 Chapter 24, Part 3 of the D-Line and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 2. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Monsbru, Helsingfors, Finland. Chapter 24, The Retreat and Death of Julian, Part 3. The fields of Assyria were devoted by Julian to the calamities of war, and the philosopher retaliated on a guiltless people, the acts of rapine and cruelty, which had been committed by their haughty master in the Roman provinces. The trembling Assyrians summoned the rivers to their assistance and completed with their own hands the ruin of their country. The roads were rendered impracticable, a flood of waters was poured into the camp, and during several days the troops of Julian were obliged to contend with the most discouraging hardships. But every obstacle was surmounted by the perseverance of the legionaries, who were enured to toil as well as to danger, and who felt themselves animated by the spirit of their leader. The damage was gradually repaired, the waters were restored to their proper channels, whole groves of palm trees were cut down and placed along the broken parts of the road, and the army passed over the broad and deeper canals on bridges of floating rafts which were supported by the help of ladders. Two cities of Assyria presumed to resist the arms of the Roman Empire, and they both paid the severe penalty of their rashness. At the distance of 50 miles from the royal residence of Tessiphone, Perisabor or Anbar held the second rank in the province, a city large, populous and well fortified, surrounded with a double wall, almost encompassed by a branch of the Euphrates, and defended by the valor of a numerous garrison. The exhortations of a Hormistus were repulsed with contempt, and the ears of the Persian prince were wounded by a just reproach, that, unmindful of his royal birth, he conducted an army of strangers against his king and country. Assyrians maintained their loyalty by a skillful as well as vigorous defence, till the lucky stroke of a battering ram having opened a large breach by shattering one of the angles of the wall, they hastily retired into the fortifications of the interior citadel, the soldiers of Julian rushed impetiously into the town, and after the full gratification of every military appetite, Perisabor was reduced to ashes, and the engines which assaulted the citadel were planted in the ruins of the smoking houses. The contest was continued by an incessant and mutual discharge of missile weapons, and the superiority which the Romans might derive from the mechanical powers of the Baliste and Catapulte was counterbalanced by the advantage of the ground on the side of the besieged. But as soon as an heliopolis had been constructed, which could engage in equal terms with loftiest ramparts, the tremendous aspect of a moving turret that would lead no hope of resistance or mercy, terrified the defenders of the citadel into a humble submission, and the place was surrendered only two days after Julian first appeared under the walls of Perisabor. 2,500 persons of both sexes, the feeble remnant of a flourishing people were permitted to retire, the plentiful magazines of corn, of arms and of splendid furniture were partly distributed among the troops and partly reserved for the public service. The useless stores were destroyed by fire all thrown into the stream of the Euphrates, and the fate of Amida was avenged by the total ruin of Perisabor. The city, or rather fortress, of Maoga-Maltia, which was defended by 16 large towers, a deep ditch and two strong and solid walls of brick and bitumen, appears to have been constructed at the distance of 11 miles as the safeguard of the capital of Persia. The emperor, apprehensive of leaving such an important fortress in his rear, immediately formed the siege of Maoga-Maltia, and the Roman army was distributed for that purpose into three divisions. Victor, at the head of the cavalry, and the detachment of heavy armed foot, was ordered to clear the country as far as the banks of the Tigris and the suburbs of Ctesipon. The conduct of the attack was assumed by Julian himself, who seemed to place his whole dependence in the military engines which he erected against the walls, while he secretly contrived a more efficacious method of introducing his troops into the heart of the city. Under the direction of Nevit and Dagalipus, the trenches were opened at a considerable distance and gradually prolonged as far as the edge of the ditch. The ditch was speedily filled with earth, and by the incessant labour of the troops a mine was carried under the foundations of the walls, and sustained at sufficient intervals by props of timber. Three chosen cohorts advancing in single file silently explored the dark and dangerous passage, till their intrepid leader whispered back the intelligence that he was ready to issue from his confinement into the streets of the hostile city. Julian checked their order that he might ensure their success, and immediately diverted the attention of the garrison by the tumult and clamour of a general assault. The Persians, who from their walls, contemptuously beheld the progress of an impotent attack, celebrated with songs of triumph the glory of Sappor, and ventured to assure the Emperor that he might ascend the stary mansion of Hormuzd before he could hope to take the impregnable city of Maugamalcha. The city was already taken. History has recorded the name of a private soldier, the first who ascended from the mine into a deserted tower. The passage was widened by his companions, who pressed forward with impatient valor. 1500 enemies were already in the midst of the city. The astonished garrison abandoned the walls, and their only hope was safety. The gates were instantly burst open, and the revenge of the soldier, unless it were suspended by lust or avarice, was satiated by an undistinguishing massacre. The governor, who had yielded on our premise of mercy, was burnt alive a few days afterwards, on a charge of having uttered some disrespectful words against the honour of prince Hormizdus. The fortifications were razed to the ground, and not a vestige was left that the city of Maugamalcha had ever existed. The neighbourhood of the capital of Persia was adorned with three stately palaces, laboriously enriched with every production that could gratify the luxury and pride of an eastern monarch. The pleasant situation of the gardens along the banks of the Tigris was improved, according to the Persian taste, by the symmetry of flowers, fountains and shady walks, and spacious parks were enclosed for the reception of the bears, lions and wild boars, which were maintained at a considerable expense for the pleasure of the royal chase. The park walls were broken down, the savage game was abandoned to the darts of the soldiers, and the palaces of Sapor were reduced to ashes by the command of the Roman emperor. Julian, on this occasion, showed himself ignorant or careless of the laws of civility, which the prudence and the finement of polished ages have very established between hostile princes. Yet these wanton ravages need not excite in our breasts any vehement emotions of pity or resentment. A simple naked statue, finished by the hand of a Grecian artist, is of more genuine value than all these rude and costly monuments of barbaric labor, and, if we are more deeply affected by the ruin of a palace than by the conflagration of a cottage, our humanity must have formed a very erroneous estimate of the miseries of human life. Julian was an object of hatred and terror to the Persian, and the painters of that nation represented the invader of their country under the emblem of a furious lion who vomited from his mouth a consuming fire. To his friends and soldiers the philosophic hero appeared in a more amiable light, and his virtues were never more conspicuously displayed than in the last and most active period of his life. He practiced, without effort and almost without merit, the habitual qualities of temperance and sobriety. According to the dictates of that artificial wisdom, which assumes an absolute dominion of the mind and body, he sternly refused himself the indulgence of the most natural appetites in the warm climate of Assyria, which solicited a luxurious people to the gratification of every sensual desire. A youthful conqueror preserved his chastity pure and inviolate, nor was Julian ever tempted, even by a motive of curiosity, to visit his female captives of exquisite beauty, who, instead of resisting his power, would have disputed with each other the honour of his embraces. With the same firmness that he resisted the allurements of love, he sustained the hardships of war. When the Romans marched through the flat and flooded country, their sovereign on foot, at the head of his legions, shared their fatigues and animated their diligence. In every youthful labour the hand of Julian was prompt and steenious, and the imperial purple was wet and dirty as the coarse garment of the meanest soldier. The two sieges allowed him some remarkable opportunities of signalising his personal valor, which, in the improved state of the military art, can seldom be exerted by a prudent general. The emperors stood before the citadel of Perisabur insensible of his extreme danger, and encouraged his troops to burst open the gates of Iron, till he was almost overwhelmed under the cloud of missile weapons and huge stones that were directed against his person. As he examined the exterior fortifications of Mao Gamalcha, two persons, devoting themselves for their country, suddenly rushed upon him with drawn cimeters. The emperor dexterously received the blows on his uplifted shield, and with a steady and well-aimed trust, led one of his adversaries to dare at his feet. The esteem of a prince who possesses the virtues which he approves is the noble's recompense of a deserving subject, and the authority which Julian derived from his personal merit enabled him to revive and enforce the rigor of ancient discipline. He punished with death or ignominy the misbehavior of three troops of horse who, in a skirmish with the Surinas, had lost their honour and one of their standards, and he distinguished with obsidianal crowns the valor of the former soldiers who had descended into the city of Mao Gamalcha. After the siege of Pirisabur, the firmness of the emperor was exercised by the insolent avarice of the army, who loudly complained that their services were rewarded by a trifling donative of one hundred pieces of silver. His just indignation was expressed in the grave and manly language of Roman. Riches are the objects of your desires, those riches are in the hands of the Persians, and the spoils of this fruitful country are proposed as the price of your valor and discipline. Viree me, added Julian, the Roman Republic, which formerly possessed such immense treasures, is now reduced to want and a wretchedness once our princes have been persuaded by weak and interested ministers to purchase with gold the tranquility of the barbarians. The revenue is exhausted, the cities are ruined, the provinces are dispeepled. For myself, the only inheritance that I have received from my royal ancestors is a soul incapable of fear, and as long as I am convinced that every real advantage is seated in the mind, I shall not blush to acknowledge an honourable poverty which in the days of ancient virtue was considered as the glory of Fabricius. That glory and that virtue may be your own if you will listen to the voice of heaven and your leader, but if you will rashly persist, if you are determined to renew the shameful and mischievous examples of old traditions, proceed. As it becomes an emperor who has filled the first rank among men, I am prepared to die standing and to despise a precarious life which every hour may depend on an accidental fever. If I have been found unworthy of the command, there are now among you I speak with pride and pleasure. There are many chiefs whose merit and experience are equal to the conduct of the most important war, such as being a temper of my reign that I can retire without regret and without apprehension to the obscurity of a private station. The modest resolution of Julian was answered by the unanimous applause and cheerful obedience of the Romans who declared their confidence of victory while they fought under the banners of their heroic prince. Their courage was kindled by his frequent and familiar ascitations for such wishes were the oaths of Julian. So may I reduce the Persians under the yoke. Thus may I restore the strength and splendor of the Republic. The love of fame was the ardent passion of his soul, but it was not before he trampled on the ruins of Maug Amaltia that he allowed himself to say, we have now provided some materials for the Sophists of Antioch. The successful valor of Julian had triumphed over all the obstacles that opposed his march to the gates of Ctesiphon, but the reduction or even the siege of the capital of Persia was still at a distance nor can the military conduct of the emperor be clearly apprehended without the knowledge of the country which was the theater of his bold and skillful operations. Twenty miles to the south of Baghdad and the eastern banks of the Tigris, the curiosity of travelers has observed some ruins of the palaces of Ctesiphon, which in the time of Julian was a great and populous city. The name and glory of the adjacent Seleuqia were forever extinguished and the only remaining quarter of that Greek colony had resumed with the Assyrian language and manners, the primitive appellation of Kochi. Kochi was situated on the western side of the Tigris, but it was naturally considered as a suburb of Ctesiphon with which we may suppose it to have been connected by a permanent bridge of boats. The united parts contribute to form the common epitode of Almodain, the cities, which the orientals have bestowed on the winter residence of the Sasanids, and the whole circumference of the Persian capital was strongly fortified by the waters of the river, by lofty walls and by impracticable morasses. Near the ruins of Seleuqia, the camp of Julian was fixed and secured by a ditch and rampart against the sallies of the numerous and enterprising garrison of Kochi. In this fruitful and pleasant country, the Romans were plentifully supplied with water and forage and several forts, which might have embarrassed the motions of the army submitted after some resistance to the efforts of their valor. The fleet passed from the Euphrates into an artificial derivation of that river, which pours a copious navigable stream into the Tigris, the small distance below the great city. If they had followed this royal canal, which bore the name of Nahar-Malcha, the intermediate situation of Kochi would have separated the fleet and army of Julian, the rash attempt of steering against the current of the Tigris and forcing their way through the midst of a hostile capital must have been attended with the total destruction of the Roman navy. The prudence of the emperor foresaw the danger and provided the remedy. As he had minutely studied the operations of Trajan in the same country, he soon recollected that his warlike predecessor had dug a new and navigable canal, which, leaving Kochi on the right hand, conveyed the waters of the Nahar-Malcha into the river Tigris at some distance above the cities. From the information of the peasants, Julian ascertained the vestiges of this ancient work, which were almost obliterated by design or accident, by the indeficable labour of the soldiers. A broad and deep channel was speedily prepared for the reception of the Euphrates. A strong dike was constructed to interrupt the ordinary current of the Nahar-Malcha, a flood of waters rushed impetuously into the new bed, and the Roman fleet, steering their triumphant course into the Tigris, derided the vain and ineffectual barriers which the persons of Ctesiphon had erected to oppose the passage. As it became necessary to transport the Roman army over the Tigris, another labour presented itself, of less toil, but of more danger than the preceding expedition. The stream was broad and rapid, the ascent steep and difficult, and the entrenchments which had been formed on the ridge of the opposite bank were lined with the numerous army of heavy cuirassiers, dexterous archers, and huge elephants, who, according to the extravagant hyperbowl of Libanis, could trample with the same ease a field of corn or a legion of Romans. In the presence of such an army, the construction of a bridge was impracticable, and the intrepid prince, who instantly seized the only possible expedient, concealed his design till the moment of execution from the knowledge of the barbarians, of his own troops, and even of his generals themselves. Under the specious pretense of examining the state of the magazines, four score vessels were gradually unladen, and a select attachment, apparently destined for some secret expedition, was ordered to stand to their arms on the first signal. Julian disguised the silent anxiety of his own mind with smiles of confidence and joy, and amused the hostile nations with the spectacle of military games, which he insultingly celebrated under the walls of Kochi. The day was consecrated to pleasure, but as soon as the hour of supper was passed, the Emperor summoned the generals to his tent, and acquainted them that he had fixed the night for the passage of the Tigris. They stood in silent and respectful astonishment, but when the venerable Sallust assumed the privilege of his agent experience, the rest of the chiefs supported with freedom the weight of his prudent remonstrances. Julian contended himself with observing that conquest and safety depended on the attempt, instead of diminishing the number of their enemies would be increased by successive reinforcements, and that a longer delay would neither contract the breadth of the stream, nor level the heights of the bank. The signal was instantly given and obeyed, the most impatient of the legionaries leaped into five vessels that lay nearest to the bank, and as they applied their oars with intrepid diligence, they were lost after a few moments in the darkness of the night. A flame rose on the opposite side, and Julian, who too clearly understood that his foremost vessels in attempting to land had been fired by the enemy, dexterously converted their extreme danger into a presage of victory. Our fellow soldiers, eagerly exclaimed, are already masters of the bank. See, they make the appointed signal, let us hasten to emulate and assist their courage. The united and rapid motion of a great fleet broke the violence of the current, and they reached the eastern shore of the Tigris with sufficient speed to extinguish the flames, and rescue their adventurous companions. The difficulties of a steep and lofty ascent were increased by the weight of armour and the darkness of the night. A shower of stones, darts and fire was incessantly discharged on the heads of the assailants, who, after an arduous struggle, climbed the bank and stood victorious upon the rampart. As soon as they possessed the more equal field, Julian, who with his light infantry had led the attack, darted through the ranks a skillful and experienced eye. His bravest soldiers, according to the presets of Homer, were distributed in the front and rear, and all the trumpets, or the Imperial Army, sounded to battle. The Romans, after sending up a military shout, advanced in measured steps to the animating notes of martial music, launched their formidable javelins and rushed forwards with drone swords to deprive the barbarians by a closer onset of the advantage of their missile weapons. The whole engagement lasted above 12 hours, till the gradual retreat of the Persians was changed into a disorderly flight, of which the shameful example was given by the principal leader, Andesurinas himself. They were pursued to the gates of Ctesiphon, and the conquerors might have entered the dismayed city if their general Victor, who was dangerously wounded with an arrow, had not conjured them to desist from a rash attempt, which must be fatal if it were not successful. On their side, the Romans acknowledged the loss of only 75 men, while they affirmed that the barbarians had left on the field a battle of 2,500 or even 6,000 of their bravest soldiers. The spoil was such as might be expected from the riches and luxury of an oriental camp, large qualities of silver and gold, splendid arms and trappings, and beds and tables on massive silver. The victorious emperor distributed, as the rewards of valor, some honorable gifts, civic and mural, and naval crowns, which he, and perhaps he alone, esteemed more precious than the wealth of Asia. A solemn sacrifice was offered to the god of war, but the appearances of the victims threatened the most inauspicious events, and Julian soon discovered by less ambiguous signs that he had now reached the term of his prosperity. On the second day after the battle, the domestic guards, the Jovens and Herculesians, and the remaining troops, which composed near two-thirds of the whole army, were securely waisted over the Tigris, while the persons beheld from the walls of Ctesiphon the desolation of the adjacent country. Julian cast many an anxious look towards the north in full expectation that as he himself had victoriously penetrated to the capital of Sapor, the march and junction of his lieutenants, Sebastian and Procopius, would be executed with the same courage and diligence. His expectations were disappointed by the treachery of the Armenian king, who permitted and most probably directed the desertion of his auxiliary troops from the camp of the Romans, and by the dissensions of the two generals who were incapable of forming or executing any plan for the public service. When the Emperor had relinquished the hope of this important reinforcement, he condescended to hold a consul of war and approved, after a full debate, the sentiments of those generals who dissuaded the siege of Ctesiphon as a fruitless and pernicious undertaking. It is not easy for us to conceive by what arts of fortification the city, thrice besieged and taken by the predecessors of Julian, could be rendered impregnable against an army of 60,000 Romans, commanded by a brave and experienced general, and abundantly supplied with ships, provisions, battering engines and military stores. But we may rest assured that the love of glory and contempt of danger would form the character of Julian that he was not discouraged by any trivial or imaginary obstacles. At the very time when he declined the siege of Ctesiphon, he rejected with obstinacy and disdain the most flattering offers of a negotiation of peace. Sapor, who had been so long accustomed to the tardy ostentations of Constantius, was surprised by the intrepid diligence of his successor. As far as the confines of India and Scythia, the satraps of the distant provinces were ordered to assemble their troops and to march without delay to the assistance of their monarch. But their preparations were dilatory, their motions slow, and before Sapor could lead an army into the field, he received the melancholy intelligence of the devastation of Assyria, the ruin of his palaces and the slaughter of his bravest troops who defended the passage of the Tigris. The pride of royalty was humbled in the dust. He took his repast on the ground and the disorder of his hair expressed the grief and anxiety of his mind. Perhaps he would not have refused to purchase, with one half of his kingdom, the safety of the remainder, and he would have gladly subscribed himself in a treaty of peace, the faithful and dependent ally of the Roman conqueror. Under the pretense of private business, a minister of rank and confidence was secretly dispatched to embrace the needs of Hormizdas, a request in the language of a suppliant that he might be introduced into the presence of the emperor. The Sasanian prince, whether he listened to the voice of pride or humanity, whether he consulted the sentiments of his birth or the duties of his situation, was equally inclined to promote the salutary measure, which would terminate the calamities of Persia and secure the triumph of Rome. He was astonished by the inflexible firmness of a hero who remembered, most unfortunately for himself and for his country, that Alexander had uniformly rejected the propositions of Darius. But as Julian was sensible, that the hope of a safe and honorable peace might cool the ardor of his troops, he earnestly requested that Hormizdas privately dismiss the meeting of Sappor and conceal this dangerous temptation from the knowledge of the camp. End of chapter 24, part 3, recording by Monsbrew Helsingfors, Finland. Chapter 24, part 4, of the D-line and fall of the Roman Empire, volume 2. This is a LibriVox recording, all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Monsbrew Helsingfors, Finland. Chapter 24, the retreat and death of Julian, part 4. The honor as well as intent of Julian forbade him to consume his tide under the impregnable walls of Ctesiphon. And as often as he defied the barbarians who defended the city to meet him on the open plain, they prudently replied that if he desired to exercise his valor, he might seek the army of the great king. He felt the insult and he accepted the advice. Instead of confining his servile march to the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris, he resolved to imitate the adventurous spirit of Alexander and boldly to advance into the inland provinces till he forced his rival to contend with him, perhaps in the plains of Arbela, for the empire of Asia. The magnanimity of Julian was applauded and betrayed by the arts of a noble person who, in the cause of his country, had generously submitted to act apart full of danger of falsehood and of shame. With a train of faithful followers, he deserted to the imperial camp and disposed, in a spacious tale, the injuries which he had sustained, exaggerated the cruelty of Sapor, the discontent of the people and the weakness of the monarchy and confidently offered himself as the hostage and guide of the Roman March. The most rational grounds of suspicion were urged without effect by the wisdom and experience of Hormistas and the credulous Julian, receiving the traitor into his bosom, was persuaded to issue a hasty order, which, in the opinion of mankind, appeared to arraign his prudence and to endanger his safety. He destroyed, in a single hour, the whole navy, which had been transported about 500 miles at so great an expense of toil, of treasure and of blood. Twelve, or at the most, 22 small vessels were saved to accompany on carriages the March of the Army and to form occasional bridges for the passage of the rivers. A supply of 20 days provisions for the soldiers and the rest of the magazines with a fleet of 1100 vessels which rode at anchor in the Tigris were abandoned to the flames by the absolute command of the Emperor. The Christian bishops, Gregory and Augustine, insult the madness of the apostate who executed with his own hands the sentence of divine justice their authority of less weight perhaps in the military question is confirmed by the cool judgment of an experienced soldier the spectator of the conflagration and who could not disprove the reluctant murmurs of the troops. Yet there are not wanting some specious and perhaps solid reasons which might justify the resolution of Julian the navigation of the Euphrates never ascended above Babylon nor that of the Tigris above Opis. The distance of the last mentioned city from the Roman camp was not very considerable and Julian must soon have renounced the vain and impracticable attempt to escort a great fleet against the stream of a rapid river which in several places was embarrassed by natural or artificial cataracts the power of sales in the wars was insufficient it became necessary to tower the ships against the current of the river the strength of 20,000 soldiers was exhausted in this tedious and servile labour and if the Romans continued to march along the banks of the Tigris they could only expect to return home without achieving any enterprise with the fortune of their leader if, on the contrary, it was advisable to advance into the inland country the destruction of the fleet and magazines was the only measure which could save that valuable prize from the hands of the numerous and active troops which might suddenly be poured from the gates of Ctesipon at the arms of Julian being victorious we should now admire the conduct as well as the courage of a hero who, depriving his soldiers of the hopes of retreat left them only the alternative of death or conquest the cumbersome train of artillery and wagons which retards the operations of a modern army were in a great measure unknown in the camps of the Romans yet, in every age the subsistence of 60,000 men must have been one of the most important cares of a prudent general and that subsistence could only be drawn from his own or from the enemy's country had it been possible for Julian to maintain a bridge of communication on the Tigris of the conquered places of Assyria a desolated province could not afford any large or regular supplies in a season of the year when the lands were covered by the inundation of the Euphrates and the unwholesome air was darkened with swarms of innumerable insects the appearance of the hostile country was far more inviting the extensive region that lies between the river Tigris and the mountains of Medea was filled with villages and towns and the fertile soil for the most part was in a very improved state of cultivation Julian might expect that a conqueror who possessed the two forcible instruments of appreciation, steel and gold would easily procure a plentiful subsistence from the fears or avarice of the natives but on the approach of the Romans the rich and smiling prospect was instantly blasted wherever they moved the inhabitants deserted the open villages and took shelter in the fortified towns the cattle was driven away the grass and ripe corn were consumed with fire and as soon as the flames had subsided which interrupted the march of Julian he beheld the melancholy face of a smoking and naked desert this desperate but effectual method of defence can only be executed by the enthusiasm of the people who prefer their independence to their property or by the rigor of an arbitrary government who consults the public safety without submitting to their inclinations the liberty of choice the exploitation, the zeal and obedience of the Persians seconded the commands of Sappor and the emperor was soon reduced to the scanty stock of provisions which continually wasted in his hands before they were entirely consumed he might still have reached the wealthy and unwarlike cities by the effort of a rapid and well directed march but he was deprived of this last resource by his ignorance of the roads and by the perfidity of his guides the Romans wandered several days in a country to the eastward of Baghdad the Persians deserted were artfully led them into despair escaped from their assentment and his followers as soon as they were put to the torture confessed the secret to the conspiracy the visionary conquest of Hrukhania and India which had so long amused now tormented the mind of Julian conscious that his own imprudence was the cause of the public distress he anxiously balanced the hopes of safety or success without obtaining a satisfactory answer either from gods or men at length as the only practicable measure he embraced the resolution of directing his steps towards the banks of the Tigris with the design of saving the army by a hasty march to the confines of Kornuini a fertile and friendly province which acknowledged the sovereignty of Rome the disbonding troops obeyed the signal of the retreat only 70 days after they had passed the Chaboras sanguine expectation of subverting the throne of Persia as long as the Romans seemed to advance into the country their march was observed and insulted from a distance by several bodies of Persian cavalry who, showing themselves sometimes in loose and sometimes in close order faintly skirmished with the advanced guards these detachments were, however supported by a much greater force and the heads of the columns were no sooner pointed towards the Tigris than a cloud of dust arose on the plain the Romans who now aspired only to the permission of a safe and speedy retreat endeavored to persuade themselves that this formidable appearance was occasioned by a troop of wild asses or perhaps by the approach of some friendly Arabs they halted, pitched their tents fortified their camp passed the whole night in continual alarms and discovered at the dawn of day that they were surrounded by an army of Persians this army which might be considered only as the van of the barbarians, was soon followed by the main body of Kurasir archers and elephants commanded by Miranes a general of rank and reputation he was accompanied by two of the king's sons and many of the principal satraps and fave and expectation exaggerated the strength of the remaining powers which slowly advanced under the conduct of Sapor himself as the Romans continued their march their long array forced to bend or divide according to the varieties of the ground afforded frequent and favorable opportunities to their vigilant enemies the Persians repeatedly charged with fury they were repeatedly repulsed with firmness and the action at Marunga which almost deserved the name of a battle was marked by a considerable loss of satraps and elephants perhaps of equal value in the eyes of their monarch these splendid advantages were not obtained without an adequate slaughter of the Romans several officers of distinction were either killed or wounded and the emperor himself who on all occasions of danger inspired and guided the valor of his troops was obliged to expose his person and exert his abilities the weight of offensive and defensive arms which still constituted the strength and safety of the Romans disabled them from making any long or effectual pursuit and as the horsemen of the east were trained to dart their javelins at full speed and in every possible direction the cavalry of Persia was never more formidable than in the moment of a rapid and disorderly flight but the most certain and irreparable loss of the Romans was that of time the hardy veterans accustomed to the cold climate of Gaul and Germany fainted under the sultry heat of an Assyrian summer the vigor was exhausted by the incessant repetition of march and combat and the progress of the army descended by the precautions of a slow and dangerous retreat in the presence of an active enemy every day every hour as the supply diminished the value and price of subsistence increased in the Roman camp Julian who always contended himself with such food as a hungry soldier would have disdained distributed for the use of the troops the provisions of the imperial household and whatever could be spared from the sumpto horses of the tribunes and generals but this feeble relief served only to aggravate the sense of the public distress and the Romans began to entertain the most gloomy apprehensions that before they could reach the frontiers of the empire they would all perish either by famine or by the sword of the barbarians while Julian struggled with the almost insuperable difficulties of his situation the silent hours of the night were still devoted to study and contemplation whenever he closed his eyes in short and interrupted slumbers his mind was agitated with painful anxiety nor can it be thought surprising that the genius of the empire should once more appear before him covering with a funeral veil his head and his horn of abundance and slowly retiring from the imperial tent the monarch started from his couch and stepping forth to refresh his weirded spirits with the coolness of the midnight air he beheld a firing meteor which shot toward the sky and suddenly vanished Julian was convinced that he had seen the menacing countenance of the god of war the council which he summoned of Tuscan Harus species unanimously pronounced that he should have abstained from action but on this occasion necessity and reason were more prevalent than superstition and the trumpets sounded at the break of day the army marched through a hilly country and the hills had been secretly occupied by the Persians Julian led the van with the skill and attention of a consummate general he was alarmed by the intelligence that his rear was suddenly attacked the heat of the weather had tempted him to lay aside his kurras but he snatched the shield from one of his attendants and hastened with sufficient reinforcement to the reef of the rearguard a similar danger recalled the intrepid prince to the defend of the front and as he galloped through the columns the center of the left was attacked and almost overpowered by the furious charge of the persian cavalry and elephants which body was soon defeated by the well timed evolutions of the light infantry who aimed their weapons with dexterity and effect against the backs of the horsemen and the legs of the elephants the barbarians fled and Julian who was foremost in every danger animated the pursuit with his voice and gestures his trembling guards scattered and oppressed by the disorderly throng of friends and enemies reminded their fearless sovereign that he was without armor to decline the fall of the impending ruin as they exclaimed a cloud of darts and arrows was discharged from the flying squadrons and the javelin after raising the skin of his arm transpires to the ribs and fixed in the inferior part of the liver Julian attempted to draw the deadly weapon from his side but his fingers were cut by the sharpness of the steel and he fell senseless from his horse his guards flew to his relief and the wounded emperor was gently raised around and conveyed out of the tumult of the battle into an adjacent tent the report of the melancholy event passed from rank to rank but the grief of the Romans inspired them with invincible valor and the desire of revenge the bloody and obstinate conflict was maintained by the two armies till they were separated by the total darkness of the night the Persians derived some honor from the advantage which they obtained against the left wing where Anatolius master of the offices was slain and the prefect Salus very narrowly escaped but the event of the day was adverse to the barbarians they abandoned the field the two generals, Miranis and Hordatis 50 noble source atraps and the multitude of the bravest soldiers and the success of the Romans if Julian had survived might have been improved into a decisive and useful victory the first words that Julian uttered after his recovery from the fainting fit into which he had been thrown by loss of blood were expressive of his martial spirit he called for his horse and arms and was impatient to rush into the battle his remaining strength was exhausted by the painful effort and the surgeons who examined his wound discovered the symptoms of approaching death he employed the awful moments with the firm temper of a hero and a sage the philosophers who had accompanied him in this fatal expedition compared the tent of Julian with the prison of Socrates and the spectators whose duty of friendship or curiosity had assembled round his couch listened with respectful grief to the funeral oration of their dying emperor friends and fellow soldiers the seasonable period of my departure is now arrived and I discharge with the cheerfulness of a ready deather the demands of nature I have learned from philosophy how much the soul is more excellent than the body and that the separation of the nobler substance should be the subject of joy rather than of affliction I have learned from the legend that an early death has always been the reward of piety and I accept as a favor of the gods the mortal stroke that secures me from the danger of disgracing a character which has hitherto been supported by virtue and fortitude I die without remorse as I have lived without guilt I am pleased to reflect on the innocence of my private life and I can affirm with confidence that the supreme authority that emanation of the divine power has been preserved in my hands pure and immaculate detesting the corrupt and destructive maxims of despotism I have considered the happiness of the people as the end of government submitting my actions to the laws of prudence of justice and of moderation I have trusted the event to the care of providence peace was the object of my counsels as long as peace was consistent with the public welfare but when the imperious voice of my country came to arms I exposed my person to the dangers of war with the clear foreknowledge which I had acquired from the Arthur divination that I was destined to fall by the sword I now offer my tribute of gratitude to the eternal being who has not suffered me to perish by the cruelty of a tyrant by the secret dagger of conspiracy or by the slow tortures of lingering disease he has given me in the midst of an honorable career a splendid and glorious departure and I hold it equally absurd equally based to solicit or to decline the stroke of fate this much I have attempted to say but my strength fails me and I feel the approach of death I shall cautiously refrain from any word that may tend to influence your suffrages in the election of an emperor my choice might be imprudent or injudicious and if it should not be ratified by the consent of the army it might be fatal to the person I shall only as a good citizen express my hopes that the Romans may be blessed with the government of a virtuous sovereign after this discourse which Julian pronounced in a firm and gentle tone of voice he distributed by a military testament the remains of his private fortune and making some inquiry why Anatolius was not present he understood from the answer of Salus that Anatolius was killed and bewailed with amiable inconsistency the loss of his friend at the same time he reproved the immoderate grief of the spectators and conjured them not to disgrace by unmanly tears the fate of a prince who in a few moments would be united with heaven and with the stars the spectators were silent and Julian entered into a metaphysical argument with the philosophers Priscus and Maximus on the nature of the soul the efforts which he made of mind as well as body most probably hastened his death his wound began to bleed with fresh violence his respiration was embarrassed by the swelling of the veins he called for a draught of cold water and as soon as he had drank it expired without pain about the hour of midnight such was the end of this extraordinary man in the 32nd year of his age after a reign of one year and about eight months from the death of Constantius in his last moments he displayed perhaps with some ostentation the love of virtue and of fame which had been the ruling passions of his life the triumph of Christianity and the calamities of the empire may in some measure be ascribed to Julian himself who had neglected to secure the future execution of his designs by the timely and judicious nomination of an associate and successor but the royal race of Constantius Claudus was reduced to his own person and if he entertained any serious thought discussing with the purple the most worthy among the Romans he was diverted from his resolution by the difficulty of the choice the jealousy of power the fear of ingratitude and the natural presumption of health of youth and of prosperity his unexpected death left the empire without a master and without an heir in a state of a plexity and danger which in the space of four score years had never been experienced since the election of the Euclidian forgotten the distinction of pure and noble blood the superiority of birth was of little moment the claims of official rank were accidental and precarious and the candidates who might aspire to ascend the vacant throne could be supported only by the consciousness of personal merit or by the hopes of popular favor but the situation of a famished army encompassed on all sides by a host of barbarians shortened the moments of grief and deliberation in this scene of terror and distress the body of the deceased prince according to their own directions was decently embalmed and at the dawn of day the generals convened the military senate at which the commanders of the legions and the officers both of cavalry and infantry were invited to assist three or four hours of the night had not passed away without some secret cavals and when the election of an emperor was proposed the spirit of faction began to agitate the assembly Victor and Arringthews collected the remains of the court of Constancios the friends of Julian attached themselves to the Gallic chiefs the Galaiprus and Nevita and the most fatal consequences might be apprehended from the discord of the two factions so opposite in their character and interest in the maxims of government and perhaps in their religious principles the superior virtues of Salust could alone reconcile their divisions and unite their suffragists the honorable prefect would immediately have been declared a successor of Julian if he himself with sincere modest firmness had not alleged his age and infirmities so unequal to the weight of the diadem the generals were surprised and perplexed by his refusal showed some disposition to adopt the salutary advice of an inferior officer that they should act as they would have acted in the absence of the emperor that they should exert their abilities to extricate the army from the present distress and if they were fortunate enough to reach the confines of Mesopotamia they should proceed with united and deliberate councils in the election of a lawful sovereign while they debated a few voices salute the Jovian who was no more than first of the domestics with the names of emperor and Augustus the tumultory acclamation was instantly repeated by the guards who surrounded the tent and passed in a few minutes to the extremities of the line the new prince, astonished with his own fortune was hastily invested with the imperial ornaments and received a note of fidelity from the generals whose favour and protection he so lately solicited the strongest recommendation of Jovian was the merit of his father, Count of Aronian who enjoyed in honour of all retirement the fruit of his long services in the obscure freedom of a private station the son indulged his taste for wine and women yet he supported with credit the character of a Christian and a soldier without being conspicuous for any of the ambitious qualifications which excite the admiration and envy of mankind the comely person of Jovian his cheerful temper and familiar wit had gained the affection of his fellow soldiers and the generals of both parties acquiesced in a popular election which had not been conducted by the arts of their enemies the pride of this unexpected elevation was moderated by the just apprehension that the same day might terminate the life and reign of the new emperor the pressing voice of necessity was obeyed without delay and the first orders issued by Jovian a few hours after his predecessor had expired were to prosecute a march which could alone extricate the Romans from their actual distress end of chapter 24 part 4 recording by Monsbru Helsingfors, Finland chapter 24 part 5 of the D-line and fall of the Roman Empire volume 2 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings on the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Monsbru Helsingfors, Finland chapter 24 the retreat and death of Julian part 5 this team of enemies most sincerely expressed by his fears and the degree of fear he accurately measured by the joy with which he celebrates his deliverance the welcome news of the death of Julian which he deserved to reveal to the camp of Sappor inspired the desponding monarch with the sudden confidence of victory he immediately detached the royal cavalry perhaps the 10,000 immortals to second and support the pursuit and discharged the whole weight of his united forces on the rear guard of the Romans the rear guard was thrown into disorder the renowned legions which derived their titles from Diocletian and his warlike colleague were broken and trampled down by the elephants and three tribunes lost their lives in attempting to stop the flight of the soldiers the battle was at length restored by the persevering valor of the Romans the Persians were repulsed with a great slaughter of men and elephants and the army after marching and fighting a long summer's day arrived in the evening at Samara on the banks of the Tigris about 100 miles above Ctesiphon on the ensuing day the barbarians, instead of harassing the March attacked the camp of Jovian which had been seated in a deep and sequestered valley from the hills the archers of Persia insulted and annoyed the weary legionaries and the body of cavalry which had penetrated with desperate courage through the Praetorian Gate was cut in pieces after a doubtful conflict near the imperial tent in the succeeding night the camp of Carci was protected by the lofty dives at the river and the Roman army though incessantly exposed to the vexes pursuit of the Saracens pitched their tents near the city of Dura four days after the death of Julian the Tigris was still on their left their hopes and provisions were almost consumed and the impatient soldiers were fondly persuaded themselves that the frontiers of the empire were not far distant requested their new sovereign that they might be permitted to hazard the passage of the river with the assistance of his wisest officers Jovian endeavored to check their rashness by representing that if they possessed sufficient skill and vigour to stem the torrent of a deep and rapid stream they would only deliver themselves naked and defenseless to the barbarians would occupy the opposite banks yielding at length to their clamorous importunities he consented with reluctance 500 Gauls and Germans accustomed from their infancy to the water to the Rhine and Danube should attempt the bold adventure which might serve either as an encouragement or as a warning for the rest of the army in the silence of the night they swam the Tigris and displayed at the dawn of the day the signal of their resolution and fortune the success of this trial disposed the emperor to listen to the promises of his architects who proposed to construct the floating bridge of sheep, oxen and goats covered with the floor of earth and facins two important days were spent in the ineffectual labour and the Romans who already endured the miseries of famine cast a look of despair on the Tigris and upon the barbarians whose numbers and obstinacy increased with the distress of the imperial army in this hopeless condition the fainting spirits of the Romans were revived by the sound of peace the transient presumptions of support had vanished and they observed with serious concern that in the repetition of doubtful combats he had lost his most faithful and intrepid nobles his bravest troops and the greatest part of his train of elephants and the experienced monarch feared to provoke their resistance to despair the vicissitudes of fortune and the unexhausted powers of the Roman Empire which might soon advance to relieve or to revenge the successor of Julian the Surenas himself the camp of Julian and declared that the clemency of his sovereign was not a verse to signify the conditions on which he would consent to spare and to dismiss the Caesar with the relics of his captive army the hopes of safety subdued the firmness of the Romans the emperor was compelled by the advice of his council and the cries of his soldiers to embrace the offer of peace and the prefect Salust was immediately sent with the general Ardentheus to understand the pleasure of the great king and to assess the consequences the conclusion of the agreement started difficulties, required explanations suggested expedience receded from his concessions increased his demands and wasted four days in the arts of negotiation till he had consumed the stock of provisions which yet remained in the camp of the Romans had Jovin been capable of executing a bold and prudent measure he would have continued his march with undermitting diligence the progress of the treaty and before the expiration of the fourth day he might have safely reached the fruitful province of Coraduini at the distance only of 100 miles the irresolute emperor instead of breaking through the tiles of the enemy expected his fate with patient resignation and accepted the humiliating conditions of peace which it was no longer in his power to refuse the five provinces beyond the Tigris which had been sadded by the grandfather of Sapor were restored to the Persian monarchy he acquired by a single article the impenetrable city of Nisibis which had sustained in three successive sieges the effort of his arms Singara and the castle of the Moors one of the strongest places of Mesopotamia were likewise dismembered from the empire it was considered as an indulgence that the inhabitants of those fortresses were permitted to retire with their effects but the conqueror rigorously insisted that the Romans should forever abandon the king and kingdom of Armenia a peace or rather a long truce of thirty years were stipulated between the hostile nations and the fate of the treaty was ratified by solemn notes and religious ceremonies and hostages of distinguished rank were reciprocally delivered to secure the performance of the conditions the sophist of Antioch who saw with indignation the scepter of his hero in the feeble hand of a Christian successor to admire the moderation of Sappor in contending himself with so small a portion of the Roman Empire if he had stretched as far as the Euphrates the claims of his ambition he might have been secure as Libanius of not meeting with the refusal if he had fixed as the boundary of Persia the Orontes the Cygnus the Sangarios or even the Trachian Bosporus flatterers would not have been wanting in the court of Jovian to convince the timid monarch that the provinces would still afford the most ample gratification of power and luxury without adopting in its full force this malicious insinuation we must acknowledge that the conclusion of so anonymous a treaty was facilitated by the private ambition of Jovian the obscure domestic exalted to the throne by fortune rather than by merit was impatient to escape from the hands of the Persians that he might prevent the designs of Mesopotamia and establishes doubtful reign over the legions and provinces which were still ignorant of the hasty and tumultuous choice of the camp beyond the Tigris in the neighborhood of the same river at no very considerable distance from the fatal station of Dura the 10,000 Greeks without generals or guides or provisions were abandoned above 1200 miles from their native country to the resentment of a victorious monarch the difference of their conduct and success depended much more on their character than on their situation instead of tamely resigning themselves to the secret deliberations and private use of a single person the united councils of the Greeks were inspired by the generous enthusiasm of a popular assembly where the mind of each citizen is filled with the love of glory the pride of freedom and the contempt of death conscious of their superiority over the barbarians in arms and discipline they disdained the yield they refused to capitulate every obstacle was surmounted by their patience courage and military skill and the memorable retreat of the 10,000 exposed and insulted the weakness of the Persian monarchy as the price of his disgraceful concessions the emperor might perhaps have stipulated that the camp of the hungry Romans should be plentifully supplied and that they should be permitted to pass the Tigris on the bridge which was constructed by the hands of the Persians but if Jovin presumed to solicit those equitable terms they were sternly refused by the haughty tyrant of the east whose clemency had pardoned the invaders of his country the Saracens sometimes intercepted the stragglers of the march but the generals and troops of Sappo respected the cessation of arms and Jovin was suffered to explore the most convenient place for the passage of the river the small vessels which had been saved from the conflagration of the fleet performed the most essential service they first conveyed the emperor in his favourites and afterwards transported in many successive voyages a great part of the army but as every man was anxious for his personal safety and the apprehensive of being left on the hostile shore the soldiers were too impatient to wait the slow returns of the boat boldly ventured themselves in light hurdles or inflated skins and drawing after them their horses attempted with various success to swim across the river many of these daring adventurers were swallowed by the waves many others who were carried along by the violence of the stream fell an easy prey to the avarice or cruelty of the wild Arabs and the loss which the army sustained in the passage of the Tigris was not inferior to the carnage of a day of battle as soon as the Romans were landed on the western bank they were delivered from the hostile pursuit of the barbarians but in a laborious march of 200 miles over the plains of Mesopotamia they endured the last extremities of thirst and hunger they were obliged to traverse the sandy desert which in the extent of 70 miles did not afford a single blade of sweet grass nor a single spring of fresh water and the rest of the inhospitable waste was untrodden by the footsteps either of friends or enemies whenever a small measure of flour could be discovered in the camp 20 pounds weight were greedily purchased with 10 pieces of gold the beasts of burden were slaughtered and devoured and the desert was strewed with the arms of the Roman soldiers whose tattered garments and meager counterances displayed their past sufferings and actual misery a small convoy of provisions advanced to meet the army as far as the castle of Ur and the supply was the more grateful since it declared the fidelity of Sebastian and Procopius at Tilsapata the emperor most graciously received generals from Mesopotamia and the remains of a once flourishing army at length reposed themselves under the walls the messengers of Jovian had already proclaimed in the language of flattery his election, his treaty and his return and the new prince had taken the most effectual measures to secure the allegiance of the armies and provinces of Europe by placing the military command in the hands of those officers who, from motives of interest or inclination, would firmly support the cause of their benefit the Friends of Julian had confidently announced the success of his expedition they entertained the fond appreciation that the examples of the gods would be enriched with the spoils of the east that Persia would be reduced to the humble state of a tributary province governed by the laws and magistrates of Rome that the barbarians would adopt the dress and manners and language of their conquerors and that the youth of Ecbatana and Sousa would study the art of rhetoric under Grecian masters the progress of the arms of Julian interrupted his communication with the empire and from the moment that he passed the Tigris his affectionate subjects were ignorant of the fate and fortunes of our prince the contemplation of fancied triumph was disturbed by the melancholy rumour of his death and they persisted to doubt after they could no longer deny the truth of that fatal event the messengers of Jobian promulgated the specious tale of a prudent and necessary peace the voice of fame louder and more sincere revealed the disgrace of the emperor and the conditions of the agonimous treaty the minds of the people were filled with astonishment and grief with indignation and terror when they were informed that the unworthy successor of Julian relinquished the five provinces which had been acquired by the victorial Galerius and that his shameful surrender to the barbarians the important city of Nibisibis the firmest bulwark of the provinces of the east the deep and dangerous question how far as the public faith should be observed when it becomes incompatible with the public safety was freely agitated in popular conversation and some hopes were entertained that the emperor would redeem his posillanimous behavior by a splendid act of patriotic perfidy the inflexible spirit of the roman senate had always disclaimed the unequal conditions which were exorted from the distress of their captive armies and if it was necessary to satisfy the national honor by delivering the guilty general into the hands of the barbarians the greatest part of the subjects of Jobian were the cheerfully acquiesced in the precedent of ancient times but the emperor whatever might be the limits of his constitutional authority was the absolute master the laws and arms of the state and the same motives which had forced him to subscribe now pressed him to execute the treaty of peace he was impatient to secure an empire at the expense of a few provinces and the respectful names of religion and honor concealed personal fears and ambition of Jobian notwithstanding the dutiful solicitations of the inhabitants, decency as well as prudence, forbade the emperor to lodge in the palace of Nisibis but the next morning after his arrival Binesis, the ambassador of Persia entered the place, displayed from the citadel the standard of the great king and proclaimed in his name the cruel alternative of exile or servitude the principal citizens of Nisibis who till that fatal moment had confided in the protection of their sovereign through themselves at his feet they conjured him not to abandon or at least not to deliver a faithful colony to the rage of a barbarian tyrant exasperated by the three successive defeats which he had experienced under the walls of Nisibis they still possessed arms and courage to repel the invaders of their country they requested only the permission of using them in their own defense and as soon as they had asserted their independence they should implore the favor of being again admitted into the ranks of his subjects the arguments, their eloquence, their tears were ineffectual Jovian alleged with some confusion the sanctity of oaths and as the reluctance with which he accepted the presence of a crown of gold convinced the citizens of their hopeless condition the advocate Silvanus was provoked to exclaim O emperor, may you thus be crowned by all the cities of your dominions Jovian, who in a few weeks had assumed the habits of a prince, was displeased with freedom and defended with truth and as he reasonably supposed that the discontent of the people might incline them to submit to the Persian government he published an edict on the pain of death that they should leave the city within the term of three days Ammianus has delivered in lively colors the scene of universal despair which he seems to have viewed with an eye of compassion the martial youth deserted with indignant grief the walls which they had so gloriously defended the disconsolate mourner dropped the last tear over a tomb of a son or husband which must soon be profaned by the rude hand of a barbarian master and the aged citizen kissed the threshold and clung to the doors of the house where he had passed the cheerful and careless hours of infancy the highways were crowned with a trembling multitude the distinctions of rank and sex and age were lost in a general calamity everyone strove to bear away some fragment from the wreck of his fortunes and as they could not command the immediate service of an adequate number of horses or wagons they were obliged to leave behind them the greatest part of their valuable effects the savage insensibility of Jovian appears to have exaggerated the hardships of these unhappy fugitives they were seated however in a newly built quarter of Amida and that rising city with the reinforcement of a very considerable colony soon recovered its former splendor and became the capital of Mesopotamia similar orders were dispatched by the emperor for the ever-accuration of Singara and the castle of the Moors and for the restitution of the five provinces beyond the Tigris Sappor enjoyed the glory and the fruits of his victory and this ignonymous peace has justly been considered as a memorable era in the deline and fall of the Roman Empire the predecessors of Jovian had sometimes relinquished the dominion of distant and unprofitable provinces but since the foundation of the city the genius of Rome the good terminus who guarded the boundaries of the Republic had never retired before the sword of a victorious enemy after Jovian had performed those engagements which the voice of his people might have tempted him to violate he hastened away from the scene of his disgrace and proceeded with his whole court to enjoy the luxury of Antioch without consulting the dictates of religious seal he was prompted by humanity and gratitude to bestow the last honors of the remains of his deceased sovereign and the Procopius who sincerely bewailed the loss of his kinsmen was removed from the command of the army under the decent pretense of conducting the funeral the corpse of Julio was transported from Nisibis to Tarsus in a slow march of 15 days and as it passed through the cities of the east was saluted by the hostile factions with mournful lamentations and clamorous insults the pagans already replaced their beloved hero in the rank of the gods whose worship he had restored while the invectives of the Christians pursued the soul of the apostate to hell and his body to the grave one party lamented the approaching ruin of their altars the other celebrated the marvellous deliverance of their church the Christians applauded in lofty and ambiguous strains the stroke of divine vengeance which had been so long suspended over the guilty head of Julio they acknowledged that the death of the tyrants at the instant he expired beyond the Tigris reeled to the saints of Egypt Syria and Cappadocia and instead of suffering him to fall by the Persian darts their indiscretion ascribed the heroic deed to the obscure hand of some mortal immortal champion of the fey such imprudent declarations were eagerly adopted by the malice or credulity of their adversaries who darkly insinuated or confidently asserted that the governors of the church had instigated and directed the fanaticism of a domestic assassin above 16 years after the death of Julian the charge was solemnly vehemently urged in a public oration addressed by Libanius to the emperor Theodosius his suspicions are unsupported by factor argument and we can only esteem the generous seal of the Sophisto Anctioc for the cold and neglected ashes of his friend it was an ancient custom in the funerals as well as in the triumphs of the Romans that the voice of praise should be corrected so satire and ridicule and that in the midst of the splendid patrons which displayed the glory of the living or of the dead their imperfections should not be concealed from the eyes of the world this custom was practised in the funeral of Julian the comedians who resented his contempt and diversion for the theatre exhibited with the applause of a Christian audience the lively and exaggerated representation of the faults and follies of the deceased emperor in sector and singular manners affording an ample scope for the pleasantry and ridicule in the exercise of his uncommon talents he often descended below the majesty of his rank Alexander was transformed into Diogenes the philosopher was degraded into a priest the purity of his virtue was solid by excessive vanity his superstition disturbed the peace and endangered the safety of a mighty empire and his irregular sallies were the less entitled to indulgence as they appeared to be the laborious efforts of art or even of affection the remains of Julian were interred at Tharsus in Silicia but his stately tomb which arose in that city on the banks of the cold and limpid Cygnus was displeasing to the faithful friends who loved and revered the memory of that extraordinary man the philosopher expressed a very reasonable wish that the disciple of Plato wished amidst the growth of the academy while the soldier exclaimed in bolder accents that the ashes of Julian should have been mingled with those of Caesar in the field of Mars and among the ancient monuments of Roman virtue the history of princes does not very frequently renew the examples of a similar competition end of chapter 24 part 5 recording by Monsbrew of the Russian force of England chapter 15 part 1 of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire volume 2 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org chapter 25 reigns of Jovian and Valentinian division of the empire the government and death of Jovian election of Valentinian who associates his brother Valinus and makes the final division of the eastern and western empires revolt of Procopius civil and ecclesiastical administration Germany Britain Africa the east, the Danube death of Valentinian sons, Gratian and Valentinian II succeed to the western empire the death of Julian had left the public affairs of the empire in a very doubtful and dangerous situation the Roman army was saved by an inglorious perhaps a necessary treaty and the first moments of peace were consecrated by the pious Jovian to restore the domestic tranquility of the church and state the discretion of his predecessor instead of reconciling had artfully formatted the religious war and the balance which he affected to preserve between the hostile factions served only to perpetuate the contest by the vicissitudes of hope and fear by the rival claims of ancient possession and actual favor the Christians had forgotten the spirit of the gospel the Romans had imbued the spirit of the church in private families the sentiments of nature were exaggerated by the blind fury of zeal and revenge the majesty of the laws was violated or abused the citizens of the east were sustained with blood and most implacable enemies of the Romans were in the bosom of their country Jovian was educated in Christianity and as he marched from Nisibis to Atioc the banner of the cross the laborerium of Constantine which was again displayed at the head of the legions announced to the people the faith of their new emperor as soon as he ascended the throne he transmitted a circular epistle to all the governors of provinces in which he confessed the divine truth and secured the legal establishment of the Christian religion the insidious edicts of Julian were abolished the ecclesiastical immunities were restored and enlarged and Jovian condescended to lament that the distress of the times obliged him to diminish the measure of charitable distributions the Christians were unanimous in the loud and sincere applause which they bestowed on the pious successor of Julian but they were still ignorant what creed or what synod he would choose for the standard of orthodoxy and the peace of the church immediately revived those eager disputes which had been suspended during the season of persecution the episcopal leaders of the contending sects convinced from experience how much their fate would depend on the earliest impressions that were made on the mind of an untutored soldier hastened to the court of Edissa or Etioc the highways of the east were crowded with Homoesian and Arian and Semi-Arian and Ineomian bishops who struggled to outstrip each other in the holy race the apartments of the palace surrounded with their clamors and the ears of the prince resalted and perhaps astonished by the singular mixture of metaphysical argument and passionate invective the moderation of Jovian who recommended concord and charity and referred the disputants to the sentence of a future council was interpreted as a symptom of indifference but his attachment to the Nicene creed was at length discovered and declared by the reverence which he expressed for the celestial virtues Athanasius, the intrepid veteran of the faith at the age of seventy had issued from his retreat on the first intelligence of the tyrant's death the acclamations of the peoples seated him once more on the Archipiscopal throne and he wisely accepted or anticipated the invitation of Jovian the venerable figure of Athanasius his calm courage and insinuating eloquence sustained the reputation which he had already acquired in the courts of four successive princes as soon as he had gained the confidence and secured the faith of the Christian emperor he returned in triumph to his diocese and continued with mature councils and undiminished vigor to direct ten years longer the ecclesiastical government of Alexandria Egypt and the Catholic Church before his departure from Antioch he assured Jovian that his orthodox devotion would be rewarded with a long and peaceful reign Athanasius had reason to hope that he should be allowed either the merit of a successful prediction or the exercise of a grateful though ineffectual prayer the slightest force when it is applied to assist and guide the natural descent of its object operates with irresistible weight and the good fortune to embrace the religious opinions which were supported by the spirit of the times and the zeal and numbers of the most powerful sect under his reign Christianity obtained an easy and lasting victory and as soon as the smile of royal patronage was withdrawn the genius of paganism which had been fondly raised and cherished by the arts of Julian sunk irrevocably in many cities the temples were shut or deserted the philosophers who had abused their transient favor thought it prudent to shave their beards and disguise their profession Christians rejoiced that they were now in a condition to forgive or to revenge the injuries which they had suffered under the preceding reign the consternation of the pagan world was dispelled by a wise and gracious edict of toleration in which Jovian explicitly declared that although he should severely punish the sacrilegious right of magic his subjects might exercise with freedom and safety the ceremonies of the ancient worship the memory of this law has been preserved by the orator Themistius who was deputed by the senate of Constantinople to express their royal devotion to the new emperor this expatriates on the clemency of the divine nature the facility of human error the rights of conscience and the independence of the mind and in some eloquence inculcates the principles of philosophical toleration whose aid superstition herself in the hour of her distress is not ashamed to implore he justly observes that in the recent changes both religions had been alternately disgraced by the seeming acquisition of worthless proselytites of whose votaries of the reigning purple who could pass without reason and without a blush from the church to the temple and from the altars of Jupiter to the sacred table of the Christians in the space of seven months the Roman troops who were now returned to Antioch by the time of the war in which they had endured all the hardships of war of famine and of climate notwithstanding their services their fatigues and the approach of winter the timid and impatient Jovian allowed only to the men and horses a respite of six weeks the emperor could not sustain the indiscreet and malicious rivalry of the pope of adioc he was impatient to call us of Constantinople and to prevent the ambition of some competitor who might occupy the vacant allegiance of Europe but he soon received the grateful intelligence that his authority was acknowledged from the Thrasian Bosporus to the Atlantic Ocean by the first letters which he dispatched from the camp of Mesopotamia he had delegated the military command a brave and faithful officer of the nation of the Franks and to his father-in-law Count Lucian who had formally distinguished his courage and conduct in the defense of Nisbis Malerich had declined an office to which he thought himself unequal and Lucian was massacred at Reims in an accidental mutiny of the Bavarian cohort but the moderation of the master general of the cavalry who forgave the intention of his disgrace soon appeased the tumult and confirmed the uncertain minds of the soldiers the oath of fidelity was administered and taken with loyal acclamations and the deputies of the western armies saluted their sovereign as he descended from Mount Taurus to the city of Tyanna in Cappadocia from Tyanna he continued to Ansira capital of the province of Galaita where Jovian assumed with his infant son the name and instance of the consulorship Dattastana an obscure town almost at an equal distance between Ansariya and Nis was marked for the fatal term of his journey and life after indulging himself with a plentiful perhaps an intemperate supper he retired to rest and the next morning the emperor Jovian was found dead in his bed because of his sudden death was variously understood by some it was ascribed to the consequences of an indigestion occasioned either by the quantity of the wine or the quality of the mushrooms which he had swallowed in the evening according to others he was suffocated in his sleep by the vapor of charcoal which extracted from the walls of the apartment the unwholesome moisture of the fresh plaster but the want of a regular inquiry into the death of a prince whose reign in person were soon forgotten appears to have been the only circumstance which continenced the malicious whispers of poison and domestic guilt the body of Jovian was sent to Constantinople to be interned with his predecessors and the sad procession was met on the road by his wife Charito the daughter of Count Lucian who still wept the recent death of her father and was hastening to dry her tears in the embraces of an imperial husband her disappointment and grief were embittered by the anxiety of maternal tenderness six weeks before the death of Jovian his infant son had been placed in the curial chair adorned with the title of noblysynmus and the vain ensigns of the consulorship unconscious of his fortune the royal youth who from his grandfather assumed the name of Veronian was reminded only by the jealousy of the government that he was the son of an emperor sixteen years afterwards he was still alive but had already been deprived of an eye and his afflicted mother expected every hour that the innocent victim would be torn from her arms to appease with his blood the suspicions of the reigning prince after the death of Jovian the throne of Rome would remain ten days without a master the ministers in general still continued to meet in council to exercise their respective functions to maintain the public order and peaceably to conduct the army to the city of Nice in Bithynia which was chosen for the place of the election the assembly of the civil and military powers of the empire was again unanimously offered to the prefect solace he enjoyed the glory of a second refusal and when the virtues of the father were alleged in favor of his son the prefect with the firmness of a distinguished patriot declared to the electors that the feeble age of the one and the inexperienced youth of the other were equally incapable of taking over the government several candidates were proposed and after weighing the objections of character or situation they were successively rejected but as soon as the name of Valentinian was pronounced the merit of that office united the suffrages of the whole assembly and obtained the sincere approbation of Salist himself Valentinian was the son of Count Grachian a native of Sybilis in Pannonia the power condition had raised himself by matchless strength and dexterity to the military commands of Africa and Britain from which he retired with an ample fortune and suspicious integrity the rank and services of Grachian contributed however to smooth the first steps of the promotion of his son and afforded him an early opportunity of displaying those solid and useful qualifications which raised his character of his fellow citizens the person of Valentinian was tall, graceful and majestic his manly continents deeply marked with the impression of sense and spirit inspired his friends with awe and his enemies with fear and to second the efforts of his undaunted courage the son of Grachian had inherited the advantages of a strong and healthy constitution by the habits of chastity and temperance and invigorate the facilities Valentinian preserved his own and the public esteem the evocations of a military life had diverted his youth from the elegant pursuits of literature he was ignorant of the Greek language and the arts of rhetoric but as the mind of the orator was never discorded by timid perplexity he was able as often as the occasion prompted him to deliver his decided sentiments with bold and ready elocution the laws of martial discipline were the only laws that he had studied and he was soon distinguished by the laborious diligence and inflexible severity with which he discharged and enforced the duties of the camp in the time of Julian he provoked the danger of disgrace by the contempt which he publicly expressed for the reigning religion and it should seem in subsequent conduct that the indiscreet and unseasonable freedom of Valentinian was the effect of military spirit rather than of Christian zeal he was pardoned however and still employed by a prince who esteemed his merit and in the various events of the Persian war he improved the reputation which he had already acquired on the banks of the Rhine the celerity and success with which he executed recommended him to the favor of Jovian and to the honorable command of the second school or company of targetiers of the domestic guards in the march from Antioch he had reached his quarters at Ansira when he was unexpectedly summoned without guilt and without intrigue to assume in the forty third year of his age the absolute government of the Roman Empire the administration of ministers and generals at Nice was a little moment unless it were confirmed by the voice of the army the aged salist who had long observed the irregular fluctuations of popular assemblies proposed under pain of death that none of those persons whose rank in the service might excite a party in their favor should appear in public that a whole day was voluntarily added to this dangerous interval because it happened to be the intercalculation of the Bissex Till at length when the hour was supposed to be propitious Valentinian showed himself from a lofty tribunal the judicious choice was applauded and the new prince was solemnly invested with the diadem and the purple amidst the acclimation of the troops who were disposed in marshal order around the tribunal but when he stretched forth his hand to address the armed multitude a busy whisper was accidentally started in the ranks and insensibly swelled into a loud and imperious clamor that he should name without delay a colleague in the empire intrepid calmness of Valentinian attained silence and commanded respect and he thus addressed the assembly a few minutes since it was in your power fellow soldiers to have me in the obscurity of a private station judging from the testimony of my past life that I deserved to reign you have placed me on the throne it is now my duty to consult the safety and interest of the republic the weight of the universe is undoubtedly too great for the hands of a feeble mortal I am conscious of the limits of my ability and uncertain of my life I am declining I am anxious to solicit the assistance of a worthy colleague but where discord may be fatal the choice of a faithful friend requires mature and serious deliberation that deliberation shall be my care let your conduct be dutiful and consistent retire to your quarters refresh your minds and bodies and expect the accustomed donative on the ascension of a new emperor the astonished troops and the pride of satisfaction and of terror confess the voice of their master their angry clamors subsided into silent reverence and Valentinian encompassed with the eagles of the legions and the various banners of the cavalry and infantry was conducted in a war-like prompt to the palace of Nice as he was sensible, however of the importance of preventing some rash declaration of the soldiers and their real sentiments were concisely expressed by the generous freedom of Dagophilus most excellent prince, said that officer if you consider only your family you have a brother if you love the republic look around for the most deserving of the Romans the emperor who suppressed his displeasure without altering his intention slowly proceeded from Nice to Nicomedia and Constantinople in one of the suburbs of that capital 30 days after his own elevation he bestowed the title of Augustus on his brother Valens and as the boldest patriots were convinced that their opposition without being serviceable to their country would be fatal to themselves the declaration of his absolute will was received with silent submission Valens was now in the 36th year of his age but his abilities had never been exercised in any employment military or civil and his character had not inspired the world with any subwine expectations he possessed however one quality which recommended him to Valentinium and preserved the domestic peace of the empire devout and grateful attachment to his benefactor whose superiority of genius as well as of authority Valens humbly and cheerfully acknowledged in every action of his life Chapter 25 Part 1 Chapter 25 Part 2 of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Volume 2 This is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Chapter 25 Reigns of Jovian and Valentinian Division of the Empire Chapter 25 Before Valentinian divided the provinces he reformed the administration of the empire all ranks of subjects who had been injured or oppressed under the reign of Julian were invited to support their public accusations the silence of mankind attested the spotless integrity of the prefect Sallust and his own pressing solicitations that he might be permitted to retire from the business of the state were rejected by Valentinian with the most honorable expressions of friendship and esteem but among the favorites of the late emperor there were many who had abused his credulity or superstition and who could no longer hope to be protected either by favor or justice the greater part of the ministers of the palace and the governors of the provinces were removed from their respective stations yet the eminent merit of some officers was distinguished from the obnoxious crowd and notwithstanding the opposite clamors of zeal and resentment the whole proceedings of this delicate inquiry appeared to have been conducted with a reasonable share of wisdom and moderation the festivities of a new reign received a short and suspicious interruption from the sudden illness of the two princes but as soon as their health was restored they left Constantinople in the beginning of the spring in the castle or palace of Medinia only three miles from Naesis they executed the solemn and final division of the Roman Empire Valentinian bestowed on his brother the rich prefecture of the east from the lower Danube to the confines of Persia Wiltsty reserved for his immediate government the war-like prefectures of Illyricum, Italy and Gaul from the remedy of Greece to the Caledonian rampart and from the rampart of Caledonia to the foot of Mount Atlas the provincial administration remained on its former basis but a double supply of generals and magistrates was required for two councils and two courts the division was made with a just regard to their peculiar merit and situation and seven master generals were soon created for their military or infantry when this important business had been amicably transacted Valentinian and Valens embraced for the last time the emperor of the west established his temporary residence at Milan and the emperor of the east returned to Constantinople to assume the dominion of 50 provinces of whose language he was totally ignorant the tranquility of the east was soon disturbed by rebellion and the throne of Valens was threatened by the daring attempts of a rival whose affinity to the emperor Julian was his sole merit and had been his only crime Procopius had been hastily promoted from the obscure station of a tribune and a notary to the joint command of the army of Mesopotamia the public opinion already named him as the successor of a prince who was destitute of natural heirs and a vain rumour was propagated by his friends or his enemies that Julian before the altar of the moon at Carhay had privately invested Procopius with the imperial purple he endeavored by his dutiful and submissive behaviour to disarm the jealousy of Jovian resigned without a contest his military command and retired with his wife and family to cultivate the ample patrimony he possessed in the province of Cappadocia these useful and innocent occupations were interrupted by the appearance of an officer with a band of soldiers who, in the name of his new sovereigns Valentinian and Valens was dispatched to conduct the unfortunate Procopius either to a perpetual prison or an ignominious death his presence of mind procured him a longer respite and more splendid fate without presuming to dispute the royal mandate he requested the indulgence of a few moments to embrace his weeping family and while the vigilance of his guards was relaxed by a plentiful entertainment he dexterously escaped to the sea coast of the Euseene from whence he passed over to the country of Bosporus in that sequestered region he remained many months exposed to the hardships of exile of solitude and of want and the melancholy temper brooded over his misfortunes and his mind agitated by the just apprehension that if any accident should discover his name the faithless barbarians would violate without much scruple the laws of hospitality in a moment of impatience and despair Procopius embarked in a merchant vessel and made sail for Constantinople and boldly aspired to the rank of a sovereign because he was not allowed to enjoy the security of the subject at first he lurked in the villages of Bithynia continually changing his habitation and his disguise by degrees he ventured into the capital trusted his life and fortune to the fidelity of two friends a senator and a eunuch and conceived some hopes of success from the intelligence which he obtained from the actual state of public affairs the body of the people was infected with a spirit of discontent the justice and the abilities of Sallust who had been imprudently dismissed from the prefecture of the east they despised the character of Valens which was rude without bigger and feeble without mildness they dreaded the influence of his father-in-law the patrician Petronius a cruel and rapacious minister who rigorously exacted all the arrears of tribute that might remain unpaid since the reign of the emperor Arulian the circumstances were propitious to the designs of a usurper the hostile measures of the Persians required the presence of Valens in Syria from the Danube to the Euphrates the troops were in motion and the capital was occasionally filled with the soldiers who passed or repast the Thracian Bosporus two cohorts of Gaul were persuaded to listen to the secret proposals of the conspirators which were recommended the promise of a liberal donative and as they still revered the memory of Julian they easily consented to support the hereditary claim of his prescribed kinsmen at the dawn of the day they were drawn up near the baths of Anastasia and Procopius clothed in a purple garment more suitable to a player than to a monarch appeared as if he rose from the dead in the midst of Constantinople the soldiers who were prepared for his reception saluted their trembling prince with shouts of joy and vows of fidelity their numbers were soon increased by a band of sturdy peasants collected from the adjacent country and Procopius shielded by the arms of his adherents was successfully conducted to the tribunal, the senate and the palace during the first moments of his tumultuous reign he was astonished and terrified by the gloomy silence of the people who were either ignorant of the cause or apprehensive of the event but his military strength was superior to any actual resistance the malcontents flocked to the standard of rebellion the poor were excited by the hopes and the rich were intimidated by the fear of a general pillage and the obstinate credulity of the multitude was once more deceived by the promised advantages of a revolution the magistrates were seized the prisons and arsenals broke open the gates and the entrance of the harbor were diligently occupied and in a few hours Procopius became the absolute though precarious, master of the imperial city the usurper improved his unexpected success with some degree of courage and dexterity he artfully propagated the rumors and opinions the most favorable to his interest while he deluded the populace by giving audience to the frequent but imaginary ambassadors of distant nations the large body of troops stationed in the cities of Thrace and the fortress of the lower Danube were gradually involved in the guilt of rebellion and the gothic princes consented to supply the sovereign of Constantinople with the formidable strength of several thousand auxiliaries his generals passed the Bosporus and subdued without an effort the unarmed but wealthy provinces of Betheena and Asia after an honorable defense the city and island of Caeserus yielded to his power the renowned legions of the Jovians and Herklaeans embraced the cause of the usurper whom they were ordered to crush and as the veterans were continually augmented with new levies he soon appeared at the head of an army as well as numbers was not unequal to the greatness of the contest the son of Hormistus a youth of spirit and ability condescended to draw his sword against the lawful emperor of the east and the Persian prince was immediately invested with the ancient and extraordinary powers of a Roman procounsel the alliance of Faustina the widow of the emperor Constantinus who entrusted herself and her daughter to the hands of the usurper added dignity and reputation to his cause the princess Constia who was then about five years of age accompanied in a litter the march of the army she was shown to the multitude in the arms of her adopted father and as often as she passed through the ranks the tenderness of the soldiers was inflamed into martial fury they recollected the glories of the house of Constantin and they declared with loyal acclamation that they would shed the last drop of their blood in defense of the royal infant in the meanwhile Valentinian was alarmed and perplexed by the doubtful intelligence of the revolt of the east the difficulties of a German forced him to confine his immediate care to the safety of his own dominions and as every channel of communication was stopped or corrupted with doubtful anxiety to the rumors which were industriously spread that the defeat and death of Valens had left the procopious soul master of the eastern provinces Valens was not dead but on the news of the rebellion which he received at Cassaria he basically despaired of his life and fortune proposed to negotiate with the usurper and discovered his secret inclination to abdicate the imperial purple and ruin by a firmness of his ministers and their ability soon decided in his favor the event of the civil war in a season of tranquility Sall used had resigned without a murmur but as soon as the public safety was attacked he ambitiously solicited the preeminence of toil and danger and the restoration of that virtuous minister to the prefecture of the east was the first step which indicated the repentance of Valens and satisfied the minds of the people the reign of Procopius was apparently supported by a powerful army and obedient provinces but many of the principal officers military as well as civil had been urged either by motives of duty or interest to withdraw themselves from the guilty scene or to watch the moment of betraying and deserting the cause of the usurper Lupincius advanced by hasty marches to bring the legions of Syria to the aid of Valens Arantheus who in strength, beauty and valor excelled all the heroes of the age attacked with a small troop a superior body of the rebels when he beheld the faces of the soldiers who had served under his banner he commanded them with a loud voice to seize and deliver up their pretended leader and such was the ascendant of his genius that this extraordinary order was instantly obeyed Arbito, a respectable veteran of the great Constantine who had been distinguished by the honors of the consulorship was persuaded to leave his retirement and once more to conduct an army into the field in the heat of action calmly taking off his helmet he showed his gray hairs and venerable continents saluted the soldiers of Procopius by the enduring names of children and companions and exhorted them no longer to support the desperate cause of a contemptible tyrant but to follow their old commander who had so often led them to honor and victory in the two engagements of Theatira and Nakolia the unfortunate Procopius was deserted by his troops who were seduced by the instructions and example of their proliferous officers after wandering some time among the woods and mountains he was betrayed by his desponding followers conducted to the imperial camp and immediately beheaded he suffered the ordinary fate of an unsuccessful usurper but the acts of cruelty which were exercised by the conqueror under the forms of legal justice excited the pity and indignation of mankind such indeed are the common and natural fruits of despotism and rebellion but the inquisition into the crime of magic under the reign of the two brothers was so rigorously prosecuted both at Rome and Atioc was interpreted as the fatal symptom either of the displeasures of heaven or of the depravity of mankind let us not hesitate to indulge a liberal pride that in the present age the enlightened part of Europe has abolished a cruel and odious prejudice which reigned in every climate of the globe and reared to every system of religious opinions the nations and the sects of the Roman world admitted with equal credulity and similar abhorrence the reality of that infernal art which was able to control the eternal order of the planets and the voluntary operations of the human mind they dreaded the mysterious power of spells and incantations the potioned herbs of the soul writes which could extinguish or recall life inflame the passions of the soul blast the works of creation or exhort from the reluctant demons the secret of futurity they believed with the wildest inconsistency that this preternatural dominion of air, of earth, and of hell was exercised from the vilest motives of malice or gain by some wrinkled hags and itinerant sorcerers who passed their obscure lives in penery and contempt the arts of magic were equally condemned by the public opinion and by the laws of Rome but as they tended to gratify the most imperious passions of the heart of man they were continually prescribed and continually practiced an imaginary cause as capable of producing the most serious and mischievous effects the dark predictions of the death of an emperor or the success of a conspiracy were calculated only to stimulate the hopes of ambition and to dissolve the ties of fidelity and the intentional guilt of magic was aggravated by the actual crimes of treason and sacrilege such vain terrors disturbed the peace of society and the happiness of individuals and the harmless flame which insensibly melted a waxen image might derive a powerful and pernicious energy from the affrighted fancy of the person whom it was maliciously designed to represent from the infusion of those herbs which were supposed to possess a supernatural influence it was an easy step to the use of more substantial poison and the folly of mankind sometimes became the instrument and the mask of the most atrocious crimes as soon as the zeal of the informers was encouraged by the ministers of Valens and Valentinian they could not refuse to listen to another charge to frequently mingled in the scene of domestic guilt a charge of a softer and less malignant nature for which the pious though excessive rigor of Constantine had recently decreed the punishment of death this deadly and incoherent mixture of treason and magic of poison and adultery afforded infinite gradations of guilt and innocence of excuse and aggravation which these proceedings appear to have been confounded by the angry or corrupt passions of the judges they easily discovered that the degree of their industry and discernment was estimated by the imperial court according to the number of executions that were furnished from their respective tribunals it was not without extreme reluctance that they pronounced a sentence of acquittal but they eagerly admitted such evidence as was stated with perjury or procured by torture to prove the most improbable charges against the most respectable characters the progress of the inquiry continually opened new subjects of criminal prosecution the audacious informer whose falsehood was detected retired with impunity but the wretched victim who discovered his real or pretended accomplices were seldom permitted to receive the price of his infamy from the extremity of Italy and Asia the young and the aged were dragged in chains to the tribunals of Rome and Antioch Senators, matrons and philosophers expired in ignominious and cruel tortures the soldiers who were appointed to guard the prisons declared with a murmur of pity and indignation that their numbers were insufficient to oppose the flight or resistance of the multitude of captives the wealthiest families the most insolent citizens trembled for their safety and we may form some notion of the magnitude of the evil from the extravagant assertion of an ancient writer that in the obnoxious provinces the prisoners, the exiles and the fugitives formed the greatest part of the inhabitants when Tacitus describes the deaths of the innocent and illustrious Romans who were sacrificed to the cruelty of their ancestors the art of the historian or the merit of the sufferers excites in our breast the most lively sensations of terror of admiration and of pity a coarse and undistinguishing pencil of Amianist has delineated his bloody figures with tedious and disgusting accuracy but our attention is no longer engaged in the contrast of freedom and servitude of recent greatness from the frequent executions which disgraced both at Rome and Atioc the reign of the two brothers Valens was of a timid and Valentinian of a cleric disposition an anxious regard to his personal safety was the ruling principle of the administration of Valens in the condition of a subject he had kissed with trembling awe the hand of the oppressor and when he ascended to the throne he stated that the same fears which had subdued his own mind would secure the patient's submission of his people the favorites of Valens obtained by the privilege of replying and confiscation the wealth which his economy would have refused they urged with persuasive eloquence that in all cases of treason suspicion is equivalent to proof that the power supposes the intention of mischief that the intention is not less criminal than the act subject no longer deserves to live if his daily life may threaten the safety or disturb the repose of the sovereign the judgment of Valentinian was sometimes deceived and his confidence abused but he would have silenced the informers with a contemptuous smile had they presumed to alarm his fortitude by the sound of danger they praised his inflexible love of justice and in the pursuit of justice the emperor was easily tempted to consider clemency as a weakness and passion as a virtue as long as he wrestled with his equals in the bold competition of an active and ambitious life Valentinian was seldom injured and never insulted with impunity if his prudence was arraigned his spirit was applauded and the proudest and most powerful generals were apprehensive of provoking the resentment of a fearless soldier after he became master of the world he unfortunately forgot where no resistance can be made no courage can be exerted and instead of consulting the dictates of reason and magnanimity he indulged the furious emotions of his temper at a time when they were disgraceful to himself and fatal to the defenseless objects of his displeasure in the government of his household or of his empire slight or even imaginary offenses a hasty word of remission and involuntary delay were chastised by a sentence of immediate death the expressions which issued most readily from the mouth of the emperor of the west were strike off his head burn him alive let him be beaten with clubs until he expires and his most famous ministers understood that by a rash attempt to dispute or suspend the execution of his sanguinary commands they might involve themselves in the guilt and punishment of disobedience the repeated gratification of this savage justice hardened the mind of Valentinian against pity and remorse and the sallies of passion were confirmed by the habits of cruelty he could behold with calm satisfaction the convulsive agonies of torture and death he reserved his friendship for those faithful servants whose temper was the most congenial to his own the merit of Maximon that slaughtered the noblest families of Rome was rewarded with the royal approbation and the prefecture of Gaul two fierce and enormous bears distinguished by the appellations of innocence and Micah Aurea could alone deserve to share the favor of Maximon the cages of those trusty guards were always placed near the bed chamber of Valentinian who frequently amused his eyes with the grateful spectacle of bringing them tear and devour the bleeding limbs of the malfactors who were abandoned to their rage their diet and exercises were carefully inspected by the Roman emperor and when innocence had earned her discharge by a long course of meritorious service the faithful animal was again restored to the freedom of her native woods