiam incultam ac negligentia civium Paganorum +praetermis sam, veprium densitate oppletam, &c. Vit. St. Vedasti, +in tom. iii. p. 372. This description supposes that Arras was +possessed by the Pagans many years before the baptism of Clovis.] + +[Footnote 11: Gregory of Tours (l v. c. i. tom. ii. p. 232) +contrasts the poverty of Clovis with the wealth of his grandsons. + +Yet Remigius (in tom. iv. p. 52) mentions his paternas opes, as +sufficient for the redemption of captives.] + +[Footnote 12: See Gregory, (l. ii. c. 27, 37, in tom. ii. p. 175, +181, 182.) The famous story of the vase of Soissons explains both +the power and the character of Clovis. As a point of +controversy, it has been strangely tortured by Boulainvilliers +Dubos, and the other political antiquarians.] +[Footnote 13: The duke of Nivernois, a noble statesman, who has +managed weighty and delicate negotiations, ingeniously +illustrates (Mem. de l'Acad. des Inscriptions, tom. xx. p. 147 - +184) the political system of Clovis.] + The first exploit of Clovis was the defeat of Syagrius, the +son of Aegidius; and the public quarrel might, on this occasion, +be inflamed by private resentment. The glory of the father still +insulted the Merovingian race; the power of the son might excite +the jealous ambition of the king of the Franks. Syagrius +inherited, as a patrimonial estate, the city and diocese of +Soissons: the desolate remnant of the second Belgic, Rheims and +Troyes, Beauvais and Amiens, would naturally submit to the count +or patrician: ^14 and after the dissolution of the Western +empire, he might reign with the title, or at least with the +authority, of king of the Romans. ^15 As a Roman, he had been +educated in the liberal studies of rhetoric and jurisprudence; +but he was engaged by accident and policy in the familiar use of +the Germanic idiom. The independent Barbarians resorted to the +tribunal of a stranger, who possessed the singular talent of +explaining, in their native tongue, the dictates of reason and +equity. The diligence and affability of their judge rendered him +popular, the impartial wisdom of his decrees obtained their +voluntary obedience, and the reign of Syagrius over the Franks +and Burgundians seemed to revive the original institution of +civil society. ^16 In the midst of these peaceful occupations, +Syagrius received, and boldly accepted, the hostile defiance of +Clovis; who challenged his rival in the spirit, and almost in the +language, of chivalry, to appoint the day and the field ^17 of +battle. In the time of Caesar Soissons would have poured forth a +body of fifty thousand horse and such an army might have been +plentifully supplied with shields, cuirasses, and military +engines, from the three arsenals or manufactures of the city. ^18 +But the courage and numbers of the Gallic youth were long since +exhausted; and the loose bands of volunteers, or mercenaries, who +marched under the standard of Syagrius, were incapable of +contending with the national valor of the Franks. It would be +ungenerous without some more accurate knowledge of his strength +and resources, to condemn the rapid flight of Syagrius, who +escaped, after the loss of a battle, to the distant court of +Thoulouse. The feeble minority of Alaric could not assist or +protect an unfortunate fugitive; the pusillanimous ^19 Goths were +intimidated by the menaces of Clovis; and the Roman king, after a +short confinement, was delivered into the hands of the +executioner. The Belgic cities surrendered to the king of the +Franks; and his dominions were enlarged towards the East by the +ample diocese of Tongres ^20 which Clovis subdued in the tenth +year of his reign. + +[Footnote 14: M. Biet (in a Dissertation which deserved the prize +of the Academy of Soissons, p. 178 - 226,) has accurately defined +the nature and extent of the kingdom of Syagrius and his father; +but he too readily allows the slight evidence of Dubos (tom. ii. +p. 54 - 57) to deprive him of Beauvais and Amiens.] + +[Footnote 15: I may observe that Fredegarius, in his epitome of +Gregory of Tours, (tom. ii. p. 398,) has prudently substituted +the name of Patricius for the incredible title of Rex Romanorum.] + +[Footnote 16: Sidonius, (l. v. Epist. 5, in tom. i. p. 794,) who +styles him the Solon, the Amphion, of the Barbarians, addresses +this imaginary king in the tone of friendship and equality. From +such offices of arbitration, the crafty Dejoces had raised +himself to the throne of the Medes, (Herodot. l. i. c. 96 - +100.)] + +[Footnote 17: Campum sibi praeparari jussit. M. Biet (p. 226 - +251) has diligently ascertained this field of battle, at Nogent, +a Benedictine abbey, about ten miles to the north of Soissons. +The ground was marked by a circle of Pagan sepulchres; and Clovis +bestowed the adjacent lands of Leully and Coucy on the church of +Rheims.] + +[Footnote 18: See Caesar. Comment. de Bell. Gallic. ii. 4, in +tom. i. p. 220, and the Notitiae, tom. i. p. 126. The three +Fabricae of Soissons were, Seutaria, Balistaria, and Clinabaria. +The last supplied the complete armor of the heavy cuirassiers.] +[Footnote 19: The epithet must be confined to the circumstances; +and history cannot justify the French prejudice of Gregory, (l. +ii. c. 27, in tom. ii. p. 175,) ut Gothorum pavere mos est.] +[Footnote 20: Dubos has satisfied me (tom. i. p. 277 - 286) that +Gregory of Tours, his transcribers, or his readers, have +repeatedly confounded the German kingdom of Thuringia, beyond the +Rhine, and the Gallic city of Tongria, on the Meuse, which was +more anciently the country of the Eburones, and more recently the +diocese of Liege.] + + The name of the Alemanni has been absurdly derived from +their imaginary settlement on the banks of the Leman Lake. ^21 +That fortunate district, from the lake to the Avenche, and Mount +Jura, was occupied by the Burgundians. ^22 The northern parts of +Helvetia had indeed been subdued by the ferocious Alemanni, who +destroyed with their own hands the fruits of their conquest. A +province, improved and adorned by the arts of Rome, was again +reduced to a savage wilderness; and some vestige of the stately +Vindonissa may still be discovered in the fertile and populous +valley of the Aar. ^23 From the source of the Rhine to its +conflux with the Mein and the Moselle, the formidable swarms of +the Alemanni commanded either side of the river, by the right of +ancient possession, or recent victory. They had spread +themselves into Gaul, over the modern provinces of Alsace and +Lorraine; and their bold invasion of the kingdom of Cologne +summoned the Salic prince to the defence of his Ripuarian allies. + +Clovis encountered the invaders of Gaul in the plain of Tolbiac, +about twenty-four miles from Cologne; and the two fiercest +nations of Germany were mutually animated by the memory of past +exploits, and the prospect of future greatness. The Franks, +after an obstinate struggle, gave way; and the Alemanni, raising +a shout of victory, impetuously pressed their retreat. But the +battle was restored by the valor, and the conduct, and perhaps by +the piety, of Clovis; and the event of the bloody day decided +forever the alternative of empire or servitude. The last king of +the Alemanni was slain in the field, and his people were +slaughtered or pursued, till they threw down their arms, and +yielded to the mercy of the conqueror. Without discipline it was +impossible for them to rally: they had contemptuously demolished +the walls and fortifications which might have protected their +distress; and they were followed into the heart of their forests +by an enemy not less active, or intrepid, than themselves. The +great Theodoric congratulated the victory of Clovis, whose sister +Albofleda the king of Italy had lately married; but he mildly +interceded with his brother in favor of the suppliants and +fugitives, who had implored his protection. The Gallic +territories, which were possessed by the Alemanni, became the +prize of their conqueror; and the haughty nation, invincible, or +rebellious, to the arms of Rome, acknowledged the sovereignty of +the Merovingian kings, who graciously permitted them to enjoy +their peculiar manners and institutions, under the government of +official, and, at length, of hereditary, dukes. After the +conquest of the Western provinces, the Franks alone maintained +their ancient habitations beyond the Rhine. They gradually +subdued, and civilized, the exhausted countries, as far as the +Elbe, and the mountains of Bohemia; and the peace of Europe was +secured by the obedience of Germany. ^24 +[Footnote 21: Populi habitantes juxta Lemannum lacum, Alemanni +dicuntur. Servius, ad Virgil. Georgic. iv. 278. Don Bouquet +(tom. i. p. 817) has only alleged the more recent and corrupt +text of Isidore of Seville.] +[Footnote 22: Gregory of Tours sends St. Lupicinus inter illa +Jurensis deserti secreta, quae, inter Burgundiam Alamanniamque +sita, Aventicae adja cent civitati, in tom. i. p. 648. M. de +Watteville (Hist. de la Confederation Helvetique, tom. i. p. 9, +10) has accurately defined the Helvetian limits of the Duchy of +Alemannia, and the Transjurane Burgundy. They were commensurate +with the dioceses of Constance and Avenche, or Lausanne, and are +still discriminated, in modern Switzerland, by the use of the +German, or French, language.] + +[Footnote 23: See Guilliman de Rebus Helveticis, l i. c. 3, p. +11, 12. Within the ancient walls of Vindonissa, the castle of +Hapsburgh, the abbey of Konigsfield, and the town of Bruck, have +successively risen. The philosophic traveller may compare the +monuments of Roman conquest of feudal or Austrian tyranny, of +monkish superstition, and of industrious freedom. If he be truly +a philosopher, he will applaud the merit and happiness of his own +times.] +[Footnote 24: Gregory of Tours, (l. ii. 30, 37, in tom. ii. p. +176, 177, 182,) the Gesta Francorum, (in tom. ii. p. 551,) and +the epistle of Theodoric, (Cassiodor. Variar. l. ii. c. 41, in +tom. iv. p. 4,) represent the defeat of the Alemanni. Some of +their tribes settled in Rhaetia, under the protection of +Theodoric; whose successors ceded the colony and their country to +the grandson of Clovis. The state of the Alemanni under the +Merovingian kings may be seen in Mascou (Hist. of the Ancient +Germans, xi. 8, &c. Annotation xxxvi.) and Guilliman, (de Reb. +Helvet. l. ii. c. 10 - 12, p. 72 - 80.)] + Till the thirtieth year of his age, Clovis continued to +worship the gods of his ancestors. ^25 His disbelief, or rather +disregard, of Christianity, might encourage him to pillage with +less remorse the churches of a hostile territory: but his +subjects of Gaul enjoyed the free exercise of religious worship; +and the bishops entertained a more favorable hope of the +idolater, than of the heretics. The Merovingian prince had +contracted a fortunate alliance with the fair Clotilda, the niece +of the king of Burgundy, who, in the midst of an Arian court, was +educated in the profession of the Catholic faith. It was her +interest, as well as her duty, to achieve the conversion ^26 of a +Pagan husband; and Clovis insensibly listened to the voice of +love and religion. He conesnted (perhaps such terms had been +previously stipulated) to the baptism of his eldest son; and +though the sudden death of the infant excited some superstitious +fears, he was persuaded, a second time, to repeat the dangerous +experiment. In the distress of the battle of Tolbiac, Clovis +loudly invoked the God of Clotilda and the Christians; and +victory disposed him to hear, with respectful gratitude, the +eloquent ^27 Remigius, ^28 bishop of Rheims, who forcibly +displayed the temporal and spiritual advantages of his +conversion. The king declared himself satisfied of the truth of +the Catholic faith; and the political reasons which might have +suspended his public profession, were removed by the devout or +loyal acclamations of the Franks, who showed themselves alike +prepared to follow their heroic leader to the field of battle, or +to the baptismal font. The important ceremony was performed in +the cathedral of Rheims, with every circumstance of magnificence +and solemnity that could impress an awful sense of religion on +the minds of its rude proselytes. ^29 The new Constantine was +immediately baptized, with three thousand of his warlike +subjects; and their example was imitated by the remainder of the +gentle Barbarians, who, in obedience to the victorious prelate, +adored the cross which they had burnt, and burnt the idols which +they had formerly adored. ^30 The mind of Clovis was susceptible +of transient fervor: he was exasperated by the pathetic tale of +the passion and death of Christ; and, instead of weighing the +salutary consequences of that mysterious sacrifice, he exclaimed, +with indiscreet fury, "Had I been present at the head of my +valiant Franks, I would have revenged his injuries." ^31 But the +savage conqueror of Gaul was incapable of examining the proofs of +a religion, which depends on the laborious investigation of +historic evidence and speculative theology. He was still more +incapable of feeling the mild influence of the gospel, which +persuades and purifies the heart of a genuine convert. His +ambitious reign was a perpetual violation of moral and Christian +duties: his hands were stained with blood in peace as well as in +war; and, as soon as Clovis had dismissed a synod of the Gallican +church, he calmly assassinated all the princes of the Merovingian +race. ^32 Yet the king of the Franks might sincerely worship the +Christian God, as a Being more excellent and powerful than his +national deities; and the signal deliverance and victory of +Tolbiac encouraged Clovis to confide in the future protection of +the Lord of Hosts. Martin, the most popular of the saints, had +filled the Western world with the fame of those miracles which +were incessantly performed at his holy sepulchre of Tours. His +visible or invisible aid promoted the cause of a liberal and +orthodox prince; and the profane remark of Clovis himself, that +St.Martin was an expensive friend, ^33 need not be interpreted as +the symptom of any permanent or rational scepticism. But earth, +as well as heaven, rejoiced in the conversion of the Franks. On +the memorable day when Clovis ascended from the baptismal font, +he alone, in the Christian world, deserved the name and +prerogatives of a Catholic king. The emperor Anastasius +entertained some dangerous errors concerning the nature of the +divine incarnation; and the Barbarians of Italy, Africa, Spain, +and Gaul, were involved in the Arian heresy. The eldest, or +rather the only, son of the church, was acknowledged by the +clergy as their lawful sovereign, or glorious deliverer; and the +armies of Clovis were strenuously supported by the zeal and +fervor of the Catholic faction. ^34 +[Footnote 25: Clotilda, or rather Gregory, supposes that Clovis +worshipped the gods of Greece and Rome. The fact is incredible, +and the mistake only shows how completely, in less than a +century, the national religion of the Franks had been abolished +and even forgotten] + +[Footnote 26: Gregory of Tours relates the marriage and +conversion of Clovis, (l. ii. c. 28 - 31, in tom. ii. p. 175 - +178.) Even Fredegarius, or the nameless Epitomizer, (in tom. ii. +p. 398 - 400,) the author of the Gesta Francorum, (in tom. ii. p. +548 - 552,) and Aimoin himself, (l. i. c. 13, in tom. iii. p. 37 +- 40,) may be heard without disdain. Tradition might long +preserve some curious circumstances of these important +transactions.] +[Footnote 27: A traveller, who returned from Rheims to Auvergne, +had stolen a copy of his declamations from the secretary or +bookseller of the modest archbishop, (Sidonius Apollinar. l. ix. +epist. 7.) Four epistles of Remigius, which are still extant, (in +tom. iv. p. 51, 52, 53,) do not correspond with the splendid +praise of Sidonius.] + +[Footnote 28: Hincmar, one of the succesors of Remigius, (A.D. +845 - 882,) had composed his life, (in tom. iii. p. 373 - 380.) +The authority of ancient MSS. of the church of Rheims might +inspire some confidence, which is destroyed, however, by the +selfish and audacious fictions of Hincmar. It is remarkable +enough, that Remigius, who was consecrated at the age of +twenty-two, (A.D. 457,) filled the episcopal chair seventy-four +years, (Pagi Critica, in Baron tom. ii. p. 384, 572.)] + +[Footnote 29: A phial (the Sainte Ampoulle of holy, or rather +celestial, oil,) was brought down by a white dove, for the +baptism of Clovis; and it is still used and renewed, in the +coronation of the kings of France. Hincmar (he aspired to the +primacy of Gaul) is the first author of this fable, (in tom. iii. +p. 377,) whose slight foundations the Abbe de Vertot (Memoires de +l'Academie des Inscriptions, tom. ii. p. 619 - 633) has +undermined, with profound respect and consummate dexterity.] +[Footnote 30: Mitis depone colla, Sicamber: adora quod +incendisti, incende quod adorasti. Greg. Turon. l. ii. c. 31, in +tom. ii. p. 177.] +[Footnote 31: Si ego ibidem cum Francis meis fuissem, injurias +ejus vindicassem. This rash expression, which Gregory has +prudently concealed, is celebrated by Fredegarius, (Epitom. c. +21, in tom. ii. p. 400,) Ai moin, (l. i. c. 16, in tom. iii. p. +40,) and the Chroniques de St. Denys, (l. i. c. 20, in tom. iii. +p. 171,) as an admirable effusion of Christian zeal.] +[Footnote 32: Gregory, (l. ii. c. 40 - 43, in tom. ii. p. 183 - +185,) after coolly relating the repeated crimes, and affected +remorse, of Clovis, concludes,perhaps undesignedly, with a +lesson, which ambition will never hear. "His ita transactis +obiit."] + +[Footnote 33: After the Gothic victory, Clovis made rich +offerings to St. Martin of Tours. He wished to redeem his +war-horse by the gift of one hundred pieces of gold, but the +enchanted steed could not remove from the stable till the price +of his redemption had been doubled. This miracle provoked the +king to exclaim, Vere B. Martinus est bonus in auxilio, sed carus +in negotio. (Gesta Francorum, in tom. ii. p. 554, 555.)] + +[Footnote 34: See the epistle from Pope Anastasius to the royal +convert, (in Com. iv. p. 50, 51.) Avitus, bishop of Vienna, +addressed Clovis on the same subject, (p. 49;) and many of the +Latin bishops would assure him of their joy and attachment.] + Under the Roman empire, the wealth and jurisdiction of the +bishops, their sacred character, and perpetual office, their +numerous dependants, popular eloquence, and provincial +assemblies, had rendered them always respectable, and sometimes +dangerous. Their influence was augmented with the progress of +superstition; and the establishment of the French monarchy may, +in some degree, be ascribed to the firm alliance of a hundred +prelates, who reigned in the discontented, or independent, cities +of Gaul. The slight foundations of the Armorican republic had +been repeatedly shaken, or overthrown; but the same people still +guarded their domestic freedom; asserted the dignity of the Roman +name; and bravely resisted the predatory inroads, and regular +attacks, of Clovis, who labored to extend his conquests from the +Seine to the Loire. Their successful opposition introduced an +equal and honorable union. The Franks esteemed the valor of the +Armoricans ^35 and the Armoricans were reconciled by the religion +of the Franks. The military force which had been stationed for +the defence of Gaul, consisted of one hundred different bands of +cavalry or infantry; and these troops, while they assumed the +title and privileges of Roman soldiers, were renewed by an +incessant supply of the Barbarian youth. The extreme +fortifications, and scattered fragments of the empire, were still +defended by their hopeless courage. But their retreat was +intercepted, and their communication was impracticable: they were +abandoned by the Greek princes of Constantinople, and they +piously disclaimed all connection with the Arian usurpers of +Gaul. They accepted, without shame or reluctance, the generous +capitulation, which was proposed by a Catholic hero; and this +spurious, or legitimate, progeny of the Roman legions, was +distinguished in the succeeding age by their arms, their ensigns, +and their peculiar dress and institutions. But the national +strength was increased by these powerful and voluntary +accessions; and the neighboring kingdoms dreaded the numbers, as +well as the spirit, of the Franks. The reduction of the Northern +provinces of Gaul, instead of being decided by the chance of a +single battle, appears to have been slowly effected by the +gradual operation of war and treaty and Clovis acquired each +object of his ambition, by such efforts, or such concessions, as +were adequate to its real value. His savage character, and the +virtues of Henry IV., suggest the most opposite ideas of human +nature; yet some resemblance may be found in the situation of two +princes, who conquered France by their valor, their policy, and +the merits of a seasonable conversion. ^36 + +[Footnote 35: Instead of an unknown people, who now appear on the +text of Procopious, Hadrian de Valois has restored the proper +name of the easy correction has been almost universally approved. +Yet an unprejudiced reader would naturally suppose, that +Procopius means to describe a tribe of Germans in the alliance of +Rome; and not a confederacy of Gallic cities, which had revolted +from the empire. + + Note: Compare Hallam's Europe during the Middle Ages, vol i. +p. 2, Daru, Hist. de Bretagne vol. i. p. 129 - M.] + +[Footnote 36: This important digression of Procopius (de Bell. +Gothic. l. i. c. 12, in tom. ii. p. 29 - 36) illustrates the +origin of the French monarchy. Yet I must observe, 1. That the +Greek historian betrays an inexcusable ignorance of the geography +of the West. 2. That these treaties and privileges, which should +leave some lasting traces, are totally invisible in Gregory of +Tours, the Salic laws, &c.] + + The kingdom of the Burgundians, which was defined by the +course of two Gallic rivers, the Saone and the Rhone, extended +from the forest of Vosges to the Alps and the sea of Marscilles. +^37 The sceptre was in the hands of Gundobald. That valiant and +ambitious prince had reduced the number of royal candidates by +the death of two brothers, one of whom was the father of +Clotilda; ^38 but his imperfect prudence still permitted +Godegesil, the youngest of his brothers, to possess the dependent +principality of Geneva. The Arian monarch was justly alarmed by +the satisfaction, and the hopes, which seemed to animate his +clergy and people after the conversion of Clovis; and Gundobald +convened at Lyons an assembly of his bishops, to reconcile, if it +were possible, their religious and political discontents. A vain +conference was agitated between the two factions. The Arians +upbraided the Catholics with the worship of three Gods: the +Catholics defended their cause by theological distinctions; and +the usual arguments, objections, and replies were reverberated +with obstinate clamor; till the king revealed his secret +apprehensions, by an abrupt but decisive question, which he +addressed to the orthodox bishops. "If you truly profess the +Christian religion, why do you not restrain the king of the +Franks? He has declared war against me, and forms alliances with +my enemies for my destruction. A sanguinary and covetous mind is +not the symptom of a sincere conversion: let him show his faith +by his works." The answer of Avitus, bishop of Vienna, who spoke +in the name of his brethren, was delivered with the voice and +countenance of an angel. "We are ignorant of the motives and +intentions of the king of the Franks: but we are taught by +Scripture, that the kingdoms which abandon the divine law are +frequently subverted; and that enemies will arise on every side +against those who have made God their enemy. Return, with thy +people, to the law of God, and he will give peace and security to +thy dominions." The king of Burgundy, who was not prepared to +accept the condition which the Catholics considered as essential +to the treaty, delayed and dismissed the ecclesiastical +conference; after reproaching his bishops, that Clovis, their +friend and proselyte, had privately tempted the allegiance of his +brother. ^39 + +[Footnote 37: Regnum circa Rhodanum aut Ararim cum provincia +Massiliensi retinebant. Greg. Turon. l. ii. c. 32, in tom. ii. +p. 178. The province of Marseilles, as far as the Durance, was +afterwards ceded to the Ostrogoths; and the signatures of +twenty-five bishops are supposed to represent the kingdom of +Burgundy, A.D. 519. (Concil. Epaon, in tom. iv. p. 104, 105.) +Yet I would except Vindonissa. The bishop, who lived under the +Pagan Alemanni, would naturally resort to the synods of the next +Christian kingdom. Mascou (in his four first annotations) has +explained many circumstances relative to the Burgundian +monarchy.] + +[Footnote 38: Mascou, (Hist. of the Germans, xi. 10,) who very +reasonably distracts the testimony of Gregory of Tours, has +produced a passage from Avitus (epist. v.) to prove that +Gundobald affected to deplore the tragic event, which his +subjects affected to applaud.] + +[Footnote 39: See the original conference, (in tom. iv. p. 99 - +102.) Avitus, the principal actor, and probably the secretary of +the meeting, was bishop of Vienna. A short account of his person +and works may be fouud in Dupin, (Bibliotheque Ecclesiastique, +tom. v. p. 5 - 10.)] + +Chapter XXXVIII: Reign Of Clovis. + + +Part II. + + The allegiance of his brother was already seduced; and the +obedience of Godegesil, who joined the royal standard with the +troops of Geneva, more effectually promoted the success of the +conspiracy. While the Franks and Burgundians contended with +equal valor, his seasonable desertion decided the event of the +battle; and as Gundobald was faintly supported by the disaffected +Gauls, he yielded to the arms of Clovis, and hastily retreated +from the field, which appears to have been situate between +Langres and Dijon. He distrusted the strength of Dijon, a +quadrangular fortress, encompassed by two rivers, and by a wall +thirty feet high, and fifteen thick, with four gates, and +thirty-three towers: ^40 he abandoned to the pursuit of Clovis +the important cities of Lyons and Vienna; and Gundobald still +fled with precipitation, till he had reached Avignon, at the +distance of two hundred and fifty miles from the field of battle. + +A long siege and an artful negotiation, admonished the king of +the Franks of the danger and difficulty of his enterprise. He +imposed a tribute on the Burgundian prince, compelled him to +pardon and reward his brother's treachery, and proudly returned +to his own dominions, with the spoils and captives of the +southern provinces. This splendid triumph was soon clouded by +the intelligence, that Gundobald had violated his recent +obligations, and that the unfortunate Godegesil, who was left at +Vienna with a garrison of five thousand Franks, ^41 had been +besieged, surprised, and massacred by his inhuman brother. Such +an outrage might have exasperated the patience of the most +peaceful sovereign; yet the conqueror of Gaul dissembled the +injury, released the tribute, and accepted the alliance, and +military service, of the king of Burgundy. Clovis no longer +possessed those advantages which had assured the success of the +preceding war; and his rival, instructed by adversity, had found +new resources in the affections of his people. The Gauls or +Romans applauded the mild and impartial laws of Gundobald, which +almost raised them to the same level with their conquerors. The +bishops were reconciled, and flattered, by the hopes, which he +artfully suggested, of his approaching conversion; and though he +eluded their accomplishment to the last moment of his life, his +moderation secured the peace, and suspended the ruin, of the +kingdom of Burgundy. ^42 + +[Footnote 40: Gregory of Tours (l. iii. c. 19, in tom. ii. p. +197) indulges his genius, or rather describes some more eloquent +writer, in the description of Dijon; a castle, which already +deserved the title of a city. It depended on the bishops of +Langres till the twelfth century, and afterwards became the +capital of the dukes of Burgundy Longuerue Description de la +France, part i. p. 280.] + +[Footnote 41: The Epitomizer of Gregory of Tours (in tom. ii. p. +401) has supplied this number of Franks; but he rashly supposes +that they were cut in pieces by Gundobald. The prudent +Burgundian spared the soldiers of Clovis, and sent these captives +to the king of the Visigoths, who settled them in the territory +of Thoulouse.] + +[Footnote 42: In this Burgundian war I have followed Gregory of +Tours, (l. ii. c. 32, 33, in tom. ii. p. 178, 179,) whose +narrative appears so incompatible with that of Procopius, (de +Bell. Goth. l. i. c. 12, in tom. ii. p. 31, 32,) that some +critics have supposed two different wars. The Abbe Dubos (Hist. +Critique, &c., tom. ii. p. 126 - 162) has distinctly represented +the causes and the events.] + + I am impatient to pursue the final ruin of that kingdom, +which was accomplished under the reign of Sigismond, the son of +Gundobald. The Catholic Sigismond has acquired the honors of a +saint and martyr; ^43 but the hands of the royal saint were +stained with the blood of his innocent son, whom he inhumanly +sacrificed to the pride and resentment of a step- mother. He +soon discovered his error, and bewailed the irreparable loss. +While Sigismond embraced the corpse of the unfortunate youth, he +received a severe admonition from one of his attendants: "It is +not his situation, O king! it is thine which deserves pity and +lamentation." The reproaches of a guilty conscience were +alleviated, however, by his liberal donations to the monastery of +Agaunum, or St. Maurice, in Vallais; which he himself had founded +in honor of the imaginary martyrs of the Thebaean legion. ^44 A +full chorus of perpetual psalmody was instituted by the pious +king; he assiduously practised the austere devotion of the monks; +and it was his humble prayer, that Heaven would inflict in this +world the punishment of his sins. His prayer was heard: the +avengers were at hand: and the provinces of Burgundy were +overwhelmed by an army of victorious Franks. After the event of +an unsuccessful battle, Sigismond, who wished to protract his +life that he might prolong his penance, concealed himself in the +desert in a religious habit, till he was discovered and betrayed +by his subjects, who solicited the favor of their new masters. +The captive monarch, with his wife and two children, was +transported to Orleans, and buried alive in a deep well, by the +stern command of the sons of Clovis; whose cruelty might derive +some excuse from the maxims and examples of their barbarous age. +Their ambition, which urged them to achieve the conquest of +Burgundy, was inflamed, or disguised, by filial piety: and +Clotilda, whose sanctity did not consist in the forgiveness of +injuries, pressed them to revenge her father's death on the +family of his assassin. The rebellious Burgundians (for they +attempted to break their chains) were still permitted to enjoy +their national laws under the obligation of tribute and military +service; and the Merovingian princes peaceably reigned over a +kingdom, whose glory and greatness had been first overthrown by +the arms of Clovis. ^45 +[Footnote 43: See his life or legend, (in tom. iii. p. 402.) A +martyr! how strangely has that word been distorted from its +original sense of a common witness. St. Sigismond was remarkable +for the cure of fevers] +[Footnote 44: Before the end of the fifth century, the church of +St. Maurice, and his Thebaean legion, had rendered Agaunum a +place of devout pilgrimage. A promiscuous community of both +sexes had introduced some deeds of darkness, which were abolished +(A.D. 515) by the regular monastery of Sigismond. Within fifty +years, his angels of light made a nocturnal sally to murder their +bishop, and his clergy. See in the Bibliotheque Raisonnee (tom. +xxxvi. p. 435 - 438) the curious remarks of a learned librarian +of Geneva.] +[Footnote 45: Marius, bishop of Avenche, (Chron. in tom. ii. p. +15,) has marked the authentic dates, and Gregory of Tours (l. +iii. c. 5, 6, in tom. ii. p. 188, 189) has expressed the +principal facts, of the life of Sigismond, and the conquest of +Burgundy. Procopius (in tom. ii. p. 34) and Agathias (in tom. +ii. p. 49) show their remote and imperfect knowledge.] + + The first victory of Clovis had insulted the honor of the +Goths. They viewed his rapid progress with jealousy and terror; +and the youthful fame of Alaric was oppressed by the more potent +genius of his rival. Some disputes inevitably arose on the edge +of their contiguous dominions; and after the delays of fruitless +negotiation, a personal interview of the two kings was proposed +and accepted. The conference of Clovis and Alaric was held in a +small island of the Loire, near Amboise. They embraced, +familiarly conversed, and feasted together; and separated with +the warmest professions of peace and brotherly love. But their +apparent confidence concealed a dark suspicion of hostile and +treacherous designs; and their mutual complaints solicited, +eluded, and disclaimed, a final arbitration. At Paris, which he +already considered as his royal seat, Clovis declared to an +assembly of the princes and warriors, the pretence, and the +motive, of a Gothic war. "It grieves me to see that the Arians +still possess the fairest portion of Gaul. Let us march against +them with the aid of God; and, having vanquished the heretics, we +will possess and divide their fertile provinces." ^46 The Franks, +who were inspired by hereditary valor and recent zeal, applauded +the generous design of their monarch; expressed their resolution +to conquer or die, since death and conquest would be equally +profitable; and solemnly protested that they would never shave +their beards till victory should absolve them from that +inconvenient vow. The enterprise was promoted by the public or +private exhortations of Clotilda. She reminded her husband how +effectually some pious foundation would propitiate the Deity, and +his servants: and the Christian hero, darting his battle-axe with +a skilful and nervous band, "There, (said he,) on that spot where +my Francisca, ^47 shall fall, will I erect a church in honor of +the holy apostles." This ostentatious piety confirmed and +justified the attachment of the Catholics, with whom he secretly +corresponded; and their devout wishes were gradually ripened into +a formidable conspiracy. The people of Aquitain were alarmed by +the indiscreet reproaches of their Gothic tyrants, who justly +accused them of preferring the dominion of the Franks: and their +zealous adherent Quintianus, bishop of Rodez, ^48 preached more +forcibly in his exile than in his diocese. To resist these +foreign and domestic enemies, who were fortified by the alliance +of the Burgundians, Alaric collected his troops, far more +numerous than the military powers of Clovis. The Visigoths +resumed the exercise of arms, which they had neglected in a long +and luxurious peace; ^49 a select band of valiant and robust +slaves attended their masters to the field; ^50 and the cities of +Gaul were compelled to furnish their doubtful and reluctant aid. +Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, who reigned in Italy, had +labored to maintain the tranquillity of Gaul; and he assumed, or +affected, for that purpose, the impartial character of a +mediator. But the sagacious monarch dreaded the rising empire of +Clovis, and he was firmly engaged to support the national and +religious cause of the Goths. +[Footnote 46: Gregory of Tours (l. ii. c. 37, in tom. ii. p. 181) +inserts the short but persuasive speech of Clovis. Valde moleste +fero, quod hi Ariani partem teneant Galliarum, (the author of the +Gesta Francorum, in tom. ii. p. 553, adds the precious epithet of +optimam,) camus cum Dei adjutorio, et, superatis eis, redigamus +terram in ditionem nostram.] + +[Footnote 47: Tunc rex projecit a se in directum Bipennem suam +quod est Francisca, &c. (Gesta Franc. in tom. ii. p. 554.) The +form and use of this weapon are clearly described by Procopius, +(in tom. ii. p. 37.) Examples of its national appellation in +Latin and French may be found in the Glossary of Ducange, and the +large Dictionnaire de Trevoux.] + +[Footnote 48: It is singular enough that some important and +authentic facts should be found in a Life of Quintianus, composed +in rhyme in the old Patois of Rouergue, (Dubos, Hist. Critique, +&c., tom. ii. p. 179.)] +[Footnote 49: Quamvis fortitudini vestrae confidentiam tribuat +parentum ves trorum innumerabilis multitudo; quamvis Attilam +potentem reminiscamini Visigotharum viribus inclinatum; tamen +quia populorum ferocia corda longa pace mollescunt, cavete subito +in alean aleam mittere, quos constat tantis temporibus exercitia +non habere. Such was the salutary, but fruitless, advice of +peace of reason, and of Theodoric, (Cassiodor. l. iii. ep. 2.)] +[Footnote 50: Montesquieu (Esprit des Loix, l. xv. c. 14) +mentions and approves the law of the Visigoths, (l. ix. tit. 2, +in tom. iv. p. 425,) which obliged all masters to arm, and send, +or lead, into the field a tenth of their slaves.] + + The accidental, or artificial, prodigies which adorned the +expedition of Clovis, were accepted by a superstitious age, as +the manifest declaration of the divine favor. He marched from +Paris; and as he proceeded with decent reverence through the holy +diocese of Tours, his anxiety tempted him to consult the shrine +of St. Martin, the sanctuary and the oracle of Gaul. His +messengers were instructed to remark the words of the Psalm which +should happen to be chanted at the precise moment when they +entered the church. Those words most fortunately expressed the +valor and victory of the champions of Heaven, and the application +was easily transferred to the new Joshua, the new Gideon, who +went forth to battle against the enemies of the Lord. ^51 Orleans +secured to the Franks a bridge on the Loire; but, at the distance +of forty miles from Poitiers, their progress was intercepted by +an extraordinary swell of the River Vigenna or Vienne; and the +opposite banks were covered by the encampment of the Visigoths. +Delay must be always dangerous to Barbarians, who consume the +country through which they march; and had Clovis possessed +leisure and materials, it might have been impracticable to +construct a bridge, or to force a passage, in the face of a +superior enemy. But the affectionate peasants who were impatient +to welcome their deliverer, could easily betray some unknown or +unguarded ford: the merit of the discovery was enhanced by the +useful interposition of fraud or fiction; and a white hart, of +singular size and beauty, appeared to guide and animate the march +of the Catholic army. The counsels of the Visigoths were +irresolute and distracted. A crowd of impatient warriors, +presumptuous in their strength, and disdaining to fly before the +robbers of Germany, excited Alaric to assert in arms the name and +blood of the conquerors of Rome. The advice of the graver +chieftains pressed him to elude the first ardor of the Franks; +and to expect, in the southern provinces of Gaul, the veteran and +victorious Ostrogoths, whom the king of Italy had already sent to +his assistance. The decisive moments were wasted in idle +deliberation the Goths too hastily abandoned, perhaps, an +advantageous post; and the opportunity of a secure retreat was +lost by their slow and disorderly motions. After Clovis had +passed the ford, as it is still named, of the Hart, he advanced +with bold and hasty steps to prevent the escape of the enemy. +His nocturnal march was directed by a flaming meteor, suspended +in the air above the cathedral of Poitiers; and this signal, +which might be previously concerted with the orthodox successor +of St. Hilary, was compared to the column of fire that guided the +Israelites in the desert. At the third hour of the day, about +ten miles beyond Poitiers, Clovis overtook, and instantly +attacked, the Gothic army; whose defeat was already prepared by +terror and confusion. Yet they rallied in their extreme distress, +and the martial youths, who had clamorously demanded the battle, +refused to survive the ignominy of flight. The two kings +encountered each other in single combat. Alaric fell by the hand +of his rival; and the victorious Frank was saved by the goodness +of his cuirass, and the vigor of his horse, from the spears of +two desperate Goths, who furiously rode against him to revenge +the death of their sovereign. The vague expression of a mountain +of the slain, serves to indicate a cruel though indefinite +slaughter; but Gregory has carefully observed, that his valiant +countryman Apollinaris, the son of Sidonius, lost his life at the +head of the nobles of Auvergne. Perhaps these suspected +Catholics had been maliciously exposed to the blind assault of +the enemy; and perhaps the influence of religion was superseded +by personal attachment or military honor. ^52 + +[Footnote 51: This mode of divination, by accepting as an omen +the first sacred words, which in particular circumstances should +be presented to the eye or ear, was derived from the Pagans; and +the Psalter, or Bible, was substituted to the poems of Homer and +Virgil. From the fourth to the fourteenth century, these sortes +sanctorum, as they are styled, were repeatedly condemned by the +decrees of councils, and repeatedly practised by kings, bishops, +and saints. See a curious dissertation of the Abbe du Resnel, in +the Memoires de l'Academie, tom. xix. p. 287 - 310] + +[Footnote 52: After correcting the text, or excusing the mistake, +of Procopius, who places the defeat of Alaric near Carcassone, we +may conclude, from the evidence of Gregory, Fortunatus, and the +author of the Gesta Francorum, that the battle was fought in +campo Vocladensi, on the banks of the Clain, about ten miles to +the south of Poitiers. Clovis overtook and attacked the +Visigoths near Vivonne, and the victory was decided near a +village still named Champagne St. Hilaire. See the Dissertations +of the Abbe le Boeuf, tom. i. p. 304 - 331.] + + Such is the empire of Fortune, (if we may still disguise our +ignorance under that popular name,) that it is almost equally +difficult to foresee the events of war, or to explain their +various consequences. A bloody and complete victory has +sometimes yielded no more than the possession of the field and +the loss of ten thousand men has sometimes been sufficient to +destroy, in a single day, the work of ages. The decisive battle +of Poitiers was followed by the conquest of Aquitain. Alaric had +left behind him an infant son, a bastard competitor, factious +nobles, and a disloyal people; and the remaining forces of the +Goths were oppressed by the general consternation, or opposed to +each other in civil discord. The victorious king of the Franks +proceeded without delay to the siege of Angouleme. At the sound +of his trumpets the walls of the city imitated the example of +Jericho, and instantly fell to the ground; a splendid miracle, +which may be reduced to the supposition, that some clerical +engineers had secretly undermined the foundations of the rampart. +^53 At Bordeaux, which had submitted without resistance, Clovis +established his winter quarters; and his prudent economy +transported from Thoulouse the royal treasures, which were +deposited in the capital of the monarchy. The conqueror +penetrated as far as the confines of Spain; ^54 restored the +honors of the Catholic church; fixed in Aquitain a colony of +Franks; ^55 and delegated to his lieutenants the easy task of +subduing, or extirpating, the nation of the Visigoths. But the +Visigoths were protected by the wise and powerful monarch of +Italy. While the balance was still equal, Theodoric had perhaps +delayed the march of the Ostrogoths; but their strenuous efforts +successfully resisted the ambition of Clovis; and the army of the +Franks, and their Burgundian allies, was compelled to raise the +siege of Arles, with the loss, as it is said, of thirty thousand +men. These vicissitudes inclined the fierce spirit of Clovis to +acquiesce in an advantageous treaty of peace. The Visigoths were +suffered to retain the possession of Septimania, a narrow tract +of sea-coast, from the Rhone to the Pyrenees; but the ample +province of Aquitain, from those mountains to the Loire, was +indissolubly united to the kingdom of France. ^56 +[Footnote 53: Angouleme is in the road from Poitiers to Bordeaux; +and although Gregory delays the siege, I can more readily believe +that he confounded the order of history, than that Clovis +neglected the rules of war.] +[Footnote 54: Pyrenaeos montes usque Perpinianum subjecit, is the +expression of Rorico, which betrays his recent date; since +Perpignan did not exist before the tenth century, (Marca +Hispanica, p. 458.) This florid and fabulous writer (perhaps a +monk of Amiens - see the Abbe le Boeuf, Mem. de l'Academie, tom. +xvii. p. 228-245) relates, in the allegorical character of a +shepherd, the general history of his countrymen the Franks; but +his narrative ends with the death of Clovis.] + +[Footnote 55: The author of the Gesta Francorum positively +affirms, that Clovis fixed a body of Franks in the Saintonge and +Bourdelois: and he is not injudiciously followed by Rorico, +electos milites, atque fortissimos, cum parvulis, atque +mulieribus. Yet it should seem that they soon mingled with the +Romans of Aquitain, till Charlemagne introduced a more numerous +and powerful colony, (Dubos, Hist. Critique, tom. ii. p. 215.)] +[Footnote 56: In the composition of the Gothic war, I have used +the following materials, with due regard to their unequal value. +Four epistles from Theodoric, king of Italy, (Cassiodor l. iii. +epist. 1 - 4. in tom. iv p. 3 - 5;) Procopius, (de Bell. Goth. l. +i. c 12, in tom. ii. p. 32, 33;) Gregory of Tours, (l. ii. c. 35, +36, 37, in tom. ii. p. 181 - 183;) Jornandes, (de Reb. Geticis, +c. 58, in tom. ii. p. 28;) Fortunatas, (in Vit. St. Hilarii, in +tom. iii. p. 380;) Isidore, (in Chron. Goth. in tom. ii. p. 702;) +the Epitome of Gregory of Tours, (in tom. ii. p. 401;) the author +of the Gesta Francorum, (in tom. ii. p. 553 - 555;) the Fragments +of Fredegarius, (in tom. ii. p. 463;) Aimoin, (l. i. c. 20, in +tom. iii. p. 41, 42,) and Rorico, (l. iv. in tom. iii. p. 14 - +19.)] + + After the success of the Gothic war, Clovis accepted the +honors of the Roman consulship. The emperor Anastasius +ambitiously bestowed on the most powerful rival of Theodoric the +title and ensigns of that eminent dignity; yet, from some unknown +cause, the name of Clovis has not been inscribed in the Fasti +either of the East or West. ^57 On the solemn day, the monarch of +Gaul, placing a diadem on his head, was invested, in the church +of St. Martin, with a purple tunic and mantle. From thence he +proceeded on horseback to the cathedral of Tours; and, as he +passed through the streets, profusely scattered, with his own +hand, a donative of gold and silver to the joyful multitude, who +incessantly repeated their acclamations of Consul and Augustus. +The actual or legal authority of Clovis could not receive any new +accessions from the consular dignity. It was a name, a shadow, +an empty pageant; and if the conqueror had been instructed to +claim the ancient prerogatives of that high office, they must +have expired with the period of its annual duration. But the +Romans were disposed to revere, in the person of their master, +that antique title which the emperors condescended to assume: the +Barbarian himself seemed to contract a sacred obligation to +respect the majesty of the republic; and the successors of +Theodosius, by soliciting his friendship, tacitly forgave, and +almost ratified, the usurpation of Gaul. + +[Footnote 57: The Fasti of Italy would naturally reject a consul, +the enemy of their sovereign; but any ingenious hypothesis that +might explain the silence of Constantinople and Egypt, (the +Chronicle of Marcellinus, and the Paschal,) is overturned by the +similar silence of Marius, bishop of Avenche, who composed his +Fasti in the kingdom of Burgundy. If the evidence of Gregory of +Tours were less weighty and positive, (l. ii. c. 38, in tom. ii. +p. 183,) I could believe that Clovis, like Odoacer, received the +lasting title and honors of Patrician, (Pagi Critica, tom. ii. p. +474, 492.)] + + Twenty-five years after the death of Clovis this important +concession was more formally declared, in a treaty between his +sons and the emperor Justinian. The Ostrogoths of Italy, unable +to defend their distant acquisitions, had resigned to the Franks +the cities of Arles and Marseilles; of Arles, still adorned with +the seat of a Praetorian praefect, and of Marseilles, enriched by +the advantages of trade and navigation. ^58 This transaction was +confirmed by the Imperial authority; and Justinian, generously +yielding to the Franks the sovereignty of the countries beyond +the Alps, which they already possessed, absolved the provincials +from their allegiance; and established on a more lawful, though +not more solid, foundation, the throne of the Merovingians. ^59 +From that era they enjoyed the right of celebrating at Arles the +games of the circus; and by a singular privilege, which was +denied even to the Persian monarch, the gold coin, impressed with +their name and image, obtained a legal currency in the empire. +^60 A Greek historian of that age has praised the private and +public virtues of the Franks, with a partial enthusiasm, which +cannot be sufficiently justified by their domestic annals. ^61 He +celebrates their politeness and urbanity, their regular +government, and orthodox religion; and boldly asserts, that these +Barbarians could be distinguished only by their dress and +language from the subjects of Rome. Perhaps the Franks already +displayed the social disposition, and lively graces, which, in +every age, have disguised their vices, and sometimes concealed +their intrinsic merit. Perhaps Agathias, and the Greeks, were +dazzled by the rapid progress of their arms, and the splendor of +their empire. Since the conquest of Burgundy, Gaul, except the +Gothic province of Septimania, was subject, in its whole extent, +to the sons of Clovis. They had extinguished the German kingdom +of Thuringia, and their vague dominion penetrated beyond the +Rhine, into the heart of their native forests. The Alemanni, and +Bavarians, who had occupied the Roman provinces of Rhaetia and +Noricum, to the south of the Danube, confessed themselves the +humble vassals of the Franks; and the feeble barrier of the Alps +was incapable of resisting their ambition. When the last +survivor of the sons of Clovis united the inheritance and +conquests of the Merovingians, his kingdom extended far beyond +the limits of modern France. Yet modern France, such has been +the progress of arts and policy, far surpasses, in wealth, +populousness, and power, the spacious but savage realms of +Clotaire or Dagobert. ^62 + +[Footnote 58: Under the Merovingian kings, Marseilles still +imported from the East paper, wine, oil, linen, silk, precious +stones, spices, &c. The Gauls, or Franks, traded to Syria, and +the Syrians were established in Gaul. See M. de Guignes, Mem. de +l'Academie, tom. xxxvii. p. 471 - 475.] +[Footnote 59: This strong declaration of Procopius (de Bell. +Gothic. l. iii. cap. 33, in tom. ii. p. 41) would almost suffice +to justify the Abbe Dubos.] +[Footnote 60: The Franks, who probably used the mints of Treves, +Lyons, and Arles, imitated the coinage of the Roman emperors of +seventy-two solidi, or pieces, to the pound of gold. But as the +Franks established only a decuple proportion of gold and silver, +ten shillings will be a sufficient valuation of their solidus of +gold. It was the common standard of the Barbaric fines, and +contained forty denarii, or silver three pences. Twelve of these +denarii made a solidus, or shilling, the twentieth part of the +ponderal and numeral livre, or pound of silver, which has been so +strangely reduced in modern France. See La Blanc, Traite +Historique des Monnoyes de France, p. 36 - 43, &c.] +[Footnote 61: Agathias, in tom. ii. p. 47. Gregory of Tours +exhibits a very different picture. Perhaps it would not be easy, +within the same historical space, to find more vice and less +virtue. We are continually shocked by the union of savage and +corrupt manners.] + +[Footnote 62: M. de Foncemagne has traced, in a correct and +elegant dissertation, (Mem. de l'Academie, tom. viii. p. +505-528,) the extent and limits of the French monarchy.] + + The Franks, or French, are the only people of Europe who can +deduce a perpetual succession from the conquerors of the Western +empire. But their conquest of Gaul was followed by ten centuries +of anarchy and ignorance. On the revival of learning, the +students, who had been formed in the schools of Athens and Rome, +disdained their Barbarian ancestors; and a long period elapsed +before patient labor could provide the requisite materials to +satisfy, or rather to excite, the curiosity of more enlightened +times. ^63 At length the eye of criticism and philosophy was +directed to the antiquities of France; but even philosophers have +been tainted by the contagion of prejudice and passion. The most +extreme and exclusive systems, of the personal servitude of the +Gauls, or of their voluntary and equal alliance with the Franks, +have been rashly conceived, and obstinately defended; and the +intemperate disputants have accused each other of conspiring +against the prerogative of the crown, the dignity of the nobles, +or the freedom of the people. Yet the sharp conflict has +usefully exercised the adverse powers of learning and genius; and +each antagonist, alternately vanquished and victorious has +extirpated some ancient errors, and established some interesting +truths. An impartial stranger, instructed by their discoveries, +their disputes, and even their faults, may describe, from the +same original materials, the state of the Roman provincials, +after Gaul had submitted to the arms and laws of the Merovingian +kings. ^64 + +[Footnote 63: The Abbe Dubos (Histoire Critique, tom. i. p. 29 - +36) has truly and agreeably represented the slow progress of +these studies; and he observes, that Gregory of Tours was only +once printed before the year 1560. According to the complaint of +Heineccius, (Opera, tom. iii. Sylloge, iii. p. 248, &c.,) Germany +received with indifference and contempt the codes of Barbaric +laws, which were published by Heroldus, Lindenbrogius, &c. At +present those laws, (as far as they relate to Gaul,) the history +of Gregory of Tours, and all the monuments of the Merovingian +race, appear in a pure and perfect state, in the first four +volumes of the Historians of France.] + +[Footnote 64: In the space of [about] thirty years (1728-1765) +this interesting subject has been agitated by the free spirit of +the count de Boulainvilliers, (Memoires Historiques sur l'Etat de +la France, particularly tom. i. p. 15 - 49;) the learned +ingenuity of the Abbe Dubos, (Histoire Critique de +l'Etablissement de la Monarchie Francoise dans les Gaules, 2 +vols. in 4to;) the comprehensive genius of the president de +Montesquieu, (Esprit des Loix, particularly l. xxviii. xxx. +xxxi.;) and the good sense and diligence of the Abbe de Mably, +(Observations sur l'Histoire de France, 2 vols. 12mo.)] + The rudest, or the most servile, condition of human society, +is regulated, however, by some fixed and general rules. When +Tacitus surveyed the primitive simplicity of the Germans, he +discovered some permanent maxims, or customs, of public and +private life, which were preserved by faithful tradition till the +introduction of the art of writing, and of the Latin tongue. ^65 +Before the election of the Merovingian kings, the most powerful +tribe, or nation, of the Franks, appointed four venerable +chieftains to compose the Salic laws; ^66 and their labors were +examined and approved in three successive assemblies of the +people. After the baptism of Clovis, he reformed several +articles that appeared incompatible with Christianity: the Salic +law was again amended by his sons; and at length, under the reign +of Dagobert, the code was revised and promulgated in its actual +form, one hundred years after the establishment of the French +monarchy. Within the same period, the customs of the Ripuarians +were transcribed and published; and Charlemagne himself, the +legislator of his age and country, had accurately studied the two +national laws, which still prevailed among the Franks. ^67 The +same care was extended to their vassals; and the rude +institutions of the Alemanni and Bavarians were diligently +compiled and ratified by the supreme authority of the Merovingian +kings. The Visigoths and Burgundians, whose conquests in Gaul +preceded those of the Franks, showed less impatience to attain +one of the principal benefits of civilized society. Euric was +the first of the Gothic princes who expressed, in writing, the +manners and customs of his people; and the composition of the +Burgundian laws was a measure of policy rather than of justice; +to alleviate the yoke, and regain the affections, of their Gallic +subjects. ^68 Thus, by a singular coincidence, the Germans framed +their artless institutions, at a time when the elaborate system +of Roman jurisprudence was finally consummated. In the Salic +laws, and the Pandects of Justinian, we may compare the first +rudiments, and the full maturity, of civil wisdom; and whatever +prejudices may be suggested in favor of Barbarism, our calmer +reflections will ascribe to the Romans the superior advantages, +not only of science and reason, but of humanity and justice. Yet +the laws ^* of the Barbarians were adapted to their wants and +desires, their occupations and their capacity; and they all +contributed to preserve the peace, and promote the improvement, +of the society for whose use they were originally established. +The Merovingians, instead of imposing a uniform rule of conduct +on their various subjects, permitted each people, and each +family, of their empire, freely to enjoy their domestic +institutions; ^69 nor were the Romans excluded from the common +benefits of this legal toleration. ^70 The children embraced the +law of their parents, the wife that of her husband, the freedman +that of his patron; and in all causes where the parties were of +different nations, the plaintiff or accuser was obliged to follow +the tribunal of the defendant, who may always plead a judicial +presumption of right, or innocence. A more ample latitude was +allowed, if every citizen, in the presence of the judge, might +declare the law under which he desired to live, and the national +society to which he chose to belong. Such an indulgence would +abolish the partial distinctions of victory: and the Roman +provincials might patiently acquiesce in the hardships of their +condition; since it depended on themselves to assume the +privilege, if they dared to assert the character, of free and +warlike Barbarians. ^71 + +[Footnote 65: I have derived much instruction from two learned +works of Heineccius, the History, and the Elements, of the +Germanic law. In a judicious preface to the Elements, he +considers, and tries to excuse the defects of that barbarous +jurisprudence.] + +[Footnote 66: Latin appears to have been the original language of +the Salic law. It was probably composed in the beginning of the +fifth century, before the era (A.D. 421) of the real or fabulous +Pharamond. The preface mentions the four cantons which produced +the four legislators; and many provinces, Franconia, Saxony, +Hanover, Brabant, &c., have claimed them as their own. See an +excellent Dissertation of Heinecties de Lege Salica, tom. iii. +Sylloge iii. p. 247 - 267. + + Note: The relative antiquity of the two copies of the Salic +law has been contested with great learning and ingenuity. The +work of M. Wiarda, History and Explanation of the Salic Law, +Bremen, 1808, asserts that what is called the Lex Antiqua, or +Vetustior in which many German words are mingled with the Latin, +has no claim to superior antiquity, and may be suspected to be +more modern. M. Wiarda has been opposed by M. Fuer bach, who +maintains the higher age of the "ancient" Code, which has been +greatly corrupted by the transcribers. See Guizot, Cours de +l'Histoire Moderne, vol. i. sect. 9: and the preface to the +useful republication of five of the different texts of the Salic +law, with that of the Ripuarian in parallel columns. By E. A. I. +Laspeyres, Halle, 1833. - M.] + +[Footnote 67: Eginhard, in Vit. Caroli Magni, c. 29, in tom. v. +p. 100. By these two laws, most critics understand the Salic and +the Ripuarian. The former extended from the Carbonarian forest +to the Loire, (tom. iv. p. 151,) and the latter might be obeyed +from the same forest to the Rhine, (tom. iv. p. 222.)] + +[Footnote 68: Consult the ancient and modern prefaces of the +several codes, in the fourth volume of the Historians of France. +The original prologue to the Salic law expresses (though in a +foreign dialect) the genuine spirit of the Franks more forcibly +than the ten books of Gregory of Tours.] +[Footnote 69: The Ripuarian law declares, and defines, this +indulgence in favor of the plaintiff, (tit. xxxi. in tom. iv. p. +240;) and the same toleration is understood, or expressed, in all +the codes, except that of the Visigoths of Spain. Tanta +diversitas legum (says Agobard in the ninth century) quanta non +solum in regionibus, aut civitatibus, sed etiam in multis domibus +habetur. Nam plerumque contingit ut simul eant aut sedeant +quinque homines, et nullus eorum communem legem cum altero +habeat, (in tom. vi. p. 356.) He foolishly proposes to introduce +a uniformity of law, as well as of faith. + + Note: It is the object of the important work of M. Savigny, +Geschichte des Romisches Rechts in Mittelalter, to show the +perpetuity of the Roman law from the 5th to the 12th century. - +M.] + +[Footnote *: The most complete collection of these codes is in +the "Barbarorum leges antiquae," by P. Canciani, 5 vols. folio, +Venice, 1781-9. - M.] +[Footnote 70: Inter Romanos negotia causarum Romanis legibus +praecipimus terminari. Such are the words of a general +constitution promulgated by Clotaire, the son of Clovis, the sole +monarch of the Franks (in tom. iv. p. 116) about the year 560.] +[Footnote 71: This liberty of choice has been aptly deduced +(Esprit des Loix, l. xxviii. 2) from the constitution of Lothaire +I. (Leg. Langobard. l. ii. tit. lvii. in Codex Lindenbrog. p. +664;) though the example is too recent and partial. From a +various reading in the Salic law, (tit. xliv. not. xlv.) the Abbe +de Mably (tom. i. p. 290 - 293) has conjectured, that, at first, +a Barbarian only, and afterwards any man, (consequently a Roman,) +might live according to the law of the Franks. I am sorry to +offend this ingenious conjecture by observing, that the stricter +sense (Barbarum) is expressed in the reformed copy of +Charlemagne; which is confirmed by the Royal and Wolfenbuttle +MSS. The looser interpretation (hominem) is authorized only by +the MS. of Fulda, from from whence Heroldus published his +edition. See the four original texts of the Salic law in tom. +iv. p. 147, 173, 196, 220. + Note: Gibbon appears to have doubted the evidence on which +this "liberty of choice" rested. His doubts have been confirmed +by the researches of M. Savigny, who has not only confuted but +traced with convincing sagacity the origin and progress of this +error. As a general principle, though liable to some exceptions, +each lived according to his native law. Romische Recht. vol. i. +p. 123 - 138 - M.] + + Note: This constitution of Lothaire at first related only to +the duchy of Rome; it afterwards found its way into the Lombard +code. Savigny. p. 138. - M.] + +Chapter XXXVIII: Reign Of Clovis. + + +Part III. + + When justice inexorably requires the death of a murderer, +each private citizen is fortified by the assurance, that the +laws, the magistrate, and the whole community, are the guardians +of his personal safety. But in the loose society of the Germans, +revenge was always honorable, and often meritorious: the +independent warrior chastised, or vindicated, with his own hand, +the injuries which he had offered or received; and he had only to +dread the resentment of the sons and kinsmen of the enemy, whom +he had sacrificed to his selfish or angry passions. The +magistrate, conscious of his weakness, interposed, not to punish, +but to reconcile; and he was satisfied if he could persuade or +compel the contending parties to pay and to accept the moderate +fine which had been ascertained as the price of blood. ^72 The +fierce spirit of the Franks would have opposed a more rigorous +sentence; the same fierceness despised these ineffectual +restraints; and, when their simple manners had been corrupted by +the wealth of Gaul, the public peace was continually violated by +acts of hasty or deliberate guilt. In every just government the +same penalty is inflicted, or at least is imposed, for the murder +of a peasant or a prince. But the national inequality established +by the Franks, in their criminal proceedings, was the last insult +and abuse of conquest. ^73 In the calm moments of legislation, +they solemnly pronounced, that the life of a Roman was of smaller +value than that of a Barbarian. The Antrustion, ^74 a name +expressive of the most illustrious birth or dignity among the +Franks, was appreciated at the sum of six hundred pieces of gold; +while the noble provincial, who was admitted to the king's table, +might be legally murdered at the expense of three hundred pieces. + +Two hundred were deemed sufficient for a Frank of ordinary +condition; but the meaner Romans were exposed to disgrace and +danger by a trifling compensation of one hundred, or even fifty, +pieces of gold. Had these laws been regulated by any principle +of equity or reason, the public protection should have supplied, +in just proportion, the want of personal strength. But the +legislator had weighed in the scale, not of justice, but of +policy, the loss of a soldier against that of a slave: the head +of an insolent and rapacious Barbarian was guarded by a heavy +fine; and the slightest aid was afforded to the most defenceless +subjects. Time insensibly abated the pride of the conquerors and +the patience of the vanquished; and the boldest citizen was +taught, by experience, that he might suffer more injuries than he +could inflict. As the manners of the Franks became less +ferocious, their laws were rendered more severe; and the +Merovingian kings attempted to imitate the impartial rigor of the +Visigoths and Burgundians. ^75 Under the empire of Charlemagne, +murder was universally punished with death; and the use of +capital punishments has been liberally multiplied in the +jurisprudence of modern Europe. ^76 + +[Footnote 72: In the heroic times of Greece, the guilt of murder +was expiated by a pecuniary satisfaction to the family of the +deceased, (Feithius Antiquitat. Homeric. l. ii. c. 8.) +Heineccius, in his preface to the Elements of Germanic Law, +favorably suggests, that at Rome and Athens homicide was only +punished with exile. It is true: but exile was a capital +punishment for a citizen of Rome or Athens.] + +[Footnote 73: This proportion is fixed by the Salic (tit. xliv. +in tom. iv. p. 147) and the Ripuarian (tit. vii. xi. xxxvi. in +tom. iv. p. 237, 241) laws: but the latter does not distinguish +any difference of Romans. Yet the orders of the clergy are +placed above the Franks themselves, and the Burgundians and +Alemanni between the Franks and the Romans.] + +[Footnote 74: The Antrustiones, qui in truste Dominica sunt, +leudi, fideles, undoubtedly represent the first order of Franks; +but it is a question whether their rank was personal or +hereditary. The Abbe de Mably (tom. i. p. 334 - 347) is not +displeased to mortify the pride of birth (Esprit, l. xxx. c. 25) +by dating the origin of the French nobility from the reign +Clotaire II. (A.D. 615.)] + +[Footnote 75: See the Burgundian laws, (tit. ii. in tom. iv. p. +257,) the code of the Visigoths, (l. vi. tit. v. in tom. p. 384,) +and the constitution of Childebert, not of Paris, but most +evidently of Austrasia, (in tom. iv. p. 112.) Their premature +severity was sometimes rash, and excessive. Childebert condemned +not only murderers but robbers; quomodo sine lege involavit, sine +lege moriatur; and even the negligent judge was involved in the +same sentence. The Visigoths abandoned an unsuccessful surgeon to +the family of his deceased patient, ut quod de eo facere +voluerint habeant potestatem, (l. xi. tit. i. in tom. iv. p. +435.)] + +[Footnote 76: See, in the sixth volume of the works of +Heineccius, the Elementa Juris Germanici, l. ii. p. 2, No. 261, +262, 280 - 283. Yet some vestiges of these pecuniary +compositions for murder have been traced in Germany as late as +the sixteenth century.] + + The civil and military professions, which had been separated +by Constantine, were again united by the Barbarians. The harsh +sound of the Teutonic appellations was mollified into the Latin +titles of Duke, of Count, or of Praefect; and the same officer +assumed, within his district, the command of the troops, and the +administration of justice. ^77 But the fierce and illiterate +chieftain was seldom qualified to discharge the duties of a +judge, which required all the faculties of a philosophic mind, +laboriously cultivated by experience and study; and his rude +ignorance was compelled to embrace some simple, and visible, +methods of ascertaining the cause of justice. In every religion, +the Deity has been invoked to confirm the truth, or to punish the +falsehood of human testimony; but this powerful instrument was +misapplied and abused by the simplicity of the German +legislators. The party accused might justify his innocence, by +producing before their tribunal a number of friendly witnesses, +who solemnly declared their belief, or assurance, that he was not +guilty. According to the weight of the charge, this legal number +of compurgators was multiplied; seventy-two voices were required +to absolve an incendiary or assassin: and when the chastity of a +queen of France was suspected, three hundred gallant nobles +swore, without hesitation, that the infant prince had been +actually begotten by her deceased husband. ^78 The sin and +scandal of manifest and frequent perjuries engaged the +magistrates to remove these dangerous temptations; and to supply +the defects of human testimony by the famous experiments of fire +and water. These extraordinary trials were so capriciously +contrived, that, in some cases, guilt, and innocence in others, +could not be proved without the interposition of a miracle. Such +miracles were really provided by fraud and credulity; the most +intricate causes were determined by this easy and infallible +method, and the turbulent Barbarians, who might have disdained +the sentence of the magistrate, submissively acquiesced in the +judgment of God. ^79 + +[Footnote 77: The whole subject of the Germanic judges, and their +jurisdiction, is copiously treated by Heineccius, (Element. Jur. +Germ. l. iii. No. 1 - 72.) I cannot find any proof that, under +the Merovingian race, the scabini, or assessors, were chosen by +the people. + + Note: The question of the scabini is treated at considerable +length by Savigny. He questions the existence of the scabini +anterior to Charlemagne. Before this time the decision was by an +open court of the freemen, the boni Romische Recht, vol. i. p. +195. et seq. - M.] + +[Footnote 78: Gregor. Turon. l. viii. c. 9, in tom. ii. p. 316. +Montesquieu observes, (Esprit des Loix. l. xxviii. c. 13,) that +the Salic law did not admit these negative proofs so universally +established in the Barbaric codes. Yet this obscure concubine +(Fredegundis,) who became the wife of the grandson of Clovis, +must have followed the Salic law.] + +[Footnote 79: Muratori, in the Antiquities of Italy, has given +two Dissertations (xxxvii. xxxix.) on the judgments of God. It +was expected that fire would not burn the innocent; and that the +pure element of water would not allow the guilty to sink into its +bosom.] + + But the trials by single combat gradually obtained superior +credit and authority, among a warlike people, who could not +believe that a brave man deserved to suffer, or that a coward +deserved to live. ^80 Both in civil and criminal proceedings, the +plaintiff, or accuser, the defendant, or even the witness, were +exposed to mortal challenge from the antagonist who was destitute +of legal proofs; and it was incumbent on them either to desert +their cause, or publicly to maintain their honor, in the lists of +battle. They fought either on foot, or on horseback, according to +the custom of their nation; ^81 and the decision of the sword, or +lance, was ratified by the sanction of Heaven, of the judge, and +of the people. This sanguinary law was introduced into Gaul by +the Burgundians; and their legislator Gundobald ^82 condescended +to answer the complaints and objections of his subject Avitus. +"Is it not true," said the king of Burgundy to the bishop, "that +the event of national wars, and private combats, is directed by +the judgment of God; and that his providence awards the victory +to the juster cause?" By such prevailing arguments, the absurd +and cruel practice of judicial duels, which had been peculiar to +some tribes of Germany, was propagated and established in all the +monarchies of Europe, from Sicily to the Baltic. At the end of +ten centuries, the reign of legal violence was not totally +extinguished; and the ineffectual censures of saints, of popes, +and of synods, may seem to prove, that the influence of +superstition is weakened by its unnatural alliance with reason +and humanity. The tribunals were stained with the blood, +perhaps, of innocent and respectable citizens; the law, which now +favors the rich, then yielded to the strong; and the old, the +feeble, and the infirm, were condemned, either to renounce their +fairest claims and possessions, to sustain the dangers of an +unequal conflict, ^83 or to trust the doubtful aid of a mercenary +champion. This oppressive jurisprudence was imposed on the +provincials of Gaul, who complained of any injuries in their +persons and property. Whatever might be the strength, or +courage, of individuals, the victorious Barbarians excelled in +the love and exercise of arms; and the vanquished Roman was +unjustly summoned to repeat, in his own person, the bloody +contest which had been already decided against his country. ^84 +[Footnote 80: Montesquieu (Esprit des Loix, l. xxviii. c. 17) has +condescended to explain and excuse "la maniere de penser de nos +peres," on the subject of judicial combats. He follows this +strange institution from the age of Gundobald to that of St. +Lewis; and the philosopher is some times lost in the legal +antiquarian.] + +[Footnote 81: In a memorable duel at Aix-la-Chapelle, (A.D. 820,) +before the emperor Lewis the Pious, his biographer observes, +secundum legem propriam, utpote quia uterque Gothus erat, +equestri pugna est, (Vit. Lud. Pii, c. 33, in tom. vi. p. 103.) +Ermoldus Nigellus, (l. iii. 543 - 628, in tom. vi. p. 48 - 50,) +who describes the duel, admires the ars nova of fighting on +horseback, which was unknown to the Franks.] + +[Footnote 82: In his original edict, published at Lyons, (A.D. +501,) establishes and justifies the use of judicial combat,) Les +Burgund. tit. xlv. in tom. ii. p. 267, 268.) Three hundred years +afterwards, Agobard, bishop of Lyons, solicited Lewis the Pious +to abolish the law of an Arian tyrant, (in tom. vi. p. 356 - +358.) He relates the conversation of Gundobald and Avitus.] +[Footnote 83: "Accidit, (says Agobard,) ut non solum valentes +viribus, sed etiam infirmi et senes lacessantur ad pugnam, etiam +pro vilissimis rebus. Quibus foralibus certaminibus contingunt +homicidia injusta; et crudeles ac perversi eventus judiciorum. +Like a prudent rhetorician, he suppresses the legal privilege of +hiring champions.] + +[Footnote 84: Montesquieu, (Esprit des Loix, xxviii. c. 14,) who +understands why the judicial combat was admitted by the +Burgundians, Ripuarians, Alemanni, Bavarians, Lombards, +Thuringians, Frisons, and Saxons, is satisfied (and Agobard seems +to countenance the assertion) that it was not allowed by the +Salic law. Yet the same custom, at least in case of treason, is +mentioned by Ermoldus, Nigellus (l. iii. 543, in tom. vi. p. 48,) +and the anonymous biographer of Lewis the Pious, (c. 46, in tom. +vi. p. 112,) as the "mos antiquus Francorum, more Francis +solito," &c., expressions too general to exclude the noblest of +their tribes.] + + A devouring host of one hundred and twenty thousand Germans +had formerly passed the Rhine under the command of Ariovistus. +One third part of the fertile lands of the Sequani was +appropriated to their use; and the conqueror soon repeated his +oppressive demand of another third, for the accommodation of a +new colony of twenty-four thousand Barbarians, whom he had +invited to share the rich harvest of Gaul. ^85 At the distance of +five hundred years, the Visigoths and Burgundians, who revenged +the defeat of Ariovistus, usurped the same unequal proportion of +two thirds of the subject lands. But this distribution, instead +of spreading over the province, may be reasonably confined to the +peculiar districts where the victorious people had been planted +by their own choice, or by the policy of their leader. In these +districts, each Barbarian was connected by the ties of +hospitality with some Roman provincial. To this unwelcome guest, +the proprietor was compelled to abandon two thirds of his +patrimony, but the German, a shepherd and a hunter, might +sometimes content himself with a spacious range of wood and +pasture, and resign the smallest, though most valuable, portion, +to the toil of the industrious husbandman. ^86 The silence of +ancient and authentic testimony has encouraged an opinion, that +the rapine of the Franks was not moderated, or disguised, by the +forms of a legal division; that they dispersed themselves over +the provinces of Gaul, without order or control; and that each +victorious robber, according to his wants, his avarice, and his +strength, measured with his sword the extent of his new +inheritance. At a distance from their sovereign, the Barbarians +might indeed be tempted to exercise such arbitrary depredation; +but the firm and artful policy of Clovis must curb a licentious +spirit, which would aggravate the misery of the vanquished, +whilst it corrupted the union and discipline of the conquerors. +^* The memorable vase of Soissons is a monument and a pledge of +the regular distribution of the Gallic spoils. It was the duty +and the interest of Clovis to provide rewards for a successful +army, settlements for a numerous people; without inflicting any +wanton or superfluous injuries on the loyal Catholics of Gaul. +The ample fund, which he might lawfully acquire, of the Imperial +patrimony, vacant lands, and Gothic usurpations, would diminish +the cruel necessity of seizure and confiscation, and the humble +provincials would more patiently acquiesce in the equal and +regular distribution of their loss. ^87 + +[Footnote 85: Caesar de Bell. Gall. l. i. c. 31, in tom. i. p. +213.] +[Footnote 86: The obscure hints of a division of lands +occasionally scattered in the laws of the Burgundians, (tit. liv. +No. 1, 2, in tom. iv. p. 271, 272,) and Visigoths, (l. x. tit. i. +No. 8, 9, 16, in tom. iv. p. 428, 429, 430,) are skillfully +explained by the president Montesquieu, (Esprit des Loix, l. xxx. +c. 7, 8, 9.) I shall only add, that among the Goths, the division +seems to have been ascertained by the judgment of the +neighborhood, that the Barbarians frequently usurped the +remaining third; and that the Romans might recover their right, +unless they were barred by a prescription of fifty years.] +[Footnote *: Sismondi (Hist des Francais, vol. i. p. 197) +observes, they were not a conquering people, who had emigrated +with their families, like the Goths or Burgundians. The women, +the children, the old, had not followed Clovis: they remained in +their ancient possessions on the Waal and the Rhine. The +adventurers alone had formed the invading force, and they always +considered themselves as an army, not as a colony. Hence their +laws retained no traces of the partition of the Roman properties. + +It is curious to observe the recoil from the national vanity of +the French historians of the last century. M. Sismondi compares +the position of the Franks with regard to the conquered people +with that of the Dey of Algiers and his corsair troops to the +peaceful inhabitants of that province: M. Thierry (Lettres sur +l'Histoire de France, p. 117) with that of the Turks towards the +Raias or Phanariotes, the mass of the Greeks. - M.] + +[Footnote 87: It is singular enough that the president de +Montesquieu (Esprit des Loix, l. xxx. c. 7) and the Abbe de Mably +(Observations, tom i. p. 21, 22) agree in this strange +supposition of arbitrary and private rapine. The Count de +Boulainvilliers (Etat de la France, tom. i. p. 22, 23) shows a +strong understanding through a cloud of ignorance and prejudice. + Note: Sismondi supposes that the Barbarians, if a farm were +conveniently situated, would show no great respect for the laws +of property; but in general there would have been vacant land +enough for the lots assigned to old or worn-out warriors, (Hist. +des Francais, vol. i. p. 196.) - M.] + The wealth of the Merovingian princes consisted in their +extensive domain. After the conquest of Gaul, they still +delighted in the rustic simplicity of their ancestors; the cities +were abandoned to solitude and decay; and their coins, their +charters, and their synods, are still inscribed with the names of +the villas, or rural palaces, in which they successively resided. + +One hundred and sixty of these palaces, a title which need not +excite any unseasonable ideas of art or luxury, were scattered +through the provinces of their kingdom; and if some might claim +the honors of a fortress, the far greater part could be esteemed +only in the light of profitable farms. The mansion of the +long-haired kings was surrounded with convenient yards and +stables, for the cattle and the poultry; the garden was planted +with useful vegetables; the various trades, the labors of +agriculture, and even the arts of hunting and fishing, were +exercised by servile hands for the emolument of the sovereign; +his magazines were filled with corn and wine, either for sale or +consumption; and the whole administration was conducted by the +strictest maxims of private economy. ^88 This ample patrimony was +appropriated to supply the hospitable plenty of Clovis and his +successors; and to reward the fidelity of their brave companions +who, both in peace and war, were devoted to their persona +service. Instead of a horse, or a suit of armor, each companion, +according to his rank, or merit, or favor, was invested with a +benefice, the primitive name, and most simple form, of the feudal +possessions. These gifts might be resumed at the pleasure of the +sovereign; and his feeble prerogative derived some support from +the influence of his liberality. ^* But this dependent tenure was +gradually abolished ^89 by the independent and rapacious nobles +of France, who established the perpetual property, and hereditary +succession, of their benefices; a revolution salutary to the +earth, which had been injured, or neglected, by its precarious +masters. ^90 Besides these royal and beneficiary estates, a large +proportion had been assigned, in the division of Gaul, of +allodial and Salic lands: they were exempt from tribute, and the +Salic lands were equally shared among the male descendants of the +Franks. ^91 +[Footnote 88: See the rustic edict, or rather code, of +Charlemagne, which contains seventy distinct and minute +regulations of that great monarch (in tom. v. p. 652 - 657.) He +requires an account of the horns and skins of the goats, allows +his fish to be sold, and carefully directs, that the larger +villas (Capitaneoe) shall maintain one hundred hens and thirty +geese; and the smaller (Mansionales) fifty hens and twelve geese. + +Mabillon (de Re Diplomatica) has investigated the names, the +number, and the situation of the Merovingian villas.] + +[Footnote *: The resumption of benefices at the pleasure of the +sovereign, (the general theory down to his time,) is ably +contested by Mr. Hallam; "for this resumption some delinquency +must be imputed to the vassal." Middle Ages, vol. i. p. 162. The +reader will be interested by the singular analogies with the +beneficial and feudal system of Europe in a remote part of the +world, indicated by Col. Tod in his splendid work on Raja'sthan, +vol. ii p. 129, &c. - M.] + +[Footnote 89: From a passage of the Burgundian law (tit. i. No. +4, in tom. iv. p. 257) it is evident, that a deserving son might +expect to hold the lands which his father had received from the +royal bounty of Gundobald. The Burgundians would firmly maintain +their privilege, and their example might encourage the +Beneficiaries of France.] + +[Footnote 90: The revolutions of the benefices and fiefs are +clearly fixed by the Abbe de Mably. His accurate distinction of +times gives him a merit to which even Montesquieu is a stranger.] + +[Footnote 91: See the Salic law, (tit. lxii. in tom. iv. p. 156.) +The origin and nature of these Salic lands, which, in times of +ignorance, were perfectly understood, now perplex our most +learned and sagacious critics. + Note: No solution seems more probable, than that the ancient +lawgivers of the Salic Franks prohibited females from inheriting +the lands assigned to the nation, upon its conquest of Gaul, both +in compliance with their ancient usages, and in order to secure +the military service of every proprietor. But lands subsequently +acquired by purchase or other means, though equally bound to the +public defence, were relieved from the severity of this rule, and +presumed not to belong to the class of Sallic. Hallam's Middle +Ages, vol. i. p. 145. Compare Sismondi, vol. i. p. 196. - M.] + In the bloody discord and silent decay of the Merovingian +line, a new order of tyrants arose in the provinces, who, under +the appellation of Seniors, or Lords, usurped a right to govern, +and a license to oppress, the subjects of their peculiar +territory. Their ambition might be checked by the hostile +resistance of an equal: but the laws were extinguished; and the +sacrilegious Barbarians, who dared to provoke the vengeance of a +saint or bishop, ^92 would seldom respect the landmarks of a +profane and defenceless neighbor. The common or public rights of +nature, such as they had always been deemed by the Roman +jurisprudence, ^93 were severely restrained by the German +conquerors, whose amusement, or rather passion, was the exercise +of hunting. The vague dominion which Man has assumed over the +wild inhabitants of the earth, the air, and the waters, was +confined to some fortunate individuals of the human species. +Gaul was again overspread with woods; and the animals, who were +reserved for the use or pleasure of the lord, might ravage with +impunity the fields of his industrious vassals. The chase was the +sacred privilege of the nobles and their domestic servants. +Plebeian transgressors were legally chastised with stripes and +imprisonment; ^94 but in an age which admitted a slight +composition for the life of a citizen, it was a capital crime to +destroy a stag or a wild bull within the precincts of the royal +forests. ^95 +[Footnote 92: Many of the two hundred and six miracles of St. +Martin (Greg Turon. in Maxima Bibliotheca Patrum, tom. xi. p. 896 +- 932) were repeatedly performed to punish sacrilege. Audite +haec omnes (exclaims the bishop of Tours) protestatem habentes, +after relating, how some horses ran mad, that had been turned +into a sacred meadow.] + +[Footnote 93: Heinec. Element. Jur. German. l. ii. p. 1, No. 8.] +[Footnote 94: Jonas, bishop of Orleans, (A.D. 821 - 826. Cave, +Hist. Litteraria, p. 443,) censures the legal tyranny of the +nobles. Pro feris, quas cura hominum non aluit, sed Deus in +commune mortalibus ad utendum concessit, pauperes a potentioribus +spoliantur, flagellantur, ergastulis detruduntur, et multa alia +patiuntur. Hoc enim qui faciunt, lege mundi se facere juste +posse contendant. De Institutione Laicorum, l. ii. c. 23, apud +Thomassin, Discipline de l'Eglise, tom. iii. p. 1348.] + +[Footnote 95: On a mere suspicion, Chundo, a chamberlain of +Gontram, king of Burgundy, was stoned to death, (Greg. Turon. l. +x. c. 10, in tom. ii. p. 369.) John of Salisbury (Policrat. l. i. +c. 4) asserts the rights of nature, and exposes the cruel +practice of the twelfth century. See Heineccius, Elem. Jur. +Germ. l. ii. p. 1, No. 51 - 57.] + + According to the maxims of ancient war, the conqueror became +the lawful master of the enemy whom he had subdued and spared: +^96 and the fruitful cause of personal slavery, which had been +almost suppressed by the peaceful sovereignty of Rome, was again +revived and multiplied by the perpetual hostilities of the +independent Barbarians. The Goth, the Burgundian, or the Frank, +who returned from a successful expedition, dragged after him a +long train of sheep, of oxen, and of human captives, whom he +treated with the same brutal contempt. The youths of an elegant +form and an ingenuous aspect were set apart for the domestic +service; a doubtful situation, which alternately exposed them to +the favorable or cruel impulse of passion. The useful mechanics +and servants (smiths, carpenters, tailors, shoemakers, cooks, +gardeners, dyers, and workmen in gold and silver, &c.) employed +their skill for the use, or profit, of their master. But the +Roman captives, who were destitute of art, but capable of labor, +were condemned, without regard to their former rank, to tend the +cattle and cultivate the lands of the Barbarians. The number of +the hereditary bondsmen, who were attached to the Gallic estates, +was continually increased by new supplies; and the servile +people, according to the situation and temper of their lords, was +sometimes raised by precarious indulgence, and more frequently +depressed by capricious despotism. ^97 An absolute power of life +and death was exercised by these lords; and when they married +their daughters, a train of useful servants, chained on the +wagons to prevent their escape, was sent as a nuptial present +into a distant country. ^98 The majesty of the Roman laws +protected the liberty of each citizen, against the rash effects +of his own distress or despair. But the subjects of the +Merovingian kings might alienate their personal freedom; and this +act of legal suicide, which was familiarly practised, is +expressed in terms most disgraceful and afflicting to the dignity +of human nature. ^99 The example of the poor, who purchased life +by the sacrifice of all that can render life desirable, was +gradually imitated by the feeble and the devout, who, in times of +public disorder, pusillanimously crowded to shelter themselves +under the battlements of a powerful chief, and around the shrine +of a popular saint. Their submission was accepted by these +temporal or spiritual patrons; and the hasty transaction +irrecoverably fixed their own condition, and that of their latest +posterity. From the reign of Clovis, during five successive +centuries, the laws and manners of Gaul uniformly tended to +promote the increase, and to confirm the duration, of personal +servitude. Time and violence almost obliterated the intermediate +ranks of society; and left an obscure and narrow interval between +the noble and the slave. This arbitrary and recent division has +been transformed by pride and prejudice into a national +distinction, universally established by the arms and the laws of +the Merovingians. The nobles, who claimed their genuine or +fabulous descent from the independent and victorious Franks, have +asserted and abused the indefeasible right of conquest over a +prostrate crowd of slaves and plebeians, to whom they imputed the +imaginary disgrace of Gallic or Roman extraction. + +[Footnote 96: The custom of enslaving prisoners of war was +totally extinguished in the thirteenth century, by the prevailing +influence of Christianity; but it might be proved, from frequent +passages of Gregory of Tours, &c., that it was practised, without +censure, under the Merovingian race; and even Grotius himself, +(de Jure Belli et Pacis l. iii. c. 7,) as well as his commentator +Barbeyrac, have labored to reconcile it with the laws of nature +and reason.] + +[Footnote 97: The state, professions, &c., of the German, +Italian, and Gallic slaves, during the middle ages, are explained +by Heineccius, (Element Jur. Germ. l. i. No. 28 - 47,) Muratori, +(Dissertat. xiv. xv.,) Ducange, (Gloss. sub voce Servi,) and the +Abbe de Mably, (Observations, tom. ii. p. 3, &c., p. 237, &c.) + Note: Compare Hallam, vol. i. p. 216. - M.] + +[Footnote 98: Gregory of Tours (l. vi. c. 45, in tom. ii. p. 289) +relates a memorable example, in which Chilperic only abused the +private rights of a master. Many families which belonged to his +domus fiscales in the neighborhood of Paris, were forcibly sent +away into Spain.] +[Footnote 99: Licentiam habeatis mihi qualemcunque volueritis +disciplinam ponere; vel venumdare, aut quod vobis placuerit de me +facere Marculf. Formul. l. ii. 28, in tom. iv. p. 497. The +Formula of Lindenbrogius, (p. 559,) and that of Anjou, (p. 565,) +are to the same effect Gregory of Tours (l. vii. c. 45, in tom. +ii. p. 311) speak of many person who sold themselves for bread, +in a great famine.] + + The general state and revolutions of France, a name which +was imposed by the conquerors, may be illustrated by the +particular example of a province, a diocese, or a senatorial +family. Auvergne had formerly maintained a just preeminence +among the independent states and cities of Gaul. The brave and +numerous inhabitants displayed a singular trophy; the sword of +Caesar himself, which he had lost when he was repulsed before the +walls of Gergovia. ^100 As the common offspring of Troy, they +claimed a fraternal alliance with the Romans; ^101 and if each +province had imitated the courage and loyalty of Auvergne, the +fall of the Western empire might have been prevented or delayed. +They firmly maintained the fidelity which they had reluctantly +sworn to the Visigoths, out when their bravest nobles had fallen +in the battle of Poitiers, they accepted, without resistance, a +victorious and Catholic sovereign. This easy and valuable +conquest was achieved and possessed by Theodoric, the eldest son +of Clovis: but the remote province was separated from his +Austrasian dominions, by the intermediate kingdoms of Soissons, +Paris, and Orleans, which formed, after their father's death, the +inheritance of his three brothers. The king of Paris, Childebert, +was tempted by the neighborhood and beauty of Auvergne. ^102 The +Upper country, which rises towards the south into the mountains +of the Cevennes, presented a rich and various prospect of woods +and pastures; the sides of the hills were clothed with vines; and +each eminence was crowned with a villa or castle. In the Lower +Auvergne, the River Allier flows through the fair and spacious +plain of Limagne; and the inexhaustible fertility of the soil +supplied, and still supplies, without any interval of repose, the +constant repetition of the same harvests. ^103 On the false +report, that their lawful sovereign had been slain in Germany, +the city and diocese of Auvergne were betrayed by the grandson of +Sidonius Apollinaris. Childebert enjoyed this clandestine +victory; and the free subjects of Theodoric threatened to desert +his standard, if he indulged his private resentment, while the +nation was engaged in the Burgundian war. But the Franks of +Austrasia soon yielded to the persuasive eloquence of their king. +"Follow me," said Theodoric, "into Auvergne; I will lead you into +a province, where you may acquire gold, silver, slaves, cattle, +and precious apparel, to the full extent of your wishes. I +repeat my promise; I give you the people and their wealth as your +prey; and you may transport them at pleasure into your own +country." By the execution of this promise, Theodoric justly +forfeited the allegiance of a people whom he devoted to +destruction. His troops, reenforced by the fiercest Barbarians +of Germany, ^104 spread desolation over the fruitful face of +Auvergne; and two places only, a strong castle and a holy shrine, +were saved or redeemed from their licentious fury. The castle of +Meroliac ^105 was seated on a lofty rock, which rose a hundred +feet above the surface of the plain; and a large reservoir of +fresh water was enclosed, with some arable lands, within the +circle of its fortifications. The Franks beheld with envy and +despair this impregnable fortress; but they surprised a party of +fifty stragglers; and, as they were oppressed by the number of +their captives, they fixed, at a trifling ransom, the alternative +of life or death for these wretched victims, whom the cruel +Baroarians were prepared to massacre on the refusal of the +garrison. Another detachment penetrated as far as Brivas, or +Brioude, where the inhabitants, with their valuable effects, had +taken refuge in the sanctuary of St. Julian. The doors of the +church resisted the assault; but a daring soldier entered through +a window of the choir, and opened a passage to his companions. +The clergy and people, the sacred and the profane spoils, were +rudely torn from the altar; and the sacrilegious division was +made at a small distance from the town of Brioude. But this act +of impiety was severely chastised by the devout son of Clovis. +He punished with death the most atrocious offenders; left their +secret accomplices to the vengeance of St. Julian; released the +captives; restored the plunder; and extended the rights of +sanctuary five miles round the sepulchre of the holy martyr. ^106 + +[Footnote 100: When Caesar saw it, he laughed, (Plutarch. in +Caesar. in tom. i. p. 409:) yet he relates his unsuccessful siege +of Gergovia with less frankness than we might expect from a great +man to whom victory was familiar. He acknowledges, however, that +in one attack he lost forty-six centurions and seven hundred men, +(de Bell. Gallico, l. vi. c. 44 - 53, in tom. i. p. 270 - 272.)] +[Footnote 101: Audebant se quondam fatres Latio dicere, et +sanguine ab Iliaco populos computare, (Sidon. Apollinar. l. vii. +epist. 7, in tom i. p. 799.) I am not informed of the degrees and +circumstances of this fabulous pedigree.] +[Footnote 102: Either the first, or second, partition among the +sons of Clovis, had given Berry to Childebert, (Greg. Turon. l. +iii. c. 12, in tom. ii. p. 192.) Velim (said he) Arvernam +Lemanem, quae tanta jocunditatis gratia refulgere dicitur, oculis +cernere, (l. iii. c. p. 191.) The face of the country was +concealed by a thick fog, when the king of Paris made his entry +into Clermen.] + +[Footnote 103: For the description of Auvergne, see Sidonius, (l. +iv. epist. 21, in tom. i. p. 703,) with the notes of Savaron and +Sirmond, (p. 279, and 51, of their respective editions.) +Boulainvilliers, (Etat de la France, tom. ii. p. 242 - 268,) and +the Abbe de la Longuerue, (Description de la France, part i. p. +132 - 139.)] + +[Footnote 104; Furorem gentium, quae de ulteriore Rheni amnis +parte venerant, superare non poterat, (Greg. Turon. l. iv. c. 50, +in tom. ii. 229.) was the excuse of another king of Austrasia +(A.D. 574) for the ravages which his troops committed in the +neighborhood of Paris.] + +[Footnote 105: From the name and situation, the Benedictine +editors of Gregory of Tours (in tom. ii. p. 192) have fixed this +fortress at a place named Castel Merliac, two miles from Mauriac, +in the Upper Auvergne. In this description, I translate infra as +if I read intra; the two are perpetually confounded by Gregory, +or his transcribed and the sense must always decide.] +[Footnote 106: See these revolutions, and wars, of Auvergne, in +Gregory of Tours, (l. ii. c. 37, in tom. ii. p. 183, and l. iii. +c. 9, 12, 13, p. 191, 192, de Miraculis St. Julian. c. 13, in +tom. ii. p. 466.) He frequently betrays his extraordinary +attention to his native country.] + +Chapter XXXVIII: Reign Of Clovis. + + +Part IV. + + Before the Austrasian army retreated from Auvergne, +Theodoric exacted some pledges of the future loyalty of a people, +whose just hatred could be restrained only by their fear. A +select band of noble youths, the sons of the principal senators, +was delivered to the conqueror, as the hostages of the faith of +Childebert, and of their countrymen. On the first rumor of war, +or conspiracy, these guiltless youths were reduced to a state of +servitude; and one of them, Attalus, ^107 whose adventures are +more particularly related, kept his master's horses in the +diocese of Treves. After a painful search, he was discovered, in +this unworthy occupation, by the emissaries of his grandfather, +Gregory bishop of Langres; but his offers of ransom were sternly +rejected by the avarice of the Barbarian, who required an +exorbitant sum of ten pounds of gold for the freedom of his noble +captive. His deliverance was effected by the hardy stratagem of +Leo, an item belonging to the kitchens of the bishop of Langres. +^108 An unknown agent easily introduced him into the same family. +The Barbarian purchased Leo for the price of twelve pieces of +gold; and was pleased to learn that he was deeply skilled in the +luxury of an episcopal table: "Next Sunday," said the Frank, "I +shall invite my neighbors and kinsmen. Exert thy art, and force +them to confess, that they have never seen, or tasted, such an +entertainment, even in the king's house." Leo assured him, that +if he would provide a sufficient quantity of poultry, his wishes +should be satisfied. The master who already aspired to the merit +of elegant hospitality, assumed, as his own, the praise which the +voracious guests unanimously bestowed on his cook; and the +dexterous Leo insensibly acquired the trust and management of his +household. After the patient expectation of a whole year, he +cautiously whispered his design to Attalus, and exhorted him to +prepare for flight in the ensuing night. At the hour of +midnight, the intemperate guests retired from the table; and the +Frank's son-in-law, whom Leo attended to his apartment with a +nocturnal potation, condescended to jest on the facility with +which he might betray his trust. The intrepid slave, after +sustaining this dangerous raillery, entered his master's +bedchamber; removed his spear and shield; silently drew the +fleetest horses from the stable; unbarred the ponderous gates; +and excited Attalus to save his life and liberty by incessant +diligence. Their apprehensions urged them to leave their horses +on the banks of the Meuse; ^109 they swam the river, wandered +three days in the adjacent forest, and subsisted only by the +accidental discovery of a wild plum-tree. As they lay concealed +in a dark thicket, they heard the noise of horses; they were +terrified by the angry countenance of their master, and they +anxiously listened to his declaration, that, if he could seize +the guilty fugitives, one of them he would cut in pieces with his +sword, and would expose the other on a gibbet. A length, Attalus +and his faithful Leo reached the friendly habitation of a +presbyter of Rheims, who recruited their fainting strength with +bread and wine, concealed them from the search of their enemy, +and safely conducted them beyond the limits of the Austrasian +kingdom, to the episcopal palace of Langres. Gregory embraced +his grandson with tears of joy, gratefully delivered Leo, with +his whole family, from the yoke of servitude, and bestowed on him +the property of a farm, where he might end his days in happiness +and freedom. Perhaps this singular adventure, which is marked +with so many circumstances of truth and nature, was related by +Attalus himself, to his cousin or nephew, the first historian of +the Franks. Gregory of Tours ^110 was born about sixty years +after the death of Sidonius Apollinaris; and their situation was +almost similar, since each of them was a native of Auvergne, a +senator, and a bishop. The difference of their style and +sentiments may, therefore, express the decay of Gaul; and clearly +ascertain how much, in so short a space, the human mind had lost +of its energy and refinement. ^111 + +[Footnote 107: The story of Attalus is related by Gregory of +Tours, (l. iii. c. 16, tom. ii. p. 193 - 195.) His editor, the P. +Ruinart, confounds this Attalus, who was a youth (puer) in the +year 532, with a friend of Silonius of the same name, who was +count of Autun, fifty or sixty years before. Such an error, +which cannot be imputed to ignorance, is excused, in some degree, +by its own magnitude.] + +[Footnote 108: This Gregory, the great grandfather of Gregory of +Tours, (in tom. ii. p. 197, 490,) lived ninety-two years; of +which he passed forty as count of Autun, and thirty-two as bishop +of Langres. According to the poet Fortunatus, he displayed equal +merit in these different stations. + Nobilis antiqua decurrens prole parentum, + Nobilior gestis, nunc super astra manet. + Arbiter ante ferox, dein pius ipse sacerdos, + Quos domuit judex, fovit amore patris.] + +[Footnote 109: As M. de Valois, and the P. Ruinart, are +determined to change the Mosella of the text into Mosa, it +becomes me to acquiesce in the alteration. Yet, after some +examination of the topography. I could defend the common +reading.] + +[Footnote 110: The parents of Gregory (Gregorius Florentius +Georgius) were of noble extraction, (natalibus ... illustres,) +and they possessed large estates (latifundia) both in Auvergne +and Burgundy. He was born in the year 539, was consecrated +bishop of Tours in 573, and died in 593 or 595, soon after he had +terminated his history. See his life by Odo, abbot of Clugny, +(in tom. ii. p. 129 - 135,) and a new Life in the Memoires de +l'Academie, &c., tom. xxvi. p. 598 - 637.] + +[Footnote 111: Decedente atque immo potius pereunte ab urbibus +Gallicanis liberalium cultura literarum, &c., (in praefat. in +tom. ii. p. 137,) is the complaint of Gregory himself, which he +fully verifies by his own work. His style is equally devoid of +elegance and simplicity. In a conspicuous station, he still +remained a stranger to his own age and country; and in a prolific +work (the five last books contain ten years) he has omitted +almost every thing that posterity desires to learn. I have +tediously acquired, by a painful perusal, the right of +pronouncing this unfavorable sentence] + We are now qualified to despise the opposite, and, perhaps, +artful, misrepresentations, which have softened, or exaggerated, +the oppression of the Romans of Gaul under the reign of the +Merovingians. The conquerors never promulgated any universal +edict of servitude, or confiscation; but a degenerate people, who +excused their weakness by the specious names of politeness and +peace, was exposed to the arms and laws of the ferocious +Barbarians, who contemptuously insulted their possessions, their +freedom, and their safety. Their personal injuries were partial +and irregular; but the great body of the Romans survived the +revolution, and still preserved the property, and privileges, of +citizens. A large portion of their lands was exacted for the use +of the Franks: but they enjoyed the remainder, exempt from +tribute; ^112 and the same irresistible violence which swept away +the arts and manufactures of Gaul, destroyed the elaborate and +expensive system of Imperial despotism. The Provincials must +frequently deplore the savage jurisprudence of the Salic or +Ripuarian laws; but their private life, in the important concerns +of marriage, testaments, or inheritance, was still regulated by +the Theodosian Code; and a discontented Roman might freely +aspire, or descend, to the title and character of a Barbarian. +The honors of the state were accessible to his ambition: the +education and temper of the Romans more peculiarly qualified them +for the offices of civil government; and, as soon as emulation +had rekindled their military ardor, they were permitted to march +in the ranks, or even at the head, of the victorious Germans. I +shall not attempt to enumerate the generals and magistrates, +whose names ^113 attest the liberal policy of the Merovingians. +The supreme command of Burgundy, with the title of Patrician, was +successively intrusted to three Romans; and the last, and most +powerful, Mummolus, ^114 who alternately saved and disturbed the +monarchy, had supplanted his father in the station of count of +Autun, and left a treasury of thirty talents of gold, and two +hundred and fifty talents of silver. The fierce and illiterate +Barbarians were excluded, during several generations, from the +dignities, and even from the orders, of the church. ^115 The +clergy of Gaul consisted almost entirely of native provincials; +the haughty Franks fell at the feet of their subjects, who were +dignified with the episcopal character: and the power and riches +which had been lost in war, were insensibly recovered by +superstition. ^116 In all temporal affairs, the Theodosian Code +was the universal law of the clergy; but the Barbaric +jurisprudence had liberally provided for their personal safety; a +sub-deacon was equivalent to two Franks; the antrustion, and +priest, were held in similar estimation: and the life of a bishop +was appreciated far above the common standard, at the price of +nine hundred pieces of gold. ^117 The Romans communicated to +their conquerors the use of the Christian religion and Latin +language; ^118 but their language and their religion had alike +degenerated from the simple purity of the Augustan, and Apostolic +age. The progress of superstition and Barbarism was rapid and +universal: the worship of the saints concealed from vulgar eyes +the God of the Christians; and the rustic dialect of peasants and +soldiers was corrupted by a Teutonic idiom and pronunciation. Yet +such intercourse of sacred and social communion eradicated the +distinctions of birth and victory; and the nations of Gaul were +gradually confounded under the name and government of the Franks. + +[Footnote 112: The Abbe de Mably (tom. p. i. 247 - 267) has +diligently confirmed this opinion of the President de +Montesquieu, (Esprit des Loix, l. xxx. c. 13.)] + +[Footnote 113: See Dubos, Hist. Critique de la Monarchie +Francoise, tom. ii. l. vi. c. 9, 10. The French antiquarians +establish as a principle, that the Romans and Barbarians may be +distinguished by their names. Their names undoubtedly form a +reasonable presumption; yet in reading Gregory of Tours, I have +observed Gondulphus, of Senatorian, or Roman, extraction, (l. vi. +c. 11, in tom. ii. p. 273,) and Claudius, a Barbarian, (l. vii. +c. 29, p. 303.)] +[Footnote 114: Eunius Mummolus is repeatedly mentioned by Gregory +of Tours, from the fourth (c. 42, p. 224) to the seventh (c. 40, +p. 310) book. The computation by talents is singular enough; but +if Gregory attached any meaning to that obsolete word, the +treasures of Mummolus must have exceeded 100,000l. sterling.] +[Footnote 115: See Fleury, Discours iii. sur l'Histoire +Ecclesiastique.] +[Footnote 116: The bishop of Tours himself has recorded the +complaint of Chilperic, the grandson of Clovis. Ecce pauper +remansit Fiscus noster; ecce divitiae nostrae ad ecclesias sunt +translatae; nulli penitus nisi soli Episcopi regnant, (l. vi. c. +46, in tom. ii. p. 291.)] + +[Footnote 117: See the Ripuarian Code, (tit. xxxvi in tom. iv. p. +241.) The Salic law does not provide for the safety of the +clergy; and we might suppose, on the behalf of the more civilized +tribe, that they had not foreseen such an impious act as the +murder of a priest. Yet Praetextatus, archbishop of Rouen, was +assassinated by the order of Queen Fredegundis before the altar, +(Greg. Turon. l. viii. c. 31, in tom. ii. p. 326.)] + +[Footnote 118: M. Bonamy (Mem. de l'Academie des Inscriptions, +tom. xxiv. p. 582 - 670) has ascertained the Lingua Romana +Rustica, which, through the medium of the Romance, has gradually +been polished into the actual form of the French language. Under +the Carlovingian race, the kings and nobles of France still +understood the dialect of their German ancestors.] + + The Franks, after they mingled with their Gallic subjects, +might have imparted the most valuable of human gifts, a spirit +and system of constitutional liberty. Under a king, hereditary, +but limited, the chiefs and counsellors might have debated at +Paris, in the palace of the Caesars: the adjacent field, where +the emperors reviewed their mercenary legions. would have +admitted the legislative assembly of freemen and warriors; and +the rude model, which had been sketched in the woods of Germany, +^119 might have been polished and improved by the civil wisdom of +the Romans. But the careless Barbarians, secure of their +personal independence, disdained the labor of government: the +annual assemblies of the month of March were silently abolished; +and the nation was separated, and almost dissolved, by the +conquest of Gaul. ^120 The monarchy was left without any regular +establishment of justice, of arms, or of revenue. The successors +of Clovis wanted resolution to assume, or strength to exercise, +the legislative and executive powers, which the people had +abdicated: the royal prerogative was distinguished only by a more +ample privilege of rapine and murder; and the love of freedom, so +often invigorated and disgraced by private ambition, was reduced, +among the licentious Franks, to the contempt of order, and the +desire of impunity. Seventy-five years after the death of Clovis, +his grandson, Gontran, king of Burgundy, sent an army to invade +the Gothic possessions of Septimania, or Languedoc. The troops +of Burgundy, Berry, Auvergne, and the adjacent territories, were +excited by the hopes of spoil. They marched, without discipline, +under the banners of German, or Gallic, counts: their attack was +feeble and unsuccessful; but the friendly and hostile provinces +were desolated with indiscriminate rage. The cornfields, the +villages, the churches themselves, were consumed by fire: the +inhabitants were massacred, or dragged into captivity; and, in +the disorderly retreat, five thousand of these inhuman savages +were destroyed by hunger or intestine discord. When the pious +Gontran reproached the guilt or neglect of their leaders, and +threatened to inflict, not a legal sentence, but instant and +arbitrary execution, they accused the universal and incurable +corruption of the people. "No one," they said, "any longer fears +or respects his king, his duke, or his count. Each man loves to +do evil, and freely indulges his criminal inclinations. The most +gentle correction provokes an immediate tumult, and the rash +magistrate, who presumes to censure or restrain his seditious +subjects, seldom escapes alive from their revenge." ^121 It has +been reserved for the same nation to expose, by their intemperate +vices, the most odious abuse of freedom; and to supply its loss +by the spirit of honor and humanity, which now alleviates and +dignifies their obedience to an absolute sovereign. ^* + +[Footnote 119: Ce beau systeme a ete trouve dans les bois. +Montesquieu, Esprit des Loix, l. xi. c. 6.] + +[Footnote 120: See the Abbe de Mably. Observations, &c., tom. i. +p. 34 - 56. It should seem that the institution of national +assemblies, which are with the French nation, has never been +congenial to its temper.] + +[Footnote 121: Gregory of Tours (l. viii. c. 30, in tom. ii. p. +325, 326) relates, with much indifference, the crimes, the +reproof, and the apology. Nullus Regem metuit, nullus Ducem, +nullus Comitem reveretur; et si fortassis alicui ista displicent, +et ea, pro longaevitate vitae vestrae, emendare conatur, statim +seditio in populo, statim tumultus exoritur, et in tantum +unusquisque contra seniorem saeva intentione grassatur, ut vix se +credat evadere, si tandem silere nequiverit.] + +[Footnote *: This remarkable passage was published in 1779 - M.] + + The Visigoths had resigned to Clovis the greatest part of +their Gallic possessions; but their loss was amply compensated by +the easy conquest, and secure enjoyment, of the provinces of +Spain. From the monarchy of the Goths, which soon involved the +Suevic kingdom of Gallicia, the modern Spaniards still derive +some national vanity; but the historian of the Roman empire is +neither invited, nor compelled, to pursue the obscure and barren +series of their annals. ^122 The Goths of Spain were separated +from the rest of mankind by the lofty ridge of the Pyrenaean +mountains: their manners and institutions, as far as they were +common to the Germanic tribes, have been already explained. I +have anticipated, in the preceding chapter, the most important of +their ecclesiastical events, the fall of Arianism, and the +persecution of the Jews; and it only remains to observe some +interesting circumstances which relate to the civil and +ecclesiastical constitution of the Spanish kingdom. +[Footnote 122: Spain, in these dark ages, has been peculiarly +unfortunate. The Franks had a Gregory of Tours; the Saxons, or +Angles, a Bede; the Lombards, a Paul Warnefrid, &c. But the +history of the Visigoths is contained in the short and imperfect +Chronicles of Isidore of Seville and John of Biclar] + After their conversion from idolatry or heresy, the Frank +and the Visigoths were disposed to embrace, with equal +submission, the inherent evils and the accidental benefits, of +superstition. But the prelates of France, long before the +extinction of the Merovingian race, had degenerated into fighting +and hunting Barbarians. They disdained the use of synods; forgot +the laws of temperance and chastity; and preferred the indulgence +of private ambition and luxury to the general interest of the +sacerdotal profession. ^123 The bishops of Spain respected +themselves, and were respected by the public: their indissoluble +union disguised their vices, and confirmed their authority; and +the regular discipline of the church introduced peace, order, and +stability, into the government of the state. From the reign of +Recared, the first Catholic king, to that of Witiza, the +immediate predecessor of the unfortunate Roderic, sixteen +national councils were successively convened. The six +metropolitans, Toledo, Seville, Merida, Braga, Tarragona, and +Narbonne, presided according to their respective seniority; the +assembly was composed of their suffragan bishops, who appeared in +person, or by their proxies; and a place was assigned to the most +holy, or opulent, of the Spanish abbots. During the first three +days of the convocation, as long as they agitated the +ecclesiastical question of doctrine and discipline, the profane +laity was excluded from their debates; which were conducted, +however, with decent solemnity. But, on the morning of the +fourth day, the doors were thrown open for the entrance of the +great officers of the palace, the dukes and counts of the +provinces, the judges of the cities, and the Gothic nobles, and +the decrees of Heaven were ratified by the consent of the people. + +The same rules were observed in the provincial assemblies, the +annual synods, which were empowered to hear complaints, and to +redress grievances; and a legal government was supported by the +prevailing influence of the Spanish clergy. The bishops, who, in +each revolution, were prepared to flatter the victorious, and to +insult the prostrate labored, with diligence and success, to +kindle the flames of persecution, and to exalt the mitre above +the crown. Yet the national councils of Toledo, in which the free +spirit of the Barbarians was tempered and guided by episcopal +policy, have established some prudent laws for the common benefit +of the king and people. The vacancy of the throne was supplied +by the choice of the bishops and palatines; and after the failure +of the line of Alaric, the regal dignity was still limited to the +pure and noble blood of the Goths. The clergy, who anointed their +lawful prince, always recommended, and sometimes practised, the +duty of allegiance; and the spiritual censures were denounced on +the heads of the impious subjects, who should resist his +authority, conspire against his life, or violate, by an indecent +union, the chastity even of his widow. But the monarch himself, +when he ascended the throne, was bound by a reciprocal oath to +God and his people, that he would faithfully execute this +important trust. The real or imaginary faults of his +administration were subject to the control of a powerful +aristocracy; and the bishops and palatines were guarded by a +fundamental privilege, that they should not be degraded, +imprisoned, tortured, nor punished with death, exile, or +confiscation, unless by the free and public judgment of their +peers. ^124 + +[Footnote 123: Such are the complaints of St. Boniface, the +apostle of Germany, and the reformer of Gaul, (in tom. iv. p. +94.) The fourscore years, which he deplores, of license and +corruption, would seem to insinuate that the Barbarians were +admitted into the clergy about the year 660.] +[Footnote 124: The acts of the councils of Toledo are still the +most authentic records of the church and constitution of Spain. +The following passages are particularly important, (iii. 17, 18; +iv. 75; v. 2, 3, 4, 5, 8; vi. 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18; vii. 1; +xiii. 2 3 6.) I have found Mascou (Hist. of the Ancient Germans, +xv. 29, and Annotations, xxvi. and xxxiii.) and Ferreras (Hist. +Generale de l'Espagne, tom. ii.) very useful and accurate +guides.] + One of these legislative councils of Toledo examined and +ratified the code of laws which had been compiled by a succession +of Gothic kings, from the fierce Euric, to the devout Egica. As +long as the Visigoths themselves were satisfied with the rude +customs of their ancestors, they indulged their subjects of +Aquitain and Spain in the enjoyment of the Roman law. Their +gradual improvement in arts, in policy, and at length in +religion, encouraged them to imitate, and to supersede, these +foreign institutions; and to compose a code of civil and criminal +jurisprudence, for the use of a great and united people. The +same obligations, and the same privileges, were communicated to +the nations of the Spanish monarchy; and the conquerors, +insensibly renouncing the Teutonic idiom, submitted to the +restraints of equity, and exalted the Romans to the participation +of freedom. The merit of this impartial policy was enhanced by +the situation of Spain under the reign of the Visigoths. The +provincials were long separated from their Arian masters by the +irreconcilable difference of religion. After the conversion of +Recared had removed the prejudices of the Catholics, the coasts, +both of the Ocean and Mediterranean, were still possessed by the +Eastern emperors; who secretly excited a discontented people to +reject the yoke of the Barbarians, and to assert the name and +dignity of Roman citizens. The allegiance of doubtful subjects +is indeed most effectually secured by their own persuasion, that +they hazard more in a revolt, than they can hope to obtain by a +revolution; but it has appeared so natural to oppress those whom +we hate and fear, that the contrary system well deserves the +praise of wisdom and moderation. ^125 + +[Footnote 125: The Code of the Visigoths, regularly divided into +twelve books, has been correctly published by Dom Bouquet, (in +tom. iv. p. 273 - 460.) It has been treated by the President de +Montesquieu (Esprit des Loix, l. xxviii. c. 1) with excessive +severity. I dislike the style; I detest the superstition; but I +shall presume to think, that the civil jurisprudence displays a +more civilized and enlightened state of society, than that of the +Burgundians, or even of the Lombards.] + + While the kingdom of the Franks and Visigoths were +established in Gaul and Spain, the Saxons achieved the conquest +of Britain, the third great diocese of the Praefecture of the +West. Since Britain was already separated from the Roman empire, +I might, without reproach, decline a story familiar to the most +illiterate, and obscure to the most learned, of my readers. The +Saxons, who excelled in the use of the oar, or the battle- axe, +were ignorant of the art which could alone perpetuate the fame of +their exploits; the Provincials, relapsing into barbarism, +neglected to describe the ruin of their country; and the doubtful +tradition was almost extinguished, before the missionaries of +Rome restored the light of science and Christianity. The +declamations of Gildas, the fragments, or fables, of Nennius, the +obscure hints of the Saxon laws and chronicles, and the +ecclesiastical tales of the venerable Bede, ^126 have been +illustrated by the diligence, and sometimes embellished by the +fancy, of succeeding writers, whose works I am not ambitious +either to censure or to transcribe. ^127 Yet the historian of the +empire may be tempted to pursue the revolutions of a Roman +province, till it vanishes from his sight; and an Englishman may +curiously trace the establishment of the Barbarians, from whom he +derives his name, his laws, and perhaps his origin. + +[Footnote 126: See Gildas de Excidio Britanniae, c. 11 - 25, p. 4 +- 9, edit. Gale. Nennius, Hist. Britonum, c. 28, 35 - 65, p. 105 +- 115, edit. Gale. Bede, Hist. Ecclesiast. Gentis Angloruml. i. +c. 12 - 16, p. 49 - 53. c. 22, p. 58, edit. Smith. Chron. +Saxonicum, p. 11 - 23, &c., edit. Gibson. The Anglo-Saxon laws +were published by Wilkins, London, 1731, in folio; and the Leges +Wallicae, by Wotton and Clarke, London, 1730, in folio.] +[Footnote 127: The laborious Mr. Carte, and the ingenious Mr. +Whitaker, are the two modern writers to whom I am principally +indebted. The particular historian of Manchester embraces, under +that obscure title, a subject almost as extensive as the general +history of England. + + Note: Add the Anglo-Saxon History of Mr. S. Turner; and Sir +F. Palgrave Sketch of the "Early History of England." - M.] + About forty years after the dissolution of the Roman +government, Vortigern appears to have obtained the supreme, +though precarious command of the princes and cities of Britain. +That unfortunate monarch has been almost unanimously condemned +for the weak and mischievous policy of inviting ^128 a formidable +stranger, to repel the vexatious inroads of a domestic foe. His +ambassadors are despatched, by the gravest historians, to the +coast of Germany: they address a pathetic oration to the general +assembly of the Saxons, and those warlike Barbarians resolve to +assist with a fleet and army the suppliants of a distant and +unknown island. If Britain had indeed been unknown to the +Saxons, the measure of its calamities would have been less +complete. But the strength of the Roman government could not +always guard the maritime province against the pirates of +Germany; the independent and divided states were exposed to their +attacks; and the Saxons might sometimes join the Scots and the +Picts, in a tacit, or express, confederacy of rapine and +destruction. Vortigern could only balance the various perils, +which assaulted on every side his throne and his people; and his +policy may deserve either praise or excuse, if he preferred the +alliance of those Barbarians, whose naval power rendered them the +most dangerous enemies and the most serviceable allies. Hengist +and Horsa, as they ranged along the Eastern coast with three +ships, were engaged, by the promise of an ample stipend, to +embrace the defence of Britain; and their intrepid valor soon +delivered the country from the Caledonian invaders. The Isle of +Thanet, a secure and fertile district, was allotted for the +residence of these German auxiliaries, and they were supplied, +according to the treaty, with a plentiful allowance of clothing +and provisions. This favorable reception encouraged five +thousand warriors to embark with their families in seventeen +vessels, and the infant power of Hengist was fortified by this +strong and seasonable reenforcement. The crafty Barbarian +suggested to Vortigern the obvious advantage of fixing, in the +neighborhood of the Picts, a colony of faithful allies: a third +fleet of forty ships, under the command of his son and nephew, +sailed from Germany, ravaged the Orkneys, and disembarked a new +army on the coast of Northumberland, or Lothian, at the opposite +extremity of the devoted land. It was easy to foresee, but it was +impossible to prevent, the impending evils. The two nations were +soon divided and exasperated by mutual jealousies. The Saxons +magnified all that they had done and suffered in the cause of an +ungrateful people; while the Britons regretted the liberal +rewards which could not satisfy the avarice of those haughty +mercenaries. The causes of fear and hatred were inflamed into an +irreconcilable quarrel. The Saxons flew to arms; and if they +perpetrated a treacherous massacre during the security of a +feast, they destroyed the reciprocal confidence which sustains +the intercourse of peace and war. ^129 + +[Footnote 128: This invitation, which may derive some countenance +from the loose expressions of Gildas and Bede, is framed into a +regular story by Witikind, a Saxon monk of the tenth century, +(see Cousin, Hist. de l'Empire d'Occident, tom. ii. p. 356.) +Rapin, and even Hume, have too freely used this suspicious +evidence, without regarding the precise and probable testimony of +Tennius: Iterea venerunt tres Chinlae a exilio pulsoe, in quibus +erant Hors et Hengist.] + +[Footnote 129: Nennius imputes to the Saxons the murder of three +hundred British chiefs; a crime not unsuitable to their savage +manners. But we are not obliged to believe (see Jeffrey of +Monmouth, l. viii. c. 9 - 12) that Stonehenge is their monument, +which the giants had formerly transported from Africa to Ireland, +and which was removed to Britain by the order of Ambrosius, and +the art of Merlin. + + Note: Sir f. Palgrave (Hist. of England, p. 36) is inclined +to resolve the whole of these stories, as Niebuhr the older Roman +history, into poetry. To the editor they appeared, in early +youth, so essentially poetic, as to justify the rash attempt to +embody them in an Epic Poem, called Samor, commenced at Eton, and +finished before he had arrived at the maturer taste of manhood. - +M.] + + Hengist, who boldly aspired to the conquest of Britain, +exhorted his countrymen to embrace the glorious opportunity: he +painted in lively colors the fertility of the soil, the wealth of +the cities, the pusillanimous temper of the natives, and the +convenient situation of a spacious solitary island, accessible on +all sides to the Saxon fleets. The successive colonies which +issued, in the period of a century, from the mouths of the Elbe, +the Weser, and the Rhine, were principally composed of three +valiant tribes or nations of Germany; the Jutes, the old Saxons, +and the Angles. The Jutes, who fought under the peculiar banner +of Hengist, assumed the merit of leading their countrymen in the +paths of glory, and of erecting, in Kent, the first independent +kingdom. The fame of the enterprise was attributed to the +primitive Saxons; and the common laws and language of the +conquerors are described by the national appellation of a people, +which, at the end of four hundred years, produced the first +monarchs of South Britain. The Angles were distinguished by +their numbers and their success; and they claimed the honor of +fixing a perpetual name on the country, of which they occupied +the most ample portion. The Barbarians, who followed the hopes +of rapine either on the land or sea, were insensibly blended with +this triple confederacy; the Frisians, who had been tempted by +their vicinity to the British shores, might balance, during a +short space, the strength and reputation of the native Saxons; +the Danes, the Prussians, the Rugians, are faintly described; and +some adventurous Huns, who had wandered as far as the Baltic, +might embark on board the German vessels, for the conquest of a +new world. ^130 But this arduous achievement was not prepared or +executed by the union of national powers. Each intrepid +chieftain, according to the measure of his fame and fortunes, +assembled his followers; equipped a fleet of three, or perhaps of +sixty, vessels; chose the place of the attack; and conducted his +subsequent operations according to the events of the war, and the +dictates of his private interest. In the invasion of Britain +many heroes vanquished and fell; but only seven victorious +leaders assumed, or at least maintained, the title of kings. +Seven independent thrones, the Saxon Heptarchy, ^* were founded +by the conquerors, and seven families, one of which has been +continued, by female succession, to our present sovereign, +derived their equal and sacred lineage from Woden, the god of +war. It has been pretended, that this republic of kings was +moderated by a general council and a supreme magistrate. But +such an artificial scheme of policy is repugnant to the rude and +turbulent spirit of the Saxons: their laws are silent; and their +imperfect annals afford only a dark and bloody prospect of +intestine discord. ^131 + +[Footnote 130: All these tribes are expressly enumerated by Bede, +(l. i. c. 15, p. 52, l. v. c. 9, p. 190;) and though I have +considered Mr. Whitaker's remarks, (Hist. of Manchester, vol. ii. +p. 538 - 543,) I do not perceive the absurdity of supposing that +the Frisians, &c., were mingled with the Anglo-Saxons.] + +[Footnote *: This term (the Heptarchy) must be rejected because +an idea is conveyed thereby which is substantially wrong. At no +one period were there ever seven kingdoms independent of each +other. Palgrave, vol. i. p. 46. Mr. Sharon Turner has the merit +of having first confuted the popular notion on this subject. +Anglo-Saxon History, vol. i. p. 302. - M.] + +[Footnote 131: Bede has enumerated seven kings, two Saxons, a +Jute, and four Angles, who successively acquired in the heptarchy +an indefinite supremacy of power and renown. But their reign was +the effect, not of law, but of conquest; and he observes, in +similar terms, that one of them subdued the Isles of Man and +Anglesey; and that another imposed a tribute on the Scots and +Picts. (Hist. Eccles. l. ii. c. 5, p. 83.)] + + A monk, who, in the profound ignorance of human life, has +presumed to exercise the office of historian, strangely +disfigures the state of Britain at the time of its separation +from the Western empire. Gildas ^132 describes in florid +language the improvements of agriculture, the foreign trade which +flowed with every tide into the Thames and the Severn the solid +and lofty construction of public and private edifices; he accuses +the sinful luxury of the British people; of a people, according +to the same writer, ignorant of the most simple arts, and +incapable, without the aid of the Romans, of providing walls of +stone, or weapons of iron, for the defence of their native land. +^133 Under the long dominion of the emperors, Britain had been +insensibly moulded into the elegant and servile form of a Roman +province, whose safety was intrusted to a foreign power. The +subjects of Honorius contemplated their new freedom with surprise +and terror; they were left destitute of any civil or military +constitution; and their uncertain rulers wanted either skill, or +courage, or authority, to direct the public force against the +common enemy. The introduction of the Saxons betrayed their +internal weakness, and degraded the character both of the prince +and people. Their consternation magnified the danger; the want +of union diminished their resources; and the madness of civil +factions was more solicitous to accuse, than to remedy, the +evils, which they imputed to the misconduct of their adversaries. + +Yet the Britons were not ignorant, they could not be ignorant, of +the manufacture or the use of arms; the successive and disorderly +attacks of the Saxons allowed them to recover from their +amazement, and the prosperous or adverse events of the war added +discipline and experience to their native valor. + +[Footnote 132: See Gildas de Excidio Britanniae, c. i. p. l. +edit. Gale.] +[Footnote 133: Mr. Whitaker (Hist. of Manchester, vol. ii. p. +503, 516) has smartly exposed this glaring absurdity, which had +passed unnoticed by the general historians, as they were +hastening to more interesting and important events] + + While the continent of Europe and Africa yielded, without +resistance, to the Barbarians, the British island, alone and +unaided, maintained a long, a vigorous, though an unsuccessful, +struggle, against the formidable pirates, who, almost at the same +instant, assaulted the Northern, the Eastern, and the Southern +coasts. The cities which had been fortified with skill, were +defended with resolution; the advantages of ground, hills, +forests, and morasses, were diligently improved by the +inhabitants; the conquest of each district was purchased with +blood; and the defeats of the Saxons are strongly attested by the +discreet silence of their annalist. Hengist might hope to achieve +the conquest of Britain; but his ambition, in an active reign of +thirty-five years, was confined to the possession of Kent; and +the numerous colony which he had planted in the North, was +extirpated by the sword of the Britons. The monarchy of the West +Saxons was laboriously founded by the persevering efforts of +three martial generations. The life of Cerdic, one of the +bravest of the children of Woden, was consumed in the conquest of +Hampshire, and the Isle of Wight; and the loss which he sustained +in the battle of Mount Badon, reduced him to a state of +inglorious repose. Kenric, his valiant son, advanced into +Wiltshire; besieged Salisbury, at that time seated on a +commanding eminence; and vanquished an army which advanced to the +relief of the city. In the subsequent battle of Marlborough, ^134 +his British enemies displayed their military science. Their +troops were formed in three lines; each line consisted of three +distinct bodies, and the cavalry, the archers, and the pikemen, +were distributed according to the principles of Roman tactics. +The Saxons charged in one weighty column, boldly encountered with +their shord swords the long lances of the Britons, and maintained +an equal conflict till the approach of night. Two decisive +victories, the death of three British kings, and the reduction of +Cirencester, Bath, and Gloucester, established the fame and power +of Ceaulin, the grandson of Cerdic, who carried his victorious +arms to the banks of the Severn. +[Footnote 134: At Beran-birig, or Barbury-castle, near +Marlborough. The Saxon chronicle assigns the name and date. +Camden (Britannia, vol. i. p. 128) ascertains the place; and +Henry of Huntingdon (Scriptores pest Bedam, p. 314) relates the +circumstances of this battle. They are probable and +characteristic; and the historians of the twelfth century might +consult some materials that no longer exist.] After a war of a +hundred years, the independent Britons still occupied the whole +extent of the Western coast, from the wall of Antoninus to the +extreme promontory of Cornwall; and the principal cities of the +inland country still opposed the arms of the Barbarians. +Resistance became more languid, as the number and boldness of the +assailants continually increased. Winning their way by slow and +painful efforts, the Saxons, the Angles, and their various +confederates, advanced from the North, from the East, and from +the South, till their victorious banners were united in the +centre of the island. Beyond the Severn the Britons still +asserted their national freedom, which survived the heptarchy, +and even the monarchy, of the Saxons. The bravest warriors, who +preferred exile to slavery, found a secure refuge in the +mountains of Wales: the reluctant submission of Cornwall was +delayed for some ages; ^135 and a band of fugitives acquired a +settlement in Gaul, by their own valor, or the liberality of the +Merovingian kings. ^136 The Western angle of Armorica acquired +the new appellations of Cornwall, and the Lesser Britain; and the +vacant lands of the Osismii were filled by a strange people, who, +under the authority of their counts and bishops, preserved the +laws and language of their ancestors. To the feeble descendants +of Clovis and Charlemagne, the Britons of Armorica refused the +customary tribute, subdued the neighboring dioceses of Vannes, +Rennes, and Nantes, and formed a powerful, though vassal, state, +which has been united to the crown of France. ^137 + +[Footnote 135: Cornwall was finally subdued by Athelstan, (A.D. +927 - 941,) who planted an English colony at Exeter, and confined +the Britons beyond the River Tamar. See William of Malmsbury, l. +ii., in the Scriptores post Bedam, p. 50. The spirit of the +Cornish knights was degraded by servitude: and it should seem, +from the Romance of Sir Tristram, that their cowardice was almost +proverbial.] + +[Footnote 136: The establishment of the Britons in Gaul is proved +in the sixth century, by Procopius, Gregory of Tours, the second +council of Tours, (A.D. 567,) and the least suspicious of their +chronicles and lives of saints. The subscription of a bishop of +the Britons to the first council of Tours, (A.D. 461, or rather +481,) the army of Riothamus, and the loose declamation of Gildas, +(alii transmarinas petebant regiones, c. 25, p. 8,) may +countenance an emigration as early as the middle of the fifth +century. Beyond that era, the Britons of Armorica can be found +only in romance; and I am surprised that Mr. Whitaker (Genuine +History of the Britons, p. 214 - 221) should so faithfully +transcribe the gross ignorance of Carte, whose venial errors he +has so rigorously chastised.] + +[Footnote 137: The antiquities of Bretagne, which have been the +subject even of political controversy, are illustrated by Hadrian +Valesius, (Notitia Galliarum, sub voce Britannia Cismarina, p. 98 +- 100.) M. D'Anville, (Notice de l'Ancienne Gaule, Corisopiti, +Curiosolites, Osismii, Vorganium, p. 248, 258, 508, 720, and +Etats de l'Europe, p. 76 - 80,) Longuerue, (Description de la +France, tom. i. p. 84 - 94,) and the Abbe de Vertot, (Hist. +Critique de l'Etablissement des Bretons dans les Gaules, 2 vols. +in 12 mo., Paris, 1720.) I may assume the merit of examining the +original evidence which they have produced. + + Note: Compare Gallet, Memoires sur la Bretagne, and Daru, +Histoire de Bretagne. These authors appear to me to establish +the point of the independence of Bretagne at the time that the +insular Britons took refuge in their country, and that the +greater part landed as fugitives rather than as conquerors. I +observe that M. Lappenberg (Geschichte von England, vol. i. p. +56) supposes the settlement of a military colony formed of +British soldiers, (Milites limitanei, laeti,) during the +usurpation of Maximus, (381, 388,) who gave their name and +peculiar civilization to Bretagne. M. Lappenberg expresses his +surprise that Gibbon here rejects the authority which he follows +elsewhere. - M.] + +Chapter XXXVIII: Reign Of Clovis. + + +Part V. + + In a century of perpetual, or at least implacable, war, much +courage, and some skill, must have been exerted for the defence +of Britain. Yet if the memory of its champions is almost buried +in oblivion, we need not repine; since every age, however +destitute of science or virtue, sufficiently abounds with acts of +blood and military renown. The tomb of Vortimer, the son of +Vortigern, was erected on the margin of the sea-shore, as a +landmark formidable to the Saxons, whom he had thrice vanquished +in the fields of Kent. Ambrosius Aurelian was descended from a +noble family of Romans; ^138 his modesty was equal to his valor, +and his valor, till the last fatal action, ^139 was crowned with +splendid success. But every British name is effaced by the +illustrious name of Arthur, ^140 the hereditary prince of the +Silures, in South Wales, and the elective king or general of the +nation. According to the most rational account, he defeated, in +twelve successive battles, the Angles of the North, and the +Saxons of the West; but the declining age of the hero was +imbittered by popular ingratitude and domestic misfortunes. The +events of his life are less interesting than the singular +revolutions of his fame. During a period of five hundred years +the tradition of his exploits was preserved, and rudely +embellished, by the obscure bards of Wales and Armorica, who were +odious to the Saxons, and unknown to the rest of mankind. The +pride and curiosity of the Norman conquerors prompted them to +inquire into the ancient history of Britain: they listened with +fond credulity to the tale of Arthur, and eagerly applauded the +merit of a prince who had triumphed over the Saxons, their common +enemies. His romance, transcribed in the Latin of Jeffrey of +Monmouth, and afterwards translated into the fashionable idiom of +the times, was enriched with the various, though incoherent, +ornaments which were familiar to the experience, the learning, or +the fancy, of the twelfth century. The progress of a Phrygian +colony, from the Tyber to the Thames, was easily ingrafted on the +fable of the Aeneid; and the royal ancestors of Arthur derived +their origin from Troy, and claimed their alliance with the +Caesars. His trophies were decorated with captive provinces and +Imperial titles; and his Danish victories avenged the recent +injuries of his country. The gallantry and superstition of the +British hero, his feasts and tournaments, and the memorable +institution of his Knights of the Round Table, were faithfully +copied from the reigning manners of chivalry; and the fabulous +exploits of Uther's son appear less incredible than the +adventures which were achieved by the enterprising valor of the +Normans. Pilgrimage, and the holy wars, introduced into Europe +the specious miracles of Arabian magic. Fairies and giants, +flying dragons, and enchanted palaces, were blended with the more +simple fictions of the West; and the fate of Britain depended on +the art, or the predictions, of Merlin. Every nation embraced +and adorned the popular romance of Arthur, and the Knights of the +Round Table: their names were celebrated in Greece and Italy; and +the voluminous tales of Sir Lancelot and Sir Tristram were +devoutly studied by the princes and nobles, who disregarded the +genuine heroes and historians of antiquity. At length the light +of science and reason was rekindled; the talisman was broken; the +visionary fabric melted into air; and by a natural, though +unjust, reverse of the public opinion, the severity of the +present age is inclined to question the existence of Arthur. ^141 + +[Footnote 138: Bede, who in his chronicle (p. 28) places +Ambrosius under the reign of Zeno, (A.D. 474 - 491,) observes, +that his parents had been "purpura induti;" which he explains, in +his ecclesiastical history, by "regium nomen et insigne +ferentibus," (l. i. c. 16, p. 53.) The expression of Nennius (c. +44, p. 110, edit. Gale) is still more singular, "Unus de +consulibus gentis Romanicae est pater meus."] + +[Footnote 139: By the unanimous, though doubtful, conjecture of +our antiquarians, Ambrosius is confounded with Natanleod, who +(A.D. 508) lost his own life, and five thousand of his subjects, +in a battle against Cerdic, the West Saxon, (Chron. Saxon. p. 17, +18.)] + +[Footnote 140: As I am a stranger to the Welsh bards, Myrdhin, +Llomarch, and Taliessin, my faith in the existence and exploits +of Arthur principally rests on the simple and circumstantial +testimony of Nennius. (Hist. Brit. c. 62, 63, p. 114.) Mr. +Whitaker, (Hist. of Manchester, vol. ii. p. 31 - 71) had framed +an interesting, and even probable, narrative of the wars of +Arthur: though it is impossible to allow the reality of the round +table. + + Note: I presume that Gibbon means Llywarch Hen, or the Aged. +- The Elegies of this Welsh prince and bard have been published +by Mr. Owen; to whose works and in the Myvyrian Archaeology, +slumbers much curious information on the subject of Welsh +tradition and poetry. But the Welsh antiquarians have never +obtained a hearing from the public; they have had no Macpherson +to compensate for his corruption of their poetic legends by +forcing them into popularity. - See also Mr. Sharon Turner's +Essay on the Welsh Bards. - M.] +[Footnote 141: The progress of romance, and the state of +learning, in the middle ages, are illustrated by Mr. Thomas +Warton, with the taste of a poet, and the minute diligence of an +antiquarian. I have derived much instruction from the two +learned dissertations prefixed to the first volume of his History +of English Poetry. + + Note: These valuable dissertations should not now be read +without the notes and preliminary essay of the late editor, Mr. +Price, which, in point of taste and fulness of information, are +worthy of accompanying and completing those of Warton. - M.] + Resistance, if it cannot avert, must increase the miseries +of conquest; and conquest has never appeared more dreadful and +destructive than in the hands of the Saxons; who hated the valor +of their enemies, disdained the faith of treaties, and violated, +without remorse, the most sacred objects of the Christian +worship. The fields of battle might be traced, almost in every +district, by monuments of bones; the fragments of falling towers +were stained with blood; the last of the Britons, without +distinction of age or sex, was massacred, ^142 in the ruins of +Anderida; ^143 and the repetition of such calamities was frequent +and familiar under the Saxon heptarchy. The arts and religion, +the laws and language, which the Romans had so carefully planted +in Britain, were extirpated by their barbarous successors. After +the destruction of the principal churches, the bishops, who had +declined the crown of martyrdom, retired with the holy relics +into Wales and Armorica; the remains of their flocks were left +destitute of any spiritual food; the practice, and even the +remembrance, of Christianity were abolished; and the British +clergy might obtain some comfort from the damnation of the +idolatrous strangers. The kings of France maintained the +privileges of their Roman subjects; but the ferocious Saxons +trampled on the laws of Rome, and of the emperors. The +proceedings of civil and criminal jurisdiction, the titles of +honor, the forms of office, the ranks of society, and even the +domestic rights of marriage, testament, and inheritance, were +finally suppressed; and the indiscriminate crowd of noble and +plebeian slaves was governed by the traditionary customs, which +had been coarsely framed for the shepherds and pirates of +Germany. The language of science, of business, and of +conversation, which had been introduced by the Romans, was lost +in the general desolation. A sufficient number of Latin or +Celtic words might be assumed by the Germans, to express their +new wants and ideas; ^144 but those illiterate Pagans preserved +and established the use of their national dialect. ^145 Almost +every name, conspicuous either in the church or state, reveals +its Teutonic origin; ^146 and the geography of England was +universally inscribed with foreign characters and appellations. +The example of a revolution, so rapid and so complete, may not +easily be found; but it will excite a probable suspicion, that +the arts of Rome were less deeply rooted in Britain than in Gaul +or Spain; and that the native rudeness of the country and its +inhabitants was covered by a thin varnish of Italian manners. +[Footnote 142: Hoc anno (490) Aella et Cissa obsederunt +Andredes-Ceaster; et interfecerunt omnes qui id incoluerunt; adeo +ut ne unus Brito ibi superstes fuerit, (Chron. Saxon. p. 15;) an +expression more dreadful in its simplicity, than all the vague +and tedious lamentations of the British Jeremiah.] +[Footnote 143: Andredes-Ceaster, or Anderida, is placed by Camden +(Britannia, vol. i. p. 258) at Newenden, in the marshy grounds of +Kent, which might be formerly covered by the sea, and on the edge +of the great forest (Anderida) which overspread so large a +portion of Hampshire and Sussex.] +[Footnote 144: Dr. Johnson affirms, that few English words are of +British extraction. Mr. Whitaker, who understands the British +language, has discovered more than three thousand, and actually +produces a long and various catalogue, (vol. ii. p. 235 - 329.) +It is possible, indeed, that many of these words may have been +imported from the Latin or Saxon into the native idiom of +Britain. + + Note: Dr. Prichard's very curious researches, which connect +the Celtic, as well as the Teutonic languages with the +Indo-European class, make it still more difficult to decide +between the Celtic or Teutonic origin of English words. - See +Prichard on the Eastern Origin of the Celtic Nations Oxford, +1831. - M.] + +[Footnote 145: In the beginning of the seventh century, the +Franks and the Anglo-Saxons mutually understood each other's +language, which was derived from the same Teutonic root, (Bede, +l. i. c. 25, p. 60.)] + +[Footnote 146: After the first generation of Italian, or +Scottish, missionaries, the dignities of the church were filled +with Saxon proselytes.] + This strange alteration has persuaded historians, and even +philosophers, that the provincials of Britain were totally +exterminated; and that the vacant land was again peopled by the +perpetual influx, and rapid increase, of the German colonies. +Three hundred thousand Saxons are said to have obeyed the summons +of Hengist; ^147 the entire emigation of the Angles was attested, +in the age of Bede, by the solitude of their native country; ^148 +and our experience has shown the free propagation of the human +race, if they are cast on a fruitful wilderness, where their +steps are unconfined, and their subsistence is plentiful. The +Saxon kingdoms displayed the face of recent discovery and +cultivation; the towns were small, the villages were distant; the +husbandry was languid and unskilful; four sheep were equivalent +to an acre of the best land; ^149 an ample space of wood and +morass was resigned to the vague dominion of nature; and the +modern bishopric of Durham, the whole territory from the Tyne to +the Tees, had returned to its primitive state of a savage and +solitary forest. ^150 Such imperfect population might have been +supplied, in some generations, by the English colonies; but +neither reason nor facts can justify the unnatural supposition, +that the Saxons of Britain remained alone in the desert which +they had subdued. After the sanguinary Barbarians had secured +their dominion, and gratified their revenge, it was their +interest to preserve the peasants as well as the cattle, of the +unresisting country. In each successive revolution, the patient +herd becomes the property of its new masters; and the salutary +compact of food and labor is silently ratified by their mutual +necessities. Wilfrid, the apostle of Sussex, ^151 accepted from +his royal convert the gift of the Vpeninsula of Selsey, near +Chichester, with the persons and property of its inhabitants, who +then amounted to eighty-seven families. He released them at once +from spiritual and temporal bondage; and two hundred and fifty +slaves of both sexes were baptized by their indulgent master. +The kingdom of Sussex, which spread from the sea to the Thames, +contained seven thousand families; twelve hundred were ascribed +to the Isle of Wight; and, if we multiply this vague computation, +it may seem probable, that England was cultivated by a million of +servants, or villains, who were attached to the estates of their +arbitrary landlords. The indigent Barbarians were often tempted +to sell their children, or themselves into perpetual, and even +foreign, bondage; ^152 yet the special exemptions which were +granted to national slaves, ^153 sufficiently declare that they +were much less numerous than the strangers and captives, who had +lost their liberty, or changed their masters, by the accidents of +war. When time and religion had mitigated the fierce spirit of +the Anglo-Saxons, the laws encouraged the frequent practice of +manumission; and their subjects, of Welsh or Cambrian extraction, +assumed the respectable station of inferior freemen, possessed of +lands, and entitled to the rights of civil society. ^154 Such +gentle treatment might secure the allegiance of a fierce people, +who had been recently subdued on the confines of Wales and +Cornwall. The sage Ina, the legislator of Wessex, united the two +nations in the bands of domestic alliance; and four British lords +of Somersetshire may be honorably distinguished in the court of a +Saxon monarch. ^155 + +[Footnote 147: Carte's History of England, vol. i. p. 195. He +quotes the British historians; but I much fear, that Jeffrey of +Monmouth (l. vi. c. 15) is his only witness.] + +[Footnote 148: Bede, Hist. Ecclesiast. l. i. c. 15, p. 52. The +fact is probable, and well attested: yet such was the loose +intermixture of the German tribes, that we find, in a subsequent +period, the law of the Angli and Warini of Germany, (Lindenbrog. +Codex, p. 479 - 486.)] + +[Footnote 149: See Dr. Henry's useful and laborious History of +Great Britain, vol. ii. p. 388.] + +[Footnote 150: Quicquid (says John of Tinemouth) inter Tynam et +Tesam fluvios extitit, sola eremi vastitudo tunc temporis fuit, +et idcirco nullius ditioni servivit, eo quod sola indomitorum et +sylvestrium animalium spelunca et habitatio fuit, (apud Carte, +vol. i. p. 195.) From bishop Nicholson (English Historical +Library, p. 65, 98) I understand that fair copies of John of +Tinemouth's ample collections are preserved in the libraries of +Oxford, Lambeth, &c.] + +[Footnote 151: See the mission of Wilfrid, &c., in Bede, Hist. +Eccles. l. iv. c. 13, 16, p. 155, 156, 159.] + +[Footnote 152: From the concurrent testimony of Bede (l. ii. c. +1, p. 78) and William of Malmsbury, (l. iii. p. 102,) it appears, +that the Anglo- Saxons, from the first to the last age, persisted +in this unnatural practice. Their youths were publicly sold in +the market of Rome.] + +[Footnote 153: According to the laws of Ina, they could not be +lawfully sold beyond the seas.] + +[Footnote 154: The life of a Wallus, or Cambricus, homo, who +possessed a hyde of land, is fixed at 120 shillings, by the same +laws (of Ina, tit. xxxii. in Leg. Anglo-Saxon. p. 20) which +allowed 200 shillings for a free Saxon, 1200 for a Thane, (see +likewise Leg. Anglo-Saxon. p. 71.) We may observe, that these +legislators, the West Saxons and Mercians, continued their +British conquests after they became Christians. The laws of the +four kings of Kent do not condescend to notice the existence of +any subject Britons.] +[Footnote 155: See Carte's Hist. of England, vol. i. p. 278.] + + The independent Britons appear to have relapsed into the state +of original barbarism, from whence they had been +imperfectly reclaimed. Separated by their enemies from the rest +of mankind, they soon became an object of scandal and abhorrence +to the Catholic world. ^156 Christianity was still professed in +the mountains of Wales; but the rude schismatics, in the form of +the clerical tonsure, and in the day of the celebration of +Easter, obstinately resisted the imperious mandates of the Roman +pontiffs. The use of the Latin language was insensibly abolished, +and the Britons were deprived of the art and learning which Italy +communicated to her Saxon proselytes. In Wales and Armorica, the +Celtic tongue, the native idiom of the West, was preserved and +propagated; and the Bards, who had been the companions of the +Druids, were still protected, in the sixteenth century, by the +laws of Elizabeth. Their chief, a respectable officer of the +courts of Pengwern, or Aberfraw, or Caermarthen, accompanied the +king's servants to war: the monarchy of the Britons, which he +sung in the front of battle, excited their courage, and justified +their depredations; and the songster claimed for his legitimate +prize the fairest heifer of the spoil. His subordinate +ministers, the masters and disciples of vocal and instrumental +music, visited, in their respective circuits, the royal, the +noble, and the plebeian houses; and the public poverty, almost +exhausted by the clergy, was oppressed by the importunate demands +of the bards. Their rank and merit were ascertained by solemn +trials, and the strong belief of supernatural inspiration exalted +the fancy of the poet, and of his audience. ^157 The last +retreats of Celtic freedom, the extreme territories of Gaul and +Britain, were less adapted to agriculture than to pasturage: the +wealth of the Britons consisted in their flocks and herds; milk +and flesh were their ordinary food; and bread was sometimes +esteemed, or rejected, as a foreign luxury. Liberty had peopled +the mountains of Wales and the morasses of Armorica; but their +populousness has been maliciously ascribed to the loose practice +of polygamy; and the houses of these licentious barbarians have +been supposed to contain ten wives, and perhaps fifty children. +^158 Their disposition was rash and choleric; they were bold in +action and in speech; ^159 and as they were ignorant of the arts +of peace, they alternately indulged their passions in foreign and +domestic war. The cavalry of Armorica, the spearmen of Gwent, +and the archers of Merioneth, were equally formidable; but their +poverty could seldom procure either shields or helmets; and the +inconvenient weight would have retarded the speed and agility of +their desultory operations. One of the greatest of the English +monarchs was requested to satisfy the curiosity of a Greek +emperor concerning the state of Britain; and Henry II. could +assert, from his personal experience, that Wales was inhabited by +a race of naked warriors, who encountered, without fear, the +defensive armor of their enemies. ^160 + +[Footnote 156: At the conclusion of his history, (A.D. 731,) Bede +describes the ecclesiastical state of the island, and censures +the implacable, though impotent, hatred of the Britons against +the English nation, and the Catholic church, (l. v. c. 23, p. +219.) + +[Footnote 157: Mr. Pennant's Tour in Wales (p. 426 - 449) has +furnished me with a curious and interesting account of the Welsh +bards. In the year 1568, a session was held at Caerwys by the +special command of Queen Elizabeth, and regular degrees in vocal +and instrumental music were conferred on fifty-five minstrels. +The prize (a silver harp) was adjudged by the Mostyn family.] +[Footnote 158: Regio longe lateque diffusa, milite, magis quam +credibile sit, referta. Partibus equidem in illis miles unus +quinquaginta generat, sortitus more barbaro denas aut amplius +uxores. This reproach of William of Poitiers (in the Historians +of France, tom. xi. p. 88) is disclaimed by the Benedictine +editors.] + +[Footnote 159: Giraldus Cambrensis confines this gift of bold and +ready eloquence to the Romans, the French, and the Britons. The +malicious Welshman insinuates that the English taciturnity might +possibly be the effect of their servitude under the Normans.] +[Footnote 160: The picture of Welsh and Armorican manners is +drawn from Giraldus, (Descript. Cambriae, c. 6 - 15, inter +Script. Camden. p. 886 - 891,) and the authors quoted by the Abbe +de Vertot, (Hist. Critique tom. ii. p. 259 - 266.)] + + By the revolution of Britain, the limits of science, as well +as of empire, were contracted. The dark cloud, which had been +cleared by the Phoenician discoveries, and finally dispelled by +the arms of Caesar, again settled on the shores of the Atlantic, +and a Roman province was again lost among the fabulous Islands of +the Ocean. One hundred and fifty years after the reign of +Honorius, the gravest historian of the times ^161 describes the +wonders of a remote isle, whose eastern and western parts are +divided by an antique wall, the boundary of life and death, or, +more properly, of truth and fiction. The east is a fair country, +inhabited by a civilized people: the air is healthy, the waters +are pure and plentiful, and the earth yields her regular and +fruitful increase. In the west, beyond the wall, the air is +infectious and mortal; the ground is covered with serpents; and +this dreary solitude is the region of departed spirits, who are +transported from the opposite shores in substantial boats, and by +living rowers. Some families of fishermen, the subjects of the +Franks, are excused from tribute, in consideration of the +mysterious office which is performed by these Charons of the +ocean. Each in his turn is summoned, at the hour of midnight, to +hear the voices, and even the names, of the ghosts: he is +sensible of their weight, and he feels himself impelled by an +unknown, but irresistible power. After this dream of fancy, we +read with astonishment, that the name of this island is Brittia; +that it lies in the ocean, against the mouth of the Rhine, and +less than thirty miles from the continent; that it is possessed +by three nations, the Frisians, the Angles, and the Britons; and +that some Angles had appeared at Constantinople, in the train of +the French ambassadors. From these ambassadors Procopius might +be informed of a singular, though not improbable, adventure, +which announces the spirit, rather than the delicacy, of an +English heroine. She had been betrothed to Radiger, king of the +Varni, a tribe of Germans who touched the ocean and the Rhine; +but the perfidious lover was tempted, by motives of policy, to +prefer his father's widow, the sister of Theodebert, king of the +Franks. ^162 The forsaken princess of the Angles, instead of +bewailing, revenged her disgrace. Her warlike subjects are said +to have been ignorant of the use, and even of the form, of a +horse; but she boldly sailed from Britain to the mouth of the +Rhine, with a fleet of four hundred ships, and an army of one +hundred thousand men. After the loss of a battle, the captive +Radiger implored the mercy of his victorious bride, who +generously pardoned his offence, dismissed her rival, and +compelled the king of the Varni to discharge with honor and +fidelity the duties of a husband. ^163 This gallant exploit +appears to be the last naval enterprise of the Anglo-Saxons. The +arts of navigation, by which they acquired the empire of Britain +and of the sea, were soon neglected by the indolent Barbarians, +who supinely renounced all the commercial advantages of their +insular situation. Seven independent kingdoms were agitated by +perpetual discord; and the British world was seldom connected, +either in peace or war, with the nations of the Continent. ^164 +[Footnote 161: See Procopius de Bell. Gothic. l. iv. c. 20, p. +620 - 625. The Greek historian is himself so confounded by the +wonders which he relates, that he weakly attempts to distinguish +the islands of Britia and Britain, which he has identified by so +many inseparable circumstances.] +[Footnote 162: Theodebert, grandson of Clovis, and king of +Austrasia, was the most powerful and warlike prince of the age; +and this remarkable adventure may be placed between the years 534 +and 547, the extreme terms of his reign. His sister +Theudechildis retired to Sens, where she founded monasteries, and +distributed alms, (see the notes of the Benedictine editors, in +tom. ii. p. 216.) If we may credit the praises of Fortunatus, (l. +vi. carm. 5, in tom. ii. p. 507,) Radiger was deprived of a most +valuable wife.] + +[Footnote 163: Perhaps she was the sister of one of the princes +or chiefs of the Angles, who landed in 527, and the following +years, between the Humber and the Thames, and gradually founded +the kingdoms of East Anglia and Mercia. The English writers are +ignorant of her name and existence: but Procopius may have +suggested to Mr. Rowe the character and situation of Rodogune in +the tragedy of the Royal Convert.] + +[Footnote 164: In the copious history of Gregory of Tours, we +cannot find any traces of hostile or friendly intercourse between +France and England except in the marriage of the daughter of +Caribert, king of Paris, quam regis cujusdam in Cantia filius +matrimonio copulavit, (l. ix. c. 28, in tom. ii. p. 348.) The +bishop of Tours ended his history and his life almost immediately +before the conversion of Kent.] + + I have now accomplished the laborious narrative of the +decline and fall of the Roman empire, from the fortunate age of +Trajan and the Antonines, to its total extinction in the West, +about five centuries after the Christian era. At that unhappy +period, the Saxons fiercely struggled with the natives for the +possession of Britain: Gaul and Spain were divided between the +powerful monarchies of the Franks and Visigoths, and the +dependent kingdoms of the Suevi and Burgundians: Africa was +exposed to the cruel persecution of the Vandals, and the savage +insults of the Moors: Rome and Italy, as far as the banks of the +Danube, were afflicted by an army of Barbarian mercenaries, whose +lawless tyranny was succeeded by the reign of Theodoric the +Ostrogoth. All the subjects of the empire, who, by the use of +the Latin language, more particularly deserved the name and +privileges of Romans, were oppressed by the disgrace and +calamities of foreign conquest; and the victorious nations of +Germany established a new system of manners and government in the +western countries of Europe. The majesty of Rome was faintly +represented by the princes of Constantinople, the feeble and +imaginary successors of Augustus. Yet they continued to reign +over the East, from the Danube to the Nile and Tigris; the Gothic +and Vandal kingdoms of Italy and Africa were subverted by the +arms of Justinian; and the history of the Greek emperors may +still afford a long series of instructive lessons, and +interesting revolutions. + +Chapter XXXVIII: Reign Of Clovis. + + +Part VI. + +General Observations On The Fall Of The Roman Empire In The West. + + + The Greeks, after their country had been reduced into a +province, imputed the triumphs of Rome, not to the merit, but to +the fortune, of the republic. The inconstant goddess, who so +blindly distributes and resumes her favors, had now consented +(such was the language of envious flattery) to resign her wings, +to descend from her globe, and to fix her firm and immutable +throne on the banks of the Tyber. ^1 A wiser Greek, who has +composed, with a philosophic spirit, the memorable history of his +own times, deprived his countrymen of this vain and delusive +comfort, by opening to their view the deep foundations of the +greatness of Rome. ^2 The fidelity of the citizens to each other, +and to the state, was confirmed by the habits of education, and +the prejudices of religion. Honor, as well as virtue, was the +principle of the republic; the ambitious citizens labored to +deserve the solemn glories of a triumph; and the ardor of the +Roman youth was kindled into active emulation, as often as they +beheld the domestic images of their ancestors. ^3 The temperate +struggles of the patricians and plebeians had finally established +the firm and equal balance of the constitution; which united the +freedom of popular assemblies, with the authority and wisdom of a +senate, and the executive powers of a regal magistrate. When the +consul displayed the standard of the republic, each citizen bound +himself, by the obligation of an oath, to draw his sword in the +cause of his country, till he had discharged the sacred duty by a +military service of ten years. This wise institution continually +poured into the field the rising generations of freemen and +soldiers; and their numbers were reenforced by the warlike and +populous states of Italy, who, after a brave resistance, had +yielded to the valor and embraced the alliance, of the Romans. +The sage historian, who excited the virtue of the younger Scipio, +and beheld the ruin of Carthage, ^4 has accurately described +their military system; their levies, arms, exercises, +subordination, marches, encampments; and the invincible legion, +superior in active strength to the Macedonian phalanx of Philip +and Alexander. From these institutions of peace and war Polybius +has deduced the spirit and success of a people, incapable of +fear, and impatient of repose. The ambitious design of conquest, +which might have been defeated by the seasonable conspiracy of +mankind, was attempted and achieved; and the perpetual violation +of justice was maintained by the political virtues of prudence +and courage. The arms of the republic, sometimes vanquished in +battle, always victorious in war, advanced with rapid steps to +the Euphrates, the Danube, the Rhine, and the Ocean; and the +images of gold, or silver, or brass, that might serve to +represent the nations and their kings, were successively broken +by the iron monarchy of Rome. ^5 + +[Footnote 1: Such are the figurative expressions of Plutarch, +(Opera, tom. ii. p. 318, edit. Wechel,) to whom, on the faith of +his son Lamprias, (Fabricius, Bibliot. Graec. tom. iii. p. 341,) +I shall boldly impute the malicious declamation. The same +opinions had prevailed among the Greeks two hundred and fifty +years before Plutarch; and to confute them is the professed +intention of Polybius, (Hist. l. i. p. 90, edit. Gronov. Amstel. +1670.)] +[Footnote 2: See the inestimable remains of the sixth book of +Polybius, and many other parts of his general history, +particularly a digression in the seventeenth book, in which he +compares the phalanx and the legion.] +[Footnote 3: Sallust, de Bell. Jugurthin. c. 4. Such were the +generous professions of P. Scipio and Q. Maximus. The Latin +historian had read and most probably transcribes, Polybius, their +contemporary and friend.] +[Footnote 4: While Carthage was in flames, Scipio repeated two +lines of the Iliad, which express the destruction of Troy, +acknowledging to Polybius, his friend and preceptor, (Polyb. in +Excerpt. de Virtut. et Vit. tom. ii. p. 1455 - 1465,) that while +he recollected the vicissitudes of human affairs, he inwardly +applied them to the future calamities of Rome, (Appian. in +Libycis, p. 136, edit. Toll.)] + +[Footnote 5: See Daniel, ii. 31 - 40. "And the fourth kingdom +shall be strong as iron; forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and +subdueth all things." The remainder of the prophecy (the mixture +of iron and clay) was accomplished, according to St. Jerom, in +his own time. Sicut enim in principio nihil Romano Imperio +fortius et durius, ita in fine rerum nihil imbecillius; quum et +in bellis civilibus et adversus diversas nationes, aliarum +gentium barbararum auxilio indigemus, (Opera, tom. v. p. 572.)] + The rise of a city, which swelled into an empire, may +deserve, as a singular prodigy, the reflection of a philosophic +mind. But the decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable +effect of immoderate greatness. Prosperity ripened the principle +of decay; the causes of destruction multiplied with the extent of +conquest; and as soon as time or accident had removed the +artificial supports, the stupendous fabric yielded to the +pressure of its own weight. The story of its ruin is simple and +obvious; and instead of inquiring why the Roman empire was +destroyed, we should rather be surprised that it had subsisted so +long. The victorious legions, who, in distant wars, acquired the +vices of strangers and mercenaries, first oppressed the freedom +of the republic, and afterwards violated the majesty of the +purple. The emperors, anxious for their personal safety and the +public peace, were reduced to the base expedient of corrupting +the discipline which rendered them alike formidable to their +sovereign and to the enemy; the vigor of the military government +was relaxed, and finally dissolved, by the partial institutions +of Constantine; and the Roman world was overwhelmed by a deluge +of Barbarians. + The decay of Rome has been frequently ascribed to the +translation of the seat of empire; but this History has already +shown, that the powers of government were divided, rather than +removed. The throne of Constantinople was erected in the East; +while the West was still possessed by a series of emperors who +held their residence in Italy, and claimed their equal +inheritance of the legions and provinces. This dangerous novelty +impaired the strength, and fomented the vices, of a double reign: +the instruments of an oppressive and arbitrary system were +multiplied; and a vain emulation of luxury, not of merit, was +introduced and supported between the degenerate successors of +Theodosius. Extreme distress, which unites the virtue of a free +people, imbitters the factions of a declining monarchy. The +hostile favorites of Arcadius and Honorius betrayed the republic +to its common enemies; and the Byzantine court beheld with +indifference, perhaps with pleasure, the disgrace of Rome, the +misfortunes of Italy, and the loss of the West. Under the +succeeding reigns, the alliance of the two empires was restored; +but the aid of the Oriental Romans was tardy, doubtful, and +ineffectual; and the national schism of the Greeks and Latins was +enlarged by the perpetual difference of language and manners, of +interests, and even of religion. Yet the salutary event approved +in some measure the judgment of Constantine. During a long +period of decay, his impregnable city repelled the victorious +armies of Barbarians, protected the wealth of Asia, and +commanded, both in peace and war, the important straits which +connect the Euxine and Mediterranean Seas. The foundation of +Constantinople more essentially contributed to the preservation +of the East, than to the ruin of the West. + + As the happiness of a future life is the great object of +religion, we may hear without surprise or scandal, that the +introduction or at least the abuse, of Christianity had some +influence on the decline and fall of the Roman empire. The +clergy successfully preached the doctrines of patience and +pusillanimity: the active virtues of society were discouraged; +and the last remains of military spirit were buried in the +cloister: a large portion of public and private wealth was +consecrated to the specious demands of charity and devotion; and +the soldiers' pay was lavished on the useless multitudes of both +sexes, who could only plead the merits of abstinence and +chastity. ^* Faith, zeal, curiosity, and the more earthly +passions of malice and ambition, kindled the flame of theological +discord; the church, and even the state, were distracted by +religious factions, whose conflicts were sometimes bloody, and +always implacable; the attention of the emperors was diverted +from camps to synods; the Roman world was oppressed by a new +species of tyranny; and the persecuted sects became the secret +enemies of their country. Yet party spirit, however pernicious +or absurd, is a principle of union as well as of dissension. The +bishops, from eighteen hundred pulpits, inculcated the duty of +passive obedience to a lawful and orthodox sovereign; their +frequent assemblies, and perpetual correspondence, maintained the +communion of distant churches; and the benevolent temper of the +gospel was strengthened, though confined, by the spiritual +alliance of the Catholics. The sacred indolence of the monks was +devoutly embraced by a servile and effeminate age; but if +superstition had not afforded a decent retreat, the same vices +would have tempted the unworthy Romans to desert, from baser +motives, the standard of the republic. Religious precepts are +easily obeyed, which indulge and sanctify the natural +inclinations of their votaries; but the pure and genuine +influence of Christianity may be traced in its beneficial, though +imperfect, effects on the Barbarian proselytes of the North. If +the decline of the Roman empire was hastened by the conversion of +Constantine, his victorious religion broke the violence of the +fall, and mollified the ferocious temper of the conquerors. +[Footnote *: It might be a curious speculation, how far the purer +morals of the genuine and more active Christians may have +compensated, in the population of the Roman empire, for the +secession of such numbers into inactive and unproductive +celibacy. - M.] + + This awful revolution may be usefully applied to the +instruction of the present age. It is the duty of a patriot to +prefer and promote the exclusive interest and glory of his native +country: but a philosopher may be permitted to enlarge his views, +and to consider Europe as one great republic whose various +inhabitants have obtained almost the same level of politeness and +cultivation. The balance of power will continue to fluctuate, +and the prosperity of our own, or the neighboring kingdoms, may +be alternately exalted or depressed; but these partial events +cannot essentially injure our general state of happiness, the +system of arts, and laws, and manners, which so advantageously +distinguish, above the rest of mankind, the Europeans and their +colonies. The savage nations of the globe are the common enemies +of civilized society; and we may inquire, with anxious curiosity, +whether Europe is still threatened with a repetition of those +calamities, which formerly oppressed the arms and institutions of +Rome. Perhaps the same reflections will illustrate the fall of +that mighty empire, and explain the probable causes of our actual +security. + + I. The Romans were ignorant of the extent of their danger, +and the number of their enemies. Beyond the Rhine and Danube, +the Northern countries of Europe and Asia were filled with +innumerable tribes of hunters and shepherds, poor, voracious, and +turbulent; bold in arms, and impatient to ravish the fruits of +industry. The Barbarian world was agitated by the rapid impulse +of war; and the peace of Gaul or Italy was shaken by the distant +revolutions of China. The Huns, who fled before a victorious +enemy, directed their march towards the West; and the torrent was +swelled by the gradual accession of captives and allies. The +flying tribes who yielded to the Huns assumed in their turn the +spirit of conquest; the endless column of Barbarians pressed on +the Roman empire with accumulated weight; and, if the foremost +were destroyed, the vacant space was instantly replenished by new +assailants. Such formidable emigrations can no longer issue from +the North; and the long repose, which has been imputed to the +decrease of population, is the happy consequence of the progress +of arts and agriculture. Instead of some rude villages, thinly +scattered among its woods and morasses, Germany now produces a +list of two thousand three hundred walled towns: the Christian +kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden, and Poland, have been successively +established; and the Hanse merchants, with the Teutonic knights, +have extended their colonies along the coast of the Baltic, as +far as the Gulf of Finland. From the Gulf of Finland to the +Eastern Ocean, Russia now assumes the form of a powerful and +civilized empire. The plough, the loom, and the forge, are +introduced on the banks of the Volga, the Oby, and the Lena; and +the fiercest of the Tartar hordes have been taught to tremble and +obey. The reign of independent Barbarism is now contracted to a +narrow span; and the remnant of Calmucks or Uzbecks, whose forces +may be almost numbered, cannot seriously excite the apprehensions +of the great republic of Europe. ^6 Yet this apparent security +should not tempt us to forget, that new enemies, and unknown +dangers, may possibly arise from some obscure people, scarcely +visible in the map of the world, The Arabs or Saracens, who +spread their conquests from India to Spain, had languished in +poverty and contempt, till Mahomet breathed into those savage +bodies the soul of enthusiasm. + +[Footnote 6: The French and English editors of the Genealogical +History of the Tartars have subjoined a curious, though +imperfect, description, of their present state. We might +question the independence of the Calmucks, or Eluths, since they +have been recently vanquished by the Chinese, who, in the year +1759, subdued the Lesser Bucharia, and advanced into the country +of Badakshan, near the source of the Oxus, (Memoires sur les +Chinois, tom. i. p. 325 - 400.) But these conquests are +precarious, nor will I venture to insure the safety of the +Chinese empire.] + + II. The empire of Rome was firmly established by the +singular and perfect coalition of its members. The subject +nations, resigning the hope, and even the wish, of independence, +embraced the character of Roman citizens; and the provinces of +the West were reluctantly torn by the Barbarians from the bosom +of their mother country. ^7 But this union was purchased by the +loss of national freedom and military spirit; and the servile +provinces, destitute of life and motion, expected their safety +from the mercenary troops and governors, who were directed by the +orders of a distant court. The happiness of a hundred millions +depended on the personal merit of one or two men, perhaps +children, whose minds were corrupted by education, luxury, and +despotic power. The deepest wounds were inflicted on the empire +during the minorities of the sons and grandsons of Theodosius; +and, after those incapable princes seemed to attain the age of +manhood, they abandoned the church to the bishops, the state to +the eunuchs, and the provinces to the Barbarians. Europe is now +divided into twelve powerful, though unequal kingdoms, three +respectable commonwealths, and a variety of smaller, though +independent, states: the chances of royal and ministerial talents +are multiplied, at least, with the number of its rulers; and a +Julian, or Semiramis, may reign in the North, while Arcadius and +Honorius again slumber on the thrones of the South. The abuses of +tyranny are restrained by the mutual influence of fear and shame; +republics have acquired order and stability; monarchies have +imbibed the principles of freedom, or, at least, of moderation; +and some sense of honor and justice is introduced into the most +defective constitutions by the general manners of the times. In +peace, the progress of knowledge and industry is accelerated by +the emulation of so many active rivals: in war, the European +forces are exercised by temperate and undecisive contests. If a +savage conqueror should issue from the deserts of Tartary, he +must repeatedly vanquish the robust peasants of Russia, the +numerous armies of Germany, the gallant nobles of France, and the +intrepid freemen of Britain; who, perhaps, might confederate for +their common defence. Should the victorious Barbarians carry +slavery and desolation as far as the Atlantic Ocean, ten thousand +vessels would transport beyond their pursuit the remains of +civilized society; and Europe would revive and flourish in the +American world, which is already filled with her colonies and +institutions. ^8 + +[Footnote 7: The prudent reader will determine how far this +general proposition is weakened by the revolt of the Isaurians, +the independence of Britain and Armorica, the Moorish tribes, or +the Bagaudae of Gaul and Spain, (vol. i. p. 328, vol. iii. p. +315, vol. iii. p. 372, 480.)] +[Footnote 8: America now contains about six millions of European +blood and descent; and their numbers, at least in the North, are +continually increasing. Whatever may be the changes of their +political situation, they must preserve the manners of Europe; +and we may reflect with some pleasure, that the English language +will probably be diffused ever an immense and populous +continent.] + III. Cold, poverty, and a life of danger and fatigue, +fortify the strength and courage of Barbarians. In every age +they have oppressed the polite and peaceful nations of China, +India, and Persia, who neglected, and still neglect, to +counterbalance these natural powers by the resources of military +art. The warlike states of antiquity, Greece, Macedonia, and +Rome, educated a race of soldiers; exercised their bodies, +disciplined their courage, multiplied their forces by regular +evolutions, and converted the iron, which they possessed, into +strong and serviceable weapons. But this superiority insensibly +declined with their laws and manners; and the feeble policy of +Constantine and his successors armed and instructed, for the ruin +of the empire, the rude valor of the Barbarian mercenaries. The +military art has been changed by the invention of gunpowder; +which enables man to command the two most powerful agents of +nature, air and fire. Mathematics, chemistry, mechanics, +architecture, have been applied to the service of war; and the +adverse parties oppose to each other the most elaborate modes of +attack and of defence. Historians may indignantly observe, that +the preparations of a siege would found and maintain a +flourishing colony; ^9 yet we cannot be displeased, that the +subversion of a city should be a work of cost and difficulty; or +that an industrious people should be protected by those arts, +which survive and supply the decay of military virtue. Cannon +and fortifications now form an impregnable barrier against the +Tartar horse; and Europe is secure from any future irruptions of +Barbarians; since, before they can conquer, they must cease to be +barbarous. Their gradual advances in the science of war would +always be accompanied, as we may learn from the example of +Russia, with a proportionable improvement in the arts of peace +and civil policy; and they themselves must deserve a place among +the polished nations whom they subdue. +[Footnote 9: On avoit fait venir (for the siege of Turin) 140 +pieces de canon; et il est a remarquer que chaque gros canon +monte revient a environ ecus: il y avoit 100,000 boulets; 106,000 +cartouches d'une facon, et 300,000 d'une autre; 21,000 bombes; +27,700 grenades, 15,000 sacs a terre, 30,000 instruments pour la +pionnage; 1,200,000 livres de poudre. Ajoutez a ces munitions, le +plomb, le fer, et le fer-blanc, les cordages, tout ce qui sert +aux mineurs, le souphre, le salpetre, les outils de toute espece. + +Il est certain que les frais de tous ces preparatifs de +destruction suffiroient pour fonder et pour faire fleurir la plus +aombreuse colonie. Voltaire, Siecle de Louis XIV. c. xx. in his +Works. tom. xi. p. 391.] + + Should these speculations be found doubtful or fallacious, +there still remains a more humble source of comfort and hope. +The discoveries of ancient and modern navigators, and the +domestic history, or tradition, of the most enlightened nations, +represent the human savage, naked both in body and mind and +destitute of laws, of arts, of ideas, and almost of language. ^10 +From this abject condition, perhaps the primitive and universal +state of man, he has gradually arisen to command the animals, to +fertilize the earth, to traverse the ocean and to measure the +heavens. His progress in the improvement and exercise of his +mental and corporeal faculties ^11 has been irregular and +various; infinitely slow in the beginning, and increasing by +degrees with redoubled velocity: ages of laborious ascent have +been followed by a moment of rapid downfall; and the several +climates of the globe have felt the vicissitudes of light and +darkness. Yet the experience of four thousand years should +enlarge our hopes, and diminish our apprehensions: we cannot +determine to what height the human species may aspire in their +advances towards perfection; but it may safely be presumed, that +no people, unless the face of nature is changed, will relapse +into their original barbarism. The improvements of society may +be viewed under a threefold aspect. 1. The poet or philosopher +illustrates his age and country by the efforts of a single mind; +but those superior powers of reason or fancy are rare and +spontaneous productions; and the genius of Homer, or Cicero, or +Newton, would excite less admiration, if they could be created by +the will of a prince, or the lessons of a preceptor. 2. The +benefits of law and policy, of trade and manufactures, of arts +and sciences, are more solid and permanent: and many individuals +may be qualified, by education and discipline, to promote, in +their respective stations, the interest of the community. But +this general order is the effect of skill and labor; and the +complex machinery may be decayed by time, or injured by violence. + +3. Fortunately for mankind, the more useful, or, at least, more +necessary arts, can be performed without superior talents, or +national subordination: without the powers of one, or the union +of many. Each village, each family, each individual, must always +possess both ability and inclination to perpetuate the use of +fire ^12 and of metals; the propagation and service of domestic +animals; the methods of hunting and fishing; the rudiments of +navigation; the imperfect cultivation of corn, or other nutritive +grain; and the simple practice of the mechanic trades. Private +genius and public industry may be extirpated; but these hardy +plants survive the tempest, and strike an everlasting root into +the most unfavorable soil. The splendid days of Augustus and +Trajan were eclipsed by a cloud of ignorance; and the Barbarians +subverted the laws and palaces of Rome. But the scythe, the +invention or emblem of Saturn, ^13 still continued annually to +mow the harvests of Italy; and the human feasts of the +Laestrigons ^14 have never been renewed on the coast of Campania. + +[Footnote 10: It would be an easy, though tedious, task, to +produce the authorities of poets, philosophers, and historians. +I shall therefore content myself with appealing to the decisive +and authentic testimony of Diodorus Siculus, (tom. i. l. i. p. +11, 12, l. iii. p. 184, &c., edit. Wesseling.) The Icthyophagi, +who in his time wandered along the shores of the Red Sea, can +only be compared to the natives of New Holland, (Dampier's +Voyages, vol. i. p. 464 - 469.) Fancy, or perhaps reason, may +still suppose an extreme and absolute state of nature far below +the level of these savages, who had acquired some arts and +instruments.] + +[Footnote 11: See the learned and rational work of the president +Goguet, de l'Origine des Loix, des Arts, et des Sciences. He +traces from facts, or conjectures, (tom. i. p. 147 - 337, edit. +12mo.,) the first and most difficult steps of human invention.] +[Footnote 12: It is certain, however strange, that many nations +have been ignorant of the use of fire. Even the ingenious +natives of Otaheite, who are destitute of metals, have not +invented any earthen vessels capable of sustaining the action of +fire, and of communicating the heat to the liquids which they +contain.] + +[Footnote 13: Plutarch. Quaest. Rom. in tom. ii. p. 275. Macrob. +Saturnal. l. i. c. 8, p. 152, edit. London. The arrival of +Saturn (of his religious worship) in a ship, may indicate, that +the savage coast of Latium was first discovered and civilized by +the Phoenicians.] + +[Footnote 14: In the ninth and tenth books of the Odyssey, Homer +has embellished the tales of fearful and credulous sailors, who +transformed the cannibals of Italy and Sicily into monstrous +giants.] + + Since the first discovery of the arts, war, commerce, and +religious zeal have diffused, among the savages of the Old and +New World, these inestimable gifts: they have been successively +propagated; they can never be lost. We may therefore acquiesce +in the pleasing conclusion, that every age of the world has +increased, and still increases, the real wealth, the happiness, +the knowledge, and perhaps the virtue, of the human race. ^15 +[Footnote 15: The merit of discovery has too often been stained +with avarice, cruelty, and fanaticism; and the intercourse of +nations has produced the communication of disease and prejudice. +A singular exception is due to the virtue of our own times and +country. The five great voyages, successively undertaken by the +command of his present Majesty, were inspired by the pure and +generous love of science and of mankind. The same prince, +adapting his benefactions to the different stages of society, has +founded his school of painting in his capital; and has introduced +into the islands of the South Sea the vegetables and animals most +useful to human life.] + + + + + +End of +The Project Gutenberg Etext of Volume 3: +The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire + |