 CHAPTER 30 REVOLT TO THE GODS They plunder Greece, two great invasions of Italy by Alaric and Radegatius. They are repulsed by Stelico, the Germans overrun Gaul, usurpation of Constantine in the West, disgrace and death of Stelico. If the subjects of Rome could be ignorant of their obligations to the great Theodosius, they were too soon convinced how painfully the spirit and abilities of their deceased emperor had supported the frail and moldering edifice of the republic. He died in the month of January and before the end of the winter of the same year, the Gothic nation was in arms. The barbarian auxiliaries erected their independent standard and boldly avowed the hostile designs which they had long cherished in their ferocious minds. Their countrymen who had been condemned by the conditions of the last treaty to a life of tranquility and labor deserted their farms at the first sound of the trumpet and eagerly resumed the weapons which they had reluctantly laid down. The barriers of the Danube were thrown open. The savage warriors of Skithia issued from their forest and the uncommon severity of the winter allowed the poet to remark that they rolled their ponderous wagons over the broad and icy back of the indignant river. The unhappy natives of the provinces to the south of the Danube submitted to the calamities, which in the course of twenty years were almost grown familiar to their imagination and the various troops of barbarians who gloried in the Gothic name were irregularly spread from woody shore of Dalmatia to the walls of Constantinople. The interruption or at least the demunation of the subsidy which the Gauls had received from the prudent liberality of Theodosius was the spacious pretense of their revolt. The affront was embittered by their contempt for the unwarlike sons of Theodosius and their resentment was inflamed by the weakness or treachery of the minister of Arcadius. The frequent visits of Rufanus to the camp of the barbarians whose arms and apparel he affected to imitate were considered as sufficient evidence of his guilty correspondence and the public enemy from a motive either of gratitude or of policy was attentive, amidst the general devastation, to spare the private estates of the unpopular prefect. The Gauls, instead of being impelled by the blind and headstrong passions of their chiefs, were now directed by the bold and artful genius of Alaric. That renowned leader was descended from the noble race of the Balti, which yielded only to the royal dignity of the Amali. He had solicited the command of the Roman armies and the imperial court provoked him to demonstrate the folly of their refusal and the importance of their loss. Whatever hopes might be entertained of the conquest of Constantinople, the judicious general soon abandoned an impractical enterprise. In the midst of a divided court and a discontented people, the emperor Arcadius was terrified by the aspect of the Gothic arms, but the want of wisdom and valor was supplied by the strength of the city, and the fortifications, both of sea and land, might securely brave the impotent and random darts of the barbarians. Gothic disdained a trample any longer on the prostate and ruined countries of Thrace and Dacia, and he resolved to seek a plentiful harvest of fame and riches in a province which had hitherto escaped the ravages of war. The character of the civil and military officers, on whom Rufanus had devolved the government of Greece, confirmed the public suspicion that he had betrayed the ancient seat of freedom and learning to the Gothic invader. The proconsul Antiochus was the unworthy son of a respectable father, and Geronitus, who had commanded the provincial troops, was much better qualified to execute the oppressive orders of a tyrant than to defend with courage and ability a country most remarkably fortified by the hand of nature. Alaric had traversed without resistance the plains of Macedonia and Thessaly. As far as the foot of Mount Ida, a steep and woody range of hills almost impervious to his cavalry, they stretched from east to west to the edge of the seashore and left between the precipice and the mullion gulf. An interval of three hundred feet, which in some places was contracted to a road capable of admitting only a single carriage. In this narrow pass of Thermopylae where Leonidas and his three hundred Spartans had gloriously devoted their lives, the Goths might have been stopped or destroyed by a skillful general, and perhaps the view of that sacred spot might have kindled some spark of military ardor in the breast of the degenerate Greeks. The troops which had been posted to defend the Straits of Thermopylae retired as they had been directed without attempting to disturb the secure and rapid passage of Alaric, and the fertile fields of Poshus and Bodia were instantly covered by a deluge of barbarians who massacred the males of an age to bear arms and drove away the beautiful females with the spoil and cattle of the flaming villages. The travelers who visited Greece several years afterwards could easily discover the deep and bloody traces of the March of the Goths, and Thebes was less indebted for her preservation to the strength of her seven gates than to the eager haste of Alaric who advanced to occupy the city of Athens and the important harbor of Parias. The same impatience urged him to prevent the delay and danger of a siege by the offer of a capitulation, and as soon as the Athenians heard the voice of the Gothic herald, they were easily persuaded to deliver the greatest part of their wealth as the ransom of the city of Minerva and its inhabitants. The treaty was ratified by solemn oaths and observed with mutual fidelity. The Gothic prince, with a small and select train, was admitted within the walls. He indulged himself in the refreshment of the bath, accepted a splendid banquet which was provided by the magistrate, and effected to show that he was not ignorant of the manners of civilized nations, but the whole territory of Attica, from the promontory of Sonium to the town of Megara, was blasted by his baleful presence, and, if we may use the comparison of a contemporary philosopher, Athens itself resembled the bleeding and empty skin of a slaughtered victim. The distance between Megara and Corinth could not much exceed thirty miles, but the bad road, an expressive name which it still bears among the Greeks, was, or might easily have been made, impassable for the march of an enemy. The thick and gloomy woods of Mount Satheron covered the inland country, and the Scyronian rocks approached the water's edge, and hung over the narrow and winding path, which was confined above six miles along the seashore. The passage of these rocks, so infamous in every age, was terminated by the Isthmus of Corinth, and a small body of firm and intrepid soldiers might have successfully defended a temporary entrenchment of five or six miles from the Ionian to the Aegean Sea. The confidence of the cities of the Peloponnesus and their natural rampart had tempted them to neglect the care of their antique walls, and the avarice of the Roman governors had exhausted and betrayed the unhappy province. Corinth, Argos, Sparta yielded almost without resistance to the arms of the Goths, and the most fortunate of the inhabitants were saved by death from beholding the slavery of their family and the conflagration of their cities. The vases and statues were distributed among the barbarians with more regard to the value of the materials than to the elegance of the workmanship. The female captives submitted to the laws of war, and the enjoyment of beauty was the reward of valor, and the Greeks could not reasonably complain of an abuse which was justified by the example of the heroic times. The descendants of that extraordinary people, who had considered valor and discipline as the walls of Sparta, no longer remembered the generous reply of their ancestors to the invader more formidable than Alaric. If thou art a God, thou wilt not hurt those who have never injured thee. If thou art a man, advance, and thou wilt find men equal to thyself. From Thermopylae to Sparta, the leader of the Goths pursued his victorious march without encountering any mortal antagonist. But one of the advocates of the expiring paganism has confidently asserted that the walls of Athens were guarded by the goddess Minerva, with her formidable ages, and by the angry phantom of Achilles, in that the conqueror was dismayed by the presence of the hostile deities of Greece. In an age of miracles it would perhaps be unjust to dispute the claim of the historian's usimus to the common benefit, yet it cannot be dissembled, that the mind of Alaric was ill-prepared to receive, either in sleeping or waking visions, the impression of Greek superstition. The songs of Homer and the fame of Achilles had probably never reached the ear of the illiterate barbarian, and the Christian faith which he had devoutly embraced taught him to despise the imaginary deities of Rome and Athens. The invasion of the Goths, instead of vindicating the honor, contributed, at least accidentally, to extirpate the last remains of paganism, and the mysteries of Ceres, which had subsisted eighteen hundred years, did not survive the destruction of Eleusis and the calamities of Greece. The last hope of a people who could no longer depend on their arms, their gods or their sovereign, was placed in the powerful assistance of the general of the west, and Stelico, who had not been permitted to repulse, advanced to chastise the invaders of Greece. A numerous fleet was equipped in the ports of Italy, and the troops, after a short and prosperous navigation over the Ionian Sea, were safely disembarked on the Isthmus near the ruins of Corinth. The woody and mountainous country of Arcadia, the fabulous residents of Pan and the Dryads, became the scene of a long and doubtful conflict between the two generals not unworthy of each other. The skill and perseverance of the Roman at length prevailed, and the Goths, after sustaining a considerable loss from disease and desertion, gradually retreated to the lofty mountain of Folo, near the sources of the Penaeus, and on the frontiers of Eleus, a sacred country, which had formerly been exempt from the calamities of war. The camp of the barbarians was immediately besieged. The waters of the river were diverted into another channel, and while they labored under the intolerable pressure of thirst and hunger, a strong line of circumvalation was formed to prevent their escape. After these precautions, Stelico, too confident of victory, retired to enjoy his triumph, in the theatrical games and lavish stances of the Greeks, his soldiers deserting their standards spread themselves over the country of their allies, which they stripped of all that had been saved from the rapacious hands of the enemy. Alaric appears to have seized the favorable moment to execute one of those hearty enterprises in which the abilities of a general are displayed with more genuine luster than in the tumult of a day of battle. To extricate himself from the prison of the Peloponnesus, it was necessary that he should pierce the entrenchments which surrounded his camp, that he should perform a difficult and dangerous march of 30 miles, as far as the Gulf of Corinth, and that he should transport his troops, his captives, and his spoil over the arm of the sea, which in the narrow interval between Rome and the opposite shore is at least half a mile in breath. The operations of Alaric must have been secret, prudent, and rapid, since the Roman general was confounded by the intelligence that the Goths, who had eluded his efforts, were in full possession of the important province of Apyrus. This unfortunate delay allowed Alaric sufficient time to conclude the treaty which he secretly negotiated with the ministers of Constantinople. The apprehension of a civil war compelled Stelico to retire at the haughty mandate of his rivals from the dominions of Arcadius, and he respected, in the enemy of Rome, the honorable character of the ally and servant of the emperor of the east. A Grecian philosopher who visited Constantinople soon after the death of Theodosius published his liberal opinions concerning the duties of kings and the state of the Roman Republic. Cinesius observes and deplores the fatal abuse which the imprudent bounty of the late emperors had introduced into the military service. The citizens and subjects had purchased an exemption from the indispensable duty of defending their country, which was supported by the arms of barbarian mercenaries. The fugitives of Schitia were permitted to disgrace the illustrious dignities of the empire. Their ferocious youth, who disdained the salutary restraint of laws, were more anxious to acquire the riches than to imitate the arts of a people the object of their contempt and hatred. And the power of the Goths was the stone of tantalists and perpetually suspended over the peace and safety of the devoted state. The measures which Cinesius recommends are the dictates of a bold and generous patriot. He exhorts the emperor to revive the courage of his subjects by the example of manly virtue, to banish luxury from the court and from the camp, to substitute in the place of the barbarian mercenaries an army of men interested in the defense of their laws and of their property, to force in such a moment of public danger the mechanic from his shop and the philosopher from his school, to rouse the indolent citizen from his dream of pleasure and to arm for the protection of agriculture the hands of the laborious husbandmen at the head of such troops who might deserve the name and who would display the spirit of Romans he animates the son of Theodosius to encounter a race of barbarians who were destitute of any real courage and never to lay down his arms till he had chased them far away into the solitudes of Schitia or had reduced them to the state of ignominious servitude which the Lassidemonians formally imposed on the captive helots the court of Arcadius indulged the zeal applauded the eloquence and neglected the advice of Cenecius perhaps the philosopher who addresses the emperor of the east in the language of reason and virtue which he might have used to a Spartan king had not condescended to form a practicable scheme consistent with the temper and circumstances of a degenerate age perhaps the pride of the ministers whose business was seldom interrupted by reflection might reject as wild and visionary every proposal which exceeded the measure of their capacity and deviated from the forms and presidents of office while the oration of Cenecius and the downfall of barbarians were the topics of popular conversation and edict was published at Constantinople which declared the promotion of Alaric to the rank of master general of the eastern Lyricum the Roman provincials and the allies who had respected the faith of treaties were justly indignant that the ruin of Greece and a pirate should be so liberally rewarded the gothic conqueror was received as a lawful magistrate in the cities which he had so lately besieged the fathers whose sons he had massacred the husbands whose wives he had violated were subject to his authority and the success of his rebellion encouraged the ambition of every leader of the foreign mercenaries the use to which Alaric applied his new command distinguishes the firm and judicious character of his policy he issued his orders to the four magazines and manufacturers of offensive and defensive arms Margus Reti area Nasus and Thessalonica to provide his troops with an extraordinary supply of shields helmets swords and spears the unhappy provincials were compelled to forge the instruments of their own destruction and the barbarians removed the only defect which had sometimes disappointed the efforts of their courage the birth of Alaric the glory of his past exploits and the confidence in his future designs insensibly united the body of the nation under his victorious standard and with the unanimous consent of the barbarian chieftains the master general Valericum was elevated according to the ancient custom on a shield and solemnly proclaimed King of the Visigoths armed with this double power seated on the verge of the two empires he alternately sold his deceitful promises to the court of Arcadius and Anorius till he declared and executed his resolution of invading the dominions of the West the provinces of Europe which belonged to the Eastern emperor were already exhausted those of Asia were inaccessible and the strength of Constantinople had resisted his attack but he was tempted by the fame the beauty the wealth of Italy which he had twice visited and he secretly aspired to plant the gothic standard on the walls of Rome and to enrich his army with the accumulated spoils of three hundred triumphs the scarcity of facts and the uncertainty of dates oppose our attempts to describe the circumstances of the first invasion of Italy by the arms of Alderic his march perhaps from Thessalonica through the war like and hostile country of Pannonia as far as the foot of the Julian Alps his passage of those mountains which were strongly guarded by troops and entrenchments the siege of Aquilia and the conquest of the provinces of Istria and Anicia appear to have employed a considerable time unless his operations were extremely cautious and slow the length of the interval would suggest a probable suspicion that the gothic king retreated toward the banks of the Danube and reinforced his army with fresh warms of barbarians before he again attempted to penetrate into the heart of Italy since the public and important events escaped the diligence of the historian he may amuse himself with contemplating for a moment the influence of the arms of Alaric on the fortunes of two obscure individuals a presbyter of Aquileia and a husband of Verona the learned roofiness who was summoned by his enemies to appear before a Roman Synod wisely preferred the dangers of a besieged city and the barbarians who furiously shook the walls of Aquileia might save him from the cruel sentence of another heretic who at the request of the same bishops was severely whipped and condemned to perpetual exile on a desert island the old man who had passed his simple and innocent life in the neighborhood of Verona was a stranger to the quarrels of both kings and of bishops his pleasures his desires his knowledge were confined within the little circle of his paternal farm and a staff supported by his aged steps on the same ground where he had sported in his infancy yet even this humble and rustic felicity which the Claudian describes with so much truth and feeling was still exposed to the undistinguishing rage of war his trees his old contemporary trees must blaze in the conflagration of the whole country a detachment of Gothic Calvary might sweep away his cottage in his family and the power of Alaric could destroy this happiness which he was not able to either taste or to bestow fame says the poet encircling with terror her gloomy wings proclaimed the march of the barbarian army and filled Italy with consternation the apprehensions of each individual were increased in just proportion to the measure of his fortune and the most timid who had already embarked their valuable effects meditated their escape to the island of Sicily or the African coast the public distress was aggravated by the fears and reproaches of superstition every hour produced some horrid tale of strange and portentious accidents the pagans deplored the neglect of omens and the interruption of sacrifices but the Christians still derive some comfort from the powerful intercession of the saints in the martyrs and chapter 30 part one recording by Jeff Stuckey of Atlanta, Georgia further information concerning Jeff Stuckey can be found by visiting Jeff Stuckey.com chapter 30 part two of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire volume three 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 Jeff Stuckey chapter 30 Reveal to the Goths part two. The Emperor Honorius was distinguished above his subjects by the preeminence of fear as well as of rank the pride and luxury in which he was educated had not allowed him to suspect that there existed on earth any power presumptuous enough to invade the repose of the successor of Augustus the arts of flattery concealed the impending danger till Alec approached the palace of Milan but when the sound of war had awakened the young emperor instead of flying to arms with the spirit or even the rashness of his age he eagerly listened to those timid counselors who proposed to convey his sacred person and his faithful attendance to some secure and distant station in the provinces of Gaul. Stelico alone had courage and authority to resist his disgraceful measure which would have abandoned Rome and Italy to the barbarians but as the troops of the palace had been lately detached to the Raitian frontier and as the resource of the new levy was slow and precarious the general of the West could only promise that if the court of Milan would maintain their ground during his absence he would soon return with an army equal to the encounter of the Gothic king without losing a moment while each moment was so important to the public safety Stelico hastily embarked on the Larian Lake ascended the mountains of ice and snow amidst the severity of an alpine winter and suddenly repressed by his unexpected presence the enemy who had disturbed the tranquility of Raitia the barbarians perhaps some tribes of the Alemani respected the firmness of a chief who still assumed the language of command and the choice which he condescended to make of a select number of their brave youth was considered as a mark of his esteem and favor the cohorts who were delivered from the neighboring foe diligently repaired to the imperial standard and Stelico issued his orders to the most remote troops of the West to advance by rapid marches to the defense of a Norris and of Italy the fortresses of the Rhine were abandoned and the safety of Gaul was protected only by the faith of the Germans and the ancient terror of the Roman name even the legion which had been stationed to guard the walls of Britain against the Caledonians of the north was hastily recalled in a numerous body of the Calvary of the Alani was persuaded to engage in the service of the emperor who anxiously expected the return of his general the prudence and vigorous Stelico were conspicuous on this occasion which revealed at the same time the weakness of the falling Empire the legions of Rome which had long since languished in the gradual decay of discipline and courage were exterminated by the gothic and civil wars and it was bound impossible with that exhausting and exposing the provinces to assemble an army for the defense of Italy. End of Chapter 30 Part II Recording by Jeff Stuckey of Atlanta, Georgia Further information concerning Jeff Stuckey can be found by visiting Jeffstuckey.com Chapter 30 Part III of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Volume III This is a Libervox recording. All Libervox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit Libervox.org. Recording by Jeff Stuckey. Chapter 30 Revolt of the Goths. Part III When Stelico seemed to abandon his sovereign in the unguarded palace of Milan, he had probably calculated the term of his absence, the distance of the enemy and the obstacles that might retard their march. He principally depended on the rivers of Italy, the Adige, the Menesias, the Oglio and the Adua, which in the winter or spring, by the fall of rains or by the melting of the snows, are commonly swelled and abroad in impetuous torrents. But the season happened to be remarkably dry, and the Goths could traverse without impediment the wide and stony beds, whose center was faintly marked by the course of a shallow stream. The bridge and passage of the Adua were secured by a strong detachment of Gothic army, and as Allurek approached the walls or rather the suburbs of Milan, he enjoyed the proud satisfaction of seeing the Emperor of the Romans fly before him. Anorias, accompanied by a feeble train of statesmen and eunuchs, hastily retreated toward the Alps, with the design of securing his person in the city of Arlay, which had often been the royal residence of his predecessors. But Anorias had scarcely passed the Poe before he was overtaken by the speed of the Gothic Calvary, since the urgency of the danger compelled him to seek a temporary shelter within the fortifications of Asda, a town of Liguria or Pimont, situated on the banks of the Teneris, the siege of an obscure place which contained so rich a prize and seemed incapable of long resistance was instantly formed, and infagatively pressed by the King of the Goths. And the bold declaration which the Emperor might afterwards make that his breast had never been susceptible of fear did not probably obtain much credit, even in his own court. In the last and almost hopeless extremity, after the barbarians had already proposed the indignity of a capitulation, the imperial captive was suddenly relieved by the fame, the approach, and at length the presence of the hero, whom he had so long expected. At the head of a chosen and intrepid vanguard, Stelico swam the stream of the Adwa to gain the time which he must have lost in the attack of the bridge. The passage of the Poe was an enterprise of much less hazard and difficulty, and the successful action in which he cut his way through the Gothic camps under the walls of Asda revived the hopes and vindicated the honor of Rome, instead of grasping the fruits of his victory, the barbarian was gradually invested on every side by the troops of the West, who successively issued through all the passes of the Alps. His quarters were straightened, his convoys were intercepted, and the vigilance of the Romans prepared to form a chain of fortifications and to besiege the lines of the besiegers. A military council was assembled of the long-haired chiefs of the Gothic nation, of aged warriors whose bodies were wrapped in furs and whose stern countenances were marked with honorable wounds. They waved the glory of persisting in their attempt against the advantage of securing their plunder, and they recommended the prudent measure of a seasonable retreat. In this important debate, Alaric displayed the spirit of the conqueror of Rome, and after he had reminded his countrymen of their achievements and of their designs, he concluded his animating speech by the solemn and positive assurance that he was resolved to find in Italy either a kingdom or a grave. The loose discipline of the barbarians always exposed them to the danger of a surprise, but instead of choosing the desolate hours of riot and intemperance, Stelica resolved to attack the Christian Goths whilst they were devoutly employed in celebrating the Festival of Easter. The execution of the stratagem, or as it was termed by the clergy of the sacrilege, was entrusted to Saul, a barbarian and a pagan who had served, however, with distinguished reputation among the veteran generals of Theodosius. The camp of the Goths, which Alaric pitched in the neighborhood of Palencia, was thrown into confusion by the sudden and impetuous charge of the imperial cavalry, but in a few moments the undaunted genius of their leader gave them an order and a field of battle, and as soon as they had recovered from their astonishment, the pious confidence that the god of the Christians would assert their cause added new strength to their native valor. In this engagement, which was long maintained with equal courage and success, the chief of the Elani, whose diminutive and savage form concealed a magnanimous soul, approved his suspected loyalty by the zeal with which he fought, and fell in the service of the Republic, and the fame of this gallant barbarian has been imperfectly preserved in the verses of Claudian, since the poet who celebrates his virtue has omitted the mention of his name. His death was followed by the flight and dismay of the squadrons which he commanded, and the defeat of the wing of Calvary might have declared the victory of Alaric, as Delico had not immediately led the Roman and barbarian infantry to the attack. The skill of the general and the bravery of the soldiers surmounted every obstacle. In the evening of the bloody day, the gods retreated from the field of battle. The entrenchments of their camps were forced, and the scene of the repine and slaughter made some atonement for the calamities which they had inflicted on the subjects of the Empire. The magnificent spoils of Corinth and Argos enriched the veterans of the West. The captive wife of Alaric, who had impatiently claimed his promise of Roman jewels and patrician handmaids was reduced to implore the mercy of the insulting foe, and many thousand prisoners released from the Gothic change dispersed through the provinces of Italy, the praises of their heroic deliverer. The triumph of Delico was compared by the poet, and perhaps by the public, to that of Marius, who in the same part of Italy had encountered and destroyed another army of northern barbarians. The huge bones and the empty helmets of the Cambry of the Goths would easily be confounded by succeeding generations and prosperity might erect a common trophy to the memory of the two most illustrious generals who had vanquished on the same memorial ground the two most formidable enemies of Rome. The eloquence of Claudian had celebrated with lavish applause the victory of Palencia, one of the most glorious days in the life of his patron. But his reluctant and partial muse bestows more genuine praise on the character of the Gothic king. His name is indeed branded with the reproachable epithets of pirate and robber, to which the conquerors of every age are so justly entitled. But the poet of Delico is compelled to acknowledge that Alaric possessed the invincible temper of mind, which rises superior to every misfortune and derives new resource from adversary. After the total defeat of his infantry, he escaped, or rather withdrew from the field of battle with the greatest part of his Calvary entire and unbroken. Without wasting a moment to lament the irreparable loss of so many brave companions, he left his victorious enemy to bind and change the captive images of a Gothic king, and boldly resolved to break through the unguarded passes of the Apennine, to spread desolation over the fruitful face of Tuscany, and to conquer or die before the gates of Rome. The capital was saved by the active and incessant diligence of Delico, but he respected the despair of his enemy, and instead of committing the fate of the Republic to the chance of another battle, he proposed to purchase the absence of the spirit of Alaric would have rejected such terms. The permission of a retreat and the offer of a pension with contempt and indignation, but he exercised a limited and precarious authority over the independent chieftains who had raised him for their service above the ranks of his equals. They were still less disposed to follow an unsuccessful general, and many of them were tempted to consult their interests by a private negotiation with the ministers of Honorius. The king submitted to the voice of his people, ratified the treaty with the Empire of the West, and repassed the Poe with the remains of the flourishing army which he had led into Italy. A considerable part of the Roman forces still continued to attend his motions, and Delico, who maintained a secret correspondence with some of the barbarian chiefs, was punctually appraised to the designs that were formed in the camps and councils of Alaric. The king of the Goths, ambitious to signalize his retreat by some splendid achievement, had resolved to occupy the important city of Verona, which commands the principal passages of the Raitian Alps, and directing his march through the territories of those German tribes whose allegiance would restore his exhausted strength to invade on the side of the Rhine, the wealthy and unsuspecting provinces of Gaul. Ignorant of the treason, which had already betrayed his bold and judicious enterprise, he advanced toward the passes of the mountains, already possessed by the Imperial troops, where he was exposed, almost at the same instant, to a general attack in the front, on his flanks, and in the rear. In this bloody action, at a small distance from the walls of Verona, the loss of the Goths was not less heavy than that which they had sustained in the defeat of Palencia, and their valiant king, who escaped by the swiftness of his horse, must either have been slain or made prisoner if the hasty rashness of the Elani had not disappointed the measures of the Roman general. Alaric secured the remains of his army on the adjacent rocks, and prepared himself with undaunted resolution to maintain a siege against the superior numbers of the enemy, who invested him on all sides, but he could not oppose the destructive progress of hunger and disease, nor was it possible for him to check the continual desertion of his impatient and capricious barbarians. In this extremity he still found resources in his own courage, or in the moderation of his adversary, and the retreat to the Gothic king was considered as the deliverance of Italy, yet the people and even the clergy, incapable of forming any rational judgment of the business of peace and war, presumed to arrange the policy of Stelico, who so often vanquished, so often surrounded, and so often dismissed the implacable enemy of the Republic. The first moment of the public safety is devoted to gratitude and joy, but the second is diligently occupied by envy and calamity. The citizens of Rome had been astonished by the approach of Alaric, and the diligence with which they had labored to restore the walls of the capital confessed their own fears and the decline of the Empire. After the retreat of the barbarians, Inorius was directed to accept the dutiful invitation of the Senate and to celebrate in the imperial sitting the auspicious era of the Gothic victory and his sixth consulship. The suburbs and the streets from which the Milvian bridge and the Palatine Mount were filled by the Roman people, who in the space of a hundred years had only thrice honored with the presence of their sovereigns, while their eyes were fixed on the chariot where Stelico was deservedly seated by the side of his royal pupil. They applauded the pomp of the triumph, which was not stained like that of Constantine or of Theodosius with civil blood. The procession passed under the lofty arch which had been purposely erect, but in less than seven years the Gothic conquerors of Rome might read, if they were able to read, the superb inscription of that monument, which attested the total defeat and destruction of their nation. The emperor resided several months in the capital, and every part of his behavior was regulated with care to conciliate the affection of the clergy, the Senate, and the people of Rome. The clergy was edified by his frequent visits and liberal gifts to the shrines of the apostles. The Senate, who in the triumphal procession had been excused from the humiliating ceremony of proceeding on foot the imperial chariot, was treated with the decent reverence which Stelico always affected for that assembly. The people was regularly gratified by the attention and the courtesy of Honorius in the public games, which were celebrated on that occasion with the magnificence not unworthy of the spectator. As soon as the appointed number of chariot races was concluded and the decoration of the circus was suddenly changed, the hunting of wild beasts afforded a various and splendid entertainment, and the chase was succeeded by a military dance, which seems in the lively description of Claudion to represent the image of a modern tournament. In these games of Honorius, the inhuman combats of gladiators polluted for the last time the amphitheater of Rome. The first Christian emperor may claim the honor of the first edict which condemned the art and amusement of shedding human blood, but this benevolent law expressed the wishes of the prince without reforming an inveterate abuse which degraded a civilized nation below the condition of savage cannibals. Several hundred, perhaps several thousand victims were annually slaughtered in the great cities of the Empire, and the month of December more peculiarly devoted to the combats of gladiators still exhibited to the eyes of the Roman people a grateful spectacle of blood and cruelty. Amidst the general joy of the victory of Palencia, a Christian poet exhorted the emperor to extrapate by his authority the horrid custom which had so long resisted the voice of humanity and religion, the pathetic representations of Prudentius were less effectual than the generous boldness of Telemachus, an acidic monk whose death was more useful to mankind than his life. The Romans were provoked by the interruption of their pleasures, and the rash monk who had descended into the arena to separate the gladiators was overwhelmed under a shower of stones. But the madness of the people soon subsided and they respected the memory of Telemachus, who would deserve the honors of martyrdom, and they submitted without a murmur to the laws of Anorius, which abolished forever the human sacrifices of the amphitheater. The citizens who adhered to the manners of their ancestors might perhaps insinuate that the last remains of a martial spirit were preserved in this school of fortitude, which accustomed the Romans to the sight of blood and to the contempt of death, a vain and cruel prejudice so nobly confuted by the valor of ancient Greece and of modern Europe. The recent danger to which the person of the emperor had been exposed in the defenseless palace of Milan urged him to seek a retreat in some inaccessible fortress of Italy, where he might securely remain while the open country was covered by the deluge of barbarians. On the coast of the Adriatic, about ten or twelve miles from the most southern of the seven miles of the Poe, the Thessalians had founded the ancient colony of Revena, which they had afterwards resigned to the natives of Umbria. Augustus, who had observed the opportunity of the place, prepared at the distance of three miles from the old town a capacious harbor for the reception of 250 ships of war. This naval establishment, which included the arsenals and magazines, the barracks of the troops, and the houses of the artificers, derived its origin and name from the permanent station of the Roman fleet. The intermediate space was soon filled with buildings and inhabitants, and the three extensive and populous quarters of Revena gradually contributed to form one of the most important cities of Italy. The principal canal of Augustus poured a copious stream of the waters of the Poe through the midst of the city and the entrance of the harbor. The same waters were introduced into the profound ditches that encompassed the walls. They were distributed by a thousand subordinate canals in every part of the city, which they divided into a variety of small islands. The communication was maintained only by the use of boats and bridges, and the houses of Revena, whose appearance may be compared to that of Venice, were raised on a foundation of wooden piles. The adjacent country, to the distance of many miles, was a deep and impassable morass, and the artificial causeway, which connected Revena with the continent, might be easily guarded or destroyed on the approach of a hostile army. These morasses were interspersed, however, with vineyards, and though the soil was filled by four or five crops, the town enjoyed a more plentiful supply of wine than a fresh water. The air, instead of receiving the sickly and almost pestilential exaltations of low and marshy grounds, was distinguished like the neighborhood of Alexandria, as uncommonly pure and salubrious, and this singular advantage was ascribed to the regular tides of the Adriatic, which swept the canals, interrupted the unwholesome stagnation of the waters, and floated every day the vessels of the adjacent country into the heart of Revena. The gradual retreat of the sea has left the modern city at the distance of four miles from the Adriatic, and as early as the fifth or sixth century of the Christian era, the port of Augustus was converted into the Pleasant Orchards and the lonely grove of pines covered the ground where the Roman fleet once rode in anchor. Even this alteration contributed to increase the natural strength of the place, and the shallowness of the water was a sufficient barrier against the large ships of the enemy. This situation was fortified by art and labor in the twelfth year of his age. The Emperor of the West, anxious only for his personal safety, retired to the perpetual confinement of the walls and morasses of Revena. The example of Inorius was imitated by his feeble successors, the Gothic kings and afterwards the ex-arts who occupied the throne and palace of the emperor, until the middle of the eighth century, Revena was considered as the seat of government and the capital of Italy. Those of Inorius were not without foundation, nor were his precautions without effect. While Italy rejoiced in her deliverance from the Goths, a furious tempest was excited among the nations of Germany, who yielded to the irresistible impulse that appears to have been gradually communicated from the eastern extremity of the continent of Asia. The Chinese annals, as they had been interpreted by the earned industry of the present age, may be usefully applied to reveal the secret and remote causes of the fall of the Great Empire. The extensive territory to the north of the Great Wall was possessed after the flight of the Huns by the victorious Senpai, who were sometimes broken into independent tribes, and sometimes reunited under a supreme chief, till, at length, styling themselves the topa, or masters of the earth, they acquired a more solid consistence and a more formidable power. The topa soon compelled the pastoral nations of the eastern desert to acknowledge the superiority of their invaded China in a period of weakness and intestine discord, and these fortunate Tartars, adopting the laws and manners of the vanquished people, founded an imperial dynasty which reigned nearly 160 years over the northern provinces of the monarchy. Some generations before they ascended the throne of China, one of the topa princes had enlisted his calvary, a slave of the name of Moko, renowned for his valor, but who was tempted by the fear of punishment to desert his standard, and deranged the desert at the head of a hundred followers. This gang of robbers and outlaws swelled into a camp, a tribe, a numerous people, distinguished by the appellation of Jeden and their hereditary chieftains. The posterity of Moko, the slave, assumed the rank among the Scythian monarchs. The youth of Tulan, the greatest of his descendants, was exercised by those misfortunes which were the school of heroes. He bravely struggled with adversity, broke the imperious yoke of the topa, and became the legislator of his nation, and the conqueror of Tartary. His troops were distributed into regular bands of a hundred, and of a thousand men. Cowards were stoned to death. The most splendid honors were proposed as a reward for valor, and Tulan, who had knowledge enough to despise the learning of China, adopted only such arts and institutions as were favorable to the military spirit of his government. His tents, which he removed in the winter season to a more southern latitude, were pitched during the summer on the fruitful banks of the Selinga. His conquest stretched from Korea, far beyond the river Ertisch. He vanquished in the country to the north of the Caspian Sea, the nation of the Huns. And the new title of Khan, or Kagan, expressed the fame and power which he derived from this memorable victory. The chain of events is interrupted, or rather is concealed as it passes from the Volga to the Vistula. Through the dark interval it separates the extreme limits of Chinese and of the Roman geography. Yet the temper of the barbarians and the experience of successive emigration sufficiently declared that the Huns, who were oppressed by the arms of Jeden, soon withdrew from the presence of an insulting victor. The countries toward the Exxon were already occupied by their kindred tribes, and their hasty flight, which they soon converted into a bold attack, would more naturally be directed toward the rich and level plains through which the Vistula flows into the Baltic Sea. The north must again have been alarmed and agitated by the invasion of the Huns. And the nations, who retreated before them, must have pressed with incumbent weight on the confines of Germany. The inhabitants of those regions, which the ancients have assigned to the Suvi and the Vandals and the Burgundians might have embraced the resolution of abandoning the fugitives of Sarmatia, their woods and their morasses, or at least of discharging their superfluous numbers on the vandals of the Roman Empire. About four years after the victorious Talan had assumed the title of Khan and of Jeden, another barbarian the haughty Rudigast, or Raghastius, marched from the northern extremities of Germany almost to the gates of Rome, and left the remains of his army to achieve the destruction of the west. The Vandals, the Suvi, and the Burgundians formed the strength of this mighty host, but the Illini, who had found a hospitable reception in their new army, added their active cavalry to the heavy infantry of the Germans, and the Gothic adventurers crowded so eagerly to the standard of Raghastius, that by some historians he has been styled the king of the Goths. Twelve thousand warriors distinguished above the vulgar by their noble birth, or by their valiant deeds, glittered in the van, and the whole multitude, which was not less than two hundred thousand fighting men, might be increased by the accession of women and children and of slaves to the hundred thousand persons. This formidable immigration issued from the same coast of the Baltic, which had poured forth the myriads of the Simbri and the Tutans, to assault Rome and Italy in the vigour of the Republic. After the departure of those barbarians, their native country, which was marked by the vestiges of their greatness, long ramparts and gigantic moles remained some ages of vast and dreary solitude, till the human species was renewed by the powers of generation, and the nations he was filled by the influx of new inhabitants. The nations who now usurp an extent of land which they are unable to cultivate would soon be assisted by the industrious poverty of their neighbours if the Government of Europe did not protect the claims of dominion and property. End of Chapter 30 Part 3 Recording by Jeff Stuckey of Atlanta, Georgia. Further information concerning Jeff Stuckey can be found by visiting jeffstuckey.com Chapter 30 Part 4 Of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Volume 3 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 Corrie Samuel The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Volume 3 by Edward Gibbon Chapter 30 Revolt of the Goths Part 4 The correspondence of nations was, in that age, so imperfect and precarious that the revolutions of the North might escape the knowledge of the Court of Ravenna, till the dark cloud which was collected along the coast of the Baltic burst in thunder upon the banks of the Upper Danube. The Emperor of the West, if his ministers disturbed his amusements by the news of the impending danger, was satisfied with being the occasion and the spectator of the war. The safety of Rome was entrusted to the councils and the sword of Stilicho, but such was the feeble and exhausted state of the Empire that it was impossible to restore the fortifications of the Danube or to prevent, by a vigorous effort, the invasion of the Germans. The hopes of the vigilant minister of Honorius were confined to the defence of Italy. He once more abandoned the provinces, recalled the troops, pressed the new levies, which were rigorously exacted and pusillanimously eluded, employed the most efficacious means to arrest or allure the deserters and offered the gift of freedom and of two pieces of gold to all the slaves who would enlist. By these efforts he painfully collected from the subjects of a great empire, an army of thirty or forty thousand men, which, in the days of Scipio or Camillus, would have been instantly furnished by the free citizens of the territory of Rome. The thirty legions of Stilicho were reinforced by a large body of barbarian auxiliaries. The faithful Elani were personally attached to his service, and the troops of Huns and of Goths, who marched under the banners of their native princes, Haldyn and Sarris, were animated by interest and resentment to oppose the ambition of Radagaisus. The king of the Confederate Germans passed, without resistance, the Alps, the Poe, and the Epennine, leaving on one hand the inaccessible palace of Honorius securely buried among the marshes of Ravenna, and on the other the camp of Stilicho, who had fixed his headquarters at Ticinum or Pavia, but who seems to have avoided a decisive battle till he had assembled his distant forces. Many cities of Italy were pillaged or destroyed, and the Siege of Florence, by Radagaisus, is one of the earliest events in the history of that celebrated republic, whose firmness checked and delayed the unskillful fury of the barbarians. The senate and people trembled at their approach within a hundred and eighty miles of Rome, and anxiously compared the danger which they had escaped with the new perils to which they were exposed. Alaric was a Christian and a soldier, the leader of a disciplined army, who understood the laws of war, who respected the sanctity of treaties, and who had familiarly conversed with the subjects of the empire in the same camps and the same churches. The savage Radagaisus was a stranger to the manners, the religion, and even the language of the civilised nations of the south. The fierceness of his temper was exasperated by cruel superstition, and it was universally believed that he had bound himself by a solemn vow to reduce the city into a heap of stones and ashes, and to sacrifice the most illustrious of the Roman senators on the alters of those gods who were appeased by human blood. The public danger which should have reconciled all domestic animosities displayed the incurable madness of religious faction. The oppressed votaries of Jupiter and Mercury respected in the implacable enemy of Rome the character of a devout pagan, loudly declared that they were more apprehensive the sacrifices than of the arms of Radagaisus and secretly rejoiced in the calamities of their country which condemned the faith of their Christian adversaries. Florence was reduced to the last extremity and the fainting courage of the citizens was supported only by the authority of St. Ambrose who had communicated in a dream the promise of a speedy deliverance. On a sudden they were held from their walls the banners of Stiliccio who advanced with his united force to the relief of the faithful city and who soon marked that fatal spot for the grave of the barbarian host. The apparent contradictions of those writers who variously relate the defeat of Radagaisus may be reconciled without offering much violence to their respective testimonies. Erosius and Augustine who were intimately connected by friendship and religion ascribed this miraculous victory to the providence of God rather than to the valour of man they strictly exclude every idea of chance or even of bloodshed and positively affirm that the Romans whose camp was the scene of plenty and idleness enjoyed the distress of the barbarians slowly expiring on the sharp and barren ridge the hills of Faisulai which rise above the city of Florence their extravagant assertion that not a single soldier of the Christian army was killed or even wounded may be dismissed with silent contempt but the rest of the narrative of Augustine and Erosius is consistent with the state of the war and the character of Stiliccio conscious that he commanded the last army of the Republic his prudence would not expose it in the open field to the headstrong fury of the Germans the method of surrounding the enemy with strong lines of circumvalation which he had twice employed against the Gothic king was repeated on a larger scale and with more considerable effect the examples of Caesar must have been familiar to the most illiterate of the Roman warriors and the fortifications of Diracium connected twenty-four castles by perpetual ditch and rampart of fifteen miles afforded the model of an entrenchment which might confine and starve the most numerous host of barbarians the Roman troops had less degenerated from the industry than from the valour of their ancestors and if their servile and laborious work offended the pride of the soldiers Tuscany could supply many thousand peasants of labor though perhaps they would not fight for the salvation of their native country the imprisoned multitude of horses and men was gradually destroyed by famine rather than by the sword but the Romans were exposed during the progress of such an extensive work to the frequent attacks of an impatient enemy the despair of the hungry barbarians would precipitate them to the locations of Stilicho the general might sometimes indulge the ardour of his brave auxiliaries who eagerly pressed to assault the camp of the Germans and these various incidents might produce the sharp and bloody conflicts which dignify the narrative of Zassimus and the chronicles of Prosper and Marcellinus a seasonable supply of men and provisions had been introduced into the walls of Florence the host of Radagaisus was in its turn besieged the proud monarch of so many warlike nations after the loss of his bravest warriors was reduced to confide either in the faith of a capitulation or in the clemency of Stilicho but the death of the royal captive who was anonymously beheaded disgraced to the triumph of Rome and of Christianity and the short delay of his execution was sufficient to brand the conqueror with the guilt of cool and deliberate cruelty the famished Germans who escaped the fury of the auxiliaries were sold as slaves at the contemptible price of as many single pieces of gold but the difference of food and climate swept away great numbers of those unhappy strangers and it was observed that the inhuman purchasers instead of reaping the fruits of their labour were soon obliged to provide the expense of their interment Stilicho informed the emperor and the senate of his success and deserved a second time the glorious title of deliverer of Italy the fame of the victory and more especially of the miracle has encouraged a vain persuasion that the whole army or rather nation of Germans who migrated from the shores of the Baltic miserably perished under the walls of Florence such indeed was the fate of Radagesus himself of his brave and faithful companions and of more than one third of the various multitude of swieves and vandals of Elani and Burgundians who adhered to the standard of their general the union of such an army might excite our surprise but the causes of separation and forcible the pride of birth the insolence of valor the jealousy of command the impatience of subordination and the obstinate conflict of opinions of interests and of passions among so many kings and warriors who were untaught to yield or to obey after the defeat of Radagesus two parts of the German host which must have exceeded the number of one hundred thousand men still remained in arms between the Apennine and the Alps or between the Alps and the Danube it is uncertain whether they attempted to revenge the death of their general but their irregular fury was soon diverted by the prudence and firmness of Stiliccio who opposed their march and facilitated their retreat who considered the safety of Rome and Italy as the great object of his care and who sacrificed with too much indifference the wealth and tranquility of the distant provinces the barbarians acquired from the junction of some Panonian deserters the knowledge of the country and of the roads and the invasion of Gaul which Ilaric had designed was executed by the remains of the great army of Radagesus yet if they expected to derive any assistance from the tribes of Germany who inhabited the banks of the Rhine their hopes were disappointed the Alemani preserved a state of inactive neutrality and the Franks distinguished their zeal and courage in the defence of the empire in the rapid progress down the Rhine which was the first act of the administration of Stiliccio he had applied himself with peculiar attention to secure the alliance of the war-like Franks and to remove the irreconcilable enemies of peace and the Republic Marcimer, one of their kings was publicly convicted before the tribunal of the Roman magistrate of violating the faith of treaties he was sentenced to a mild but distant exile in the province of Tuscany and this degradation of the regal dignity was so far from exciting the resentment of his subjects that they punished with death the turbulent Suno who attempted to revenge his brother and maintained a dutiful allegiance to the princes who were established on-throne by the choice of Stiliccio when the limits of Gaul and Germany were shaken by the northern emigration the Franks bravely encountered the single force of the vandals who, regardless of the lessons of adversity had again separated their troops from their barbarian allies they paid the penalty of their rashness and twenty thousand vandals with their king, Godigisclus were slain in the field of battle the whole people must have been extirpated if the squadrons of the Elani advancing to their relief had not trampled down the infantry of the Franks who, after an honourable resistance were compelled to relinquish the victorious Confederates pursued their march and on the last day of the year in a season when the waters of the Rhine were most probably frozen they entered without opposition the defenceless provinces of Gaul this memorable passage of the Suavey the vandals, the Elani and the Burgundians who never afterwards retreated may be considered as the fall empire in the countries beyond the Alps and the barriers which had so long separated the savage and the civilised nations of the earth were from that fatal moment levelled with the ground while the peace of Germany was secured by the attachment of the Franks and the neutrality of the Alamani the subjects of Rome unconscious of their approaching calamities enjoyed the state of quiet and prosperity which had seldom blessed the frontiers of Gaul their flocks and herds were permitted to graze in the pastures of the barbarians their hutsmen penetrated without fear or danger into the darkest recesses of the Hercinian wood the banks of the Rhine were crowned like those of the Tiber with elegant houses and well-cultivated farms and if a poet descended the river he might express his doubt and situated the territory of the Romans this scene of peace and plenty was suddenly changed into a desert and the prospect of the smoking ruins could alone distinguish the solitude of nature from the desolation of man the flourishing city of Ments was surprised and destroyed and many thousand Christians were inhumanly massacred in the church worms perished after a long and obstinate siege Strasbourg, Spires Reims, Tornay, Arras Amiens experienced the cruel oppression of the German yoke and the consuming flames of war spread from the banks of the Rhine over the greatest part of the 17 provinces of Gaul that rich and extensive country as far as the ocean the Alps and the Pyrenees was delivered to the barbarians who drove before them in a promiscuous crowd the bishop, the senator and the virgin laden with the spoils of their houses and altars the ecclesiastics to whom we are indebted for this vague description of the public calamities embraced the opportunity of exhorting the Christians to repent of the sins which had provoked the divine justice and to renounce the perishable goods of the ancient and deceitful world but as the pelagian controversy which attempts to sound the abyss of grace and predestination soon became the serious employment of the Latin clergy the providence which had decreed or foreseen or permitted such a train of moral and natural evils was rashly weighed in the imperfect and fallacious balance of reason the crimes the misfortunes of the suffering people were presumptuously compared with those of their ancestors and they arraigned the divine justice which did not exempt from the common destruction the feeble, the guiltless the infant portion of the human species these idle disputants overlooked the invariable laws of nature which have connected peace with innocence plenty with industry and safety with valor the timid and selfish policy of the Court of Ravenna might recall the Palatine legions for the protection of Italy the remains of the stationary troops might be unequal to the arduous task and the barbarian auxiliaries might prefer the unbounded license of spoil to the benefits of a moderate and regular stipend but the provinces of Gaul were filled with a numerous race of hardy and robust youth who in the defence of their houses their families and their altars if they had dared to die would have deserved to vanquish the knowledge of their native country would have enabled them to oppose continual and insuperable obstacles to the progress of an invader and the deficiency of the barbarians in arms as well as in discipline removed the only pretense which excuses the submission of a populist country to the inferior numbers of a veteran army when France was invaded by Charles V he inquired of a prisoner how many days Paris might be distant from the border perhaps twelve but they will be days of battle such was the gallant answer which checked the arrogance of that ambitious priest the subjects of Anorius and those of Francis I were animated by a very different spirit and in less than two years the divided troops of the savages of the Baltic whose numbers were they fairly stated would appear contemptible advanced without a combat to the foot of the Pyrenean mountains in the early part of the reign of Anorius the vigilance of Staliccio had successfully guarded the remote island of Britain from her incessant enemies of the ocean, the mountains and the Irish coast but those restless barbarians could not neglect the fair opportunity of the Gothic war when the walls and stations of the province were stripped of the Roman troops if any of the legionaries were permitted to return from the Italian expedition their faithful report of the court and character of Anorius must have tended to dissolve the bonds of allegiance and to exasperate the seditious temper of the British army the spirit of revolt which had formally disturbed the age of Gallienus was revived by the capricious violence of the soldiers and the unfortunate perhaps the ambitious candidates who were the objects of their choice were the instruments and at length the victims of their passion Marcus was the first whom they placed on the throne as the lawful emperor of Britain and of the West they violated by the hasty murder of Marcus the oath of fidelity which they had imposed on themselves and their disapprobation of his manners may seem to inscribe an honourable epitaph on his tomb Gratian was the next whom they adorned with a diadem and the purple and at the end of four months Gratian experienced the fate of his predecessor the memory of the great Constantine whom the British legions had given to the church and to the empire suggested the singular motive of their third choice they discovered in the ranks a private soldier of the name of Constantine and their impetuous levity had already seated him on the throne before they perceived his incapacity to sustain the weight of that glorious appellation yet the authority of Constantine was less precarious because he was more successful than the transient reigns of Marcus and of Gratian the danger of leaving his inactive troops in those camps which had been twice polluted with blood and sedition urged him to attempt the reduction of the western provinces he landed at Bologn with an inconsiderable force and after he had reposed himself some days he summoned the cities of Gaul which had escaped the yoke of the barbarians to acknowledge their lawful sovereign they obeyed the summons without reluctance the neglect of the court of Ravenna had absolved the deserted people from the duty of allegiance their actual distress encouraged them to accept any circumstances of change without apprehension and perhaps with some degree of hope and they might flatter themselves that the troops the authority the name of a Roman emperor who fixed his residence in Gaul would protect the unhappy country from the rage of the barbarians the first successes of Constantine against the detached parties of the Germans were magnified by the voice of adulation into splendid and decisive victories which the reunion and insolence of the enemy soon reduced to their just value his negotiations procured short and precarious truce and if some tribes of the barbarians were engaged by the liberality of his gifts and promises to undertake the defense of the Rhine these expensive and uncertain treaties instead of restoring the pristine vigor of the Gallic frontier served only to disgrace the majesty of the prince and exhaust what yet remained of the treasures of the republic elated however by its imaginary triumph the vain deliverer of Gaul advanced into the provinces of the south to encounter a more pressing and personal danger Saras the Goth was ordered to lay the head of the rebel at the feet of the emperor Honorius and the forces of Britain and Italy were unworthily consumed in this domestic quarrel after the loss of his two bravest generals Justinian and Nevegastes the former of whom was slain in the field of battle the latter in a peaceful but treacherous interview Constantine fortified himself within the walls of Vienna the place was ineffectually attacked seven days and the imperial army supported in a precipitate retreat the ignonomy of purchasing a secure passage from the freebooters and outlaws of the Alps those mountains now separated through rival monarchs and the fortifications of the double frontier were guarded by the troops of the empire whose arms would have been more usefully employed to maintain the Roman limits against the barbarians of Germany and Scythia End of Chapter 30 Part 4 Chapter 30 Part 4 of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Volume 3 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 Corey Samuel The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Volume 3 by Edward Gibbon Chapter 30 Revolt of the Goths Part 5 On the side of the Pyrenees the ambition of Constantine might be justified by the proximity of danger but his throne was soon established by the conquest or rather submission of Spain which yielded to the influence of regular and habitual subordination and received the laws and magistrates of the Gallic prefecture The only opposition which was made to the authority of Constantine proceeded not so much from the powers of government or the spirit of the people as from the private zeal in the interest of the family of Theodosius Four brothers had obtained by the favour of their kinsmen the deceased emperor an honourable rank and ample possessions in their native country and the grateful youths resolved to risk those advantages in the service of his son After an unsuccessful attempt to maintain their ground at the head of the stationary troops of Lusitania where they armed and levied at their own expense a considerable body of slaves and dependents and boldly marched to occupy the strong posts of the Pyrenean mountains This domestic insurrection alarmed and perplexed the sovereign of Gaul and Britain and he was compelled to negotiate with some troops of barbarian auxiliaries for the service of the Spanish war They were distinguished by the title of Honorians a name which might have reminded them of their fidelity to their lawful sovereign and if it should be candidly allowed that the Scots were influenced by any partial affection for British Prince, the Moors and the Marcomani could be tempted only by the profuse liberality of the usurper who distributed among the barbarians the military and even the civil honours of Spain The nine bands of Honorians which may be easily traced on the establishment of the Western Empire could not exceed the number of five thousand men yet this inconsiderable force was sufficient to terminate a war which had threatened the power and safety of Constantine The rustic army of the Theodosian family was surrounded and destroyed in the Pyrenees Two of the brothers had the good fortune to escape by sea to Italy or the East, the other two the interval of suspense were executed at Arle and if Honorius could remain insensible of the public disgrace he might perhaps be affected by the personal misfortunes of his generous kinsmen Such were the feeble arms which decided the possession of the Western provinces of Europe from the wall of Antoninas to the columns of Hercules The events of peace and war have undoubtedly been diminished by the direct view of the historians of the times who were equally ignorant of the causes and of the effects of the most important revolutions But the total decay of the national strength had annihilated even the last resource of a despotic government and the revenue of exhausted provinces could no longer purchase the military service of a discontented and pusillanimous people The poet whose flattery has ascribed the Roman eagle, the victories of Pelentia and Verona pursues the hasty retreat of Alaric from the confines of Italy with a horrid train of imaginary spectres such as might hover over an army of barbarians which was almost exterminated by war famine and disease In the course of this unfortunate expedition the king of the Goths must indeed have sustained a considerable loss and his harassed forces required an interval of repose to recruit their numbers and revive their confidence Adversity had exercised and displayed the genius of Alaric and the fame of his valour invited to the Gothic standard the bravest of the barbarian warriors who from the Eucscene to the Rhine were agitated by the desire of the pine and conquest He had deserved the esteem and he soon accepted the friendship of Stiliccio himself renouncing the service of the emperor of the east Alaric concluded with the court of Ravenna a treaty of peace and alliance by which he was declared master general of the Roman armies throughout the prefecture of Illyricum as it was claimed according to the true and ancient limits by the minister of Honorius the execution of the ambitious design which was either stipulated or implied in the articles of the treaty appears to have been suspended by the formidable eruption of Radegaisus and the neutrality of the Gothic king may perhaps be compared to the indifference of Caesar who, in the conspiracy of Catiline refused either to assist or to oppose the enemy of the Republic After the defeat of the vandals Stiliccio resumed his pretensions to the provinces of the east appointed civil magistrates for the administration of justice and of the finances and declared his impatience to lead to the gates of Constantinople the united armies of the Romans and of the Goths the prudence however of Stiliccio his aversion to civil war and his perfect knowledge of the weakness of the state may countenance the suspicion that domestic peace rather than foreign conquest was the object of his policy and that his principal care was to employ the forces of Elaric at a distance from Italy this design could not long escape the penetration of the Gothic king who continued to hold a doubtful and perhaps a treacherous correspondence with the rival courts who protracted, like a dissatisfied mercenary his languid operations in Thessaly and Iripus and who soon returned to claim the extravagant reward of his ineffectual services from his camp near Imona on the confines of Italy he transmitted to the emperor of the west a long account of promises of expenses and of demands called for immediate satisfaction and clearly intimated the consequences of a refusal yet if his conduct was hostile his language was decent and dutiful he humbly professed himself the friend of Stilicho and the soldier of Honorius offered his person and his troops to march without delay against the usurper of Gaul and solicited as a permanent retreat for the Gothic nation the possession of some vacant province of the western empire the political and secret transactions of two statesmen who labored to deceive each other and the world must forever have been concealed the penetrable darkness of the cabinet if the debates of a popular assembly had not thrown some rays of light on the correspondence of Alaric and Stilicho the necessity of finding some artificial support for government which from a principle not of moderation but of weakness was reduced to negotiate with its own subjects had insensibly revived the authority of the Roman senate and the minister of Honorius respectfully consulted the legislative council of the Republic Stilicho assembled the senate in the palace of the Caesars represented in a studied aeration the actual state of affairs proposed the demands of the Gothic king and submitted to their consideration the choice of peace or war the senators as if they had been suddenly awakened from a dream of four hundred years appeared on this important occasion to be inspired by the courage rather than by the wisdom of their predecessors they loudly declared in regular speeches or in tumultuery acclamations that it was unworthy of the majesty of Rome to purchase a precarious and disgraceful truce from a barbarian king and that in the judgment of a magnanimous people the chance of ruin was always preferable to the same the minister whose pacific intentions were seconded only by the voice of few servile and venal followers attempted to allay the general ferment by an apology for his own conduct and even for the demands of the Gothic prince the payment of a subsidy which had excited the indignation of the Romans ought not such was the language of Stilicho to be considered in the odious light either of a tribute or of a ransom extorted by the menaces of a barbarian army Alaric had faithfully asserted the just pretensions of the republic to the provinces which were usurped by the Greeks of Constantinople he modestly required the fair and stipulated recompense of his services and if he had desisted from the prosecution of his enterprise he had obeyed in his retreat though private letters of the emperor himself these contradictory orders he would not disemble eras of his own family had been procured by the intercession of Serena the tender piety of his wife had been too deeply affected by the discord of the royal brothers the sons of her adopted father and the sentiments of nature had too easily prevailed over the stern dictates of the public welfare these ostensible reasons which faintly disguise the obscure intrigues of the palace of Ravenna were supported by the authority of Stiliccio and obtained, after a warm debate the reluctant approbation of the senate the tumult of virtue and freedom subsided and the sum of four thousand pounds of gold was granted under the name of a subsidy to secure the peace of Italy and to conciliate the friendship of the king of the Goths Lampadius alone one of the most illustrious members of the assembly still persisted in his dissent exclaimed with a loud voice this is not a treaty of peace but of servitude and escaped the danger of such bold opposition by immediately retiring to the sanctuary of a Christian church but the reign of Stiliccio drew towards its end and the proud minister might perceive the symptoms of his approaching disgrace the generous boldness of Lampadius had been applauded and the senate so patiently resigned to a long servitude rejected with disdain the offer of invidious and imaginary freedom the troops who still assumed the name and prerogatives of the Roman legions were exasperated by the partial affection of Stiliccio for the barbarians and the people imputed to the mischievous policy of the minister the public misfortunes which were the natural consequence of their own degeneracy yet Stiliccio might have continued to brave the clamours of the people and even of the soldiers if he could have maintained his dominion over the feeble mind of his pupil but the respectful attachment of Anorius was converted into fear, suspicion and hatred the crafty Olympius who concealed his vices under the mask of Christian piety had secretly undermined the benefactor by whose favour he was promoted to the honourable offices of the imperial palace Olympius revealed to the unsuspecting emperor who had attained the 25th year of his age that he was without weight or authority in his own government and artfully alarmed his timid and indolent disposition to the designs of Stiliccio who already meditated the death of his sovereign with the ambitious hope of placing the diadem on the head of his son Euterius the emperor was instigated by his new favourite to assume the tone of independent dignity and the minister was astonished to find that secret resolutions were formed in the court and council which were repugnant to his interest or to his intentions instead of residing in the palace of Rome Honorius declared that it was his pleasure to return to the secure fortress of Ravenna on the first intelligence of the death of his brother Arcadius he prepared to visit Constantinople and to regulate with the authority of a guardian the provinces of the infant Theodosius the representation of the difficulty and expense of such a distant expedition checked this strange and sudden sally of active diligence but the dangerous project of showing the emperor to the camp of Pavia which was composed of the Roman troops the enemies of Stiliccio and his barbarian auxiliaries remained fixed and unalterable the minister was pressed by the advice of his confidant Justinian a Roman advocate of a lively and penetrating genius to oppose a journey that was very prejudicial to his reputation and safety his strenuous but ineffectual efforts confirmed the triumph of Olympius and the prudent lawyer withdrew himself from the impending ruin of his patron in the passage of the emperor through Bologna a mutiny of the guards was excited and appeased by the secret policy of Stiliccio who announced his instructions to decimate the guilty and conscribed to his own intercession the merit of their pardon after this tumult Honorius embraced for the last time the minister whom he now considered as a tyrant and proceeded on his way to the camp of Pavia where he was received by the loyal acclamations of the troops who were assembled for the service of the Gallic War on the morning of the fourth day he pronounced as he had been taught in the presence of the soldiers whom the charitable visits and artful discourses of Olympus had prepared to execute a dark and bloody conspiracy at the first signal they massacred the friends of Stiliccio the most illustrious officers of the empire two praetorian prefects of Gaul and of Italy two masters general of the cavalry and infantry the master of the offices the treasurer and the count of the domestics many lives were lost many houses were plundered the furious sedition continued to rage until the close of the evening and the trembling emperor who was seen in the streets of Pavia without his robes or diadem yielded to the persuasions of his favorite condemned the memory of the slain and solemnly approved the innocence and fidelity of their assassins the intelligence of the massacre of Pavia filled the mind of Stiliccio with just and gloomy apprehensions and he instantly summoned in the camp of Bologna a council of the confederate leaders who were attached to his service and would be involved in his ruin the impetuous voice of the assembly called aloud for arms and for revenge to march without a moment's delay under the banners of a hero whom they had so often followed to victory to surprise to oppress to extirpate the guilty Olympius and his degenerate Romans and perhaps to fix the diadem on the head of their injured gemel instead of executing a resolution which might have been justified by success Stiliccio hesitated till he was irrevocably lost he was still ignorant of the fate of the emperor he distrusted the fidelity of his own party and he viewed with horror the fatal consequences of arming a crowd of licentious barbarians against the soldiers and people of Italy the confederates impatient of his timorous and doubtful delay hastily retired with fear and indignation at the hour of midnight Saris, a gothic warrior renowned among the barbarians themselves for his strength and valor suddenly invaded the camp of his benefactor plundered the baggage cut in pieces the faithful huns who guarded his person and penetrated to the tent where the minister pensive and sleepless meditated on the dangers of his situation Stiliccio escaped with difficulty from the sword of the Goths and after issuing a last and generous admonition to the cities of Italy to shut their gates against the barbarians his confidence or his despair urged him to throw himself into Ravenna which was already in the absolute possession of his enemies Olympius who had assumed the dominion of Anorius was speedily informed that his rival had embraced as a supliant the altar of the Christian church the base and cruel disposition of the hypocrite was incapable of pity or remorse but he piously affected to elude rather than to violate the privilege of the sanctuary Count Heraclean with a troop of soldiers appeared at the dawn of day before the gates of the church of Ravenna the bishop was satisfied by a solemn oath that the imperial mandate only directed them to secure the person of Stiliccio but as soon as the unfortunate minister had been tempted beyond the holy threshold he produced the warrant for his instant execution Stiliccio supported with calm resignation the injurious names of traitor and parasite repressed the unseasonable zeal of his followers who were ready to attempt an ineffectual rescue and with a firmness not unworthy of the last of the Roman generals submitted his neck to the sword of Heraclean the servile crowd of the palace who had so long adored the fortune of Stiliccio affected to insult his fall and the most distant connection with the master general of the west which had so lately been a title to wealth and honours was studiously denied and rigorously punished his family united by a triple alliance with the family of Theodosius might envy the condition of the meanest peasant the flight of his son Neuterius was intercepted and the death of the innocent youth soon followed the divorce of Thermantia who filled the place of her sister Maria and, who like Maria had remained virgin in the imperial bed the friends of Stiliccio who had escaped the massacre of Pavia were persecuted by the implacable revenge of Olympius and the most exquisite cruelty was employed to extort the confession of a treasonable and sacrilegious conspiracy they died in silence their firmness justified the choice and perhaps absolved the innocence of their patron and the despotic power which could take his life without a trial and stigmatize his memory without a proof has no jurisdiction of the impartial suffrage of posterity the services of Stiliccio are great and manifest his crimes as they are vaguely stated in the language of flattery and hatred obscure at least and improbable about four months after his death an edict was published in the name of Honorius to restore the free communication of the two empires which had been so long interrupted by the public enemy the minister whose fame and fortune depended on the prosperity of the state was accused of betraying Italy to the barbarians whom he repeatedly vanquished at Palencia, at Verona and before the walls of Florence his pretended design of placing the diadem on the head of his son, Neuterius could not have been conducted without preparations or accomplices and the ambitious father would not surely have left the future emperor till the twentieth year of his age in the humble station of Tribune of the Notaries even the religion of Stiliccio was arraigned by the malice of his rival the seasonable and almost miraculous deliverance was devoutly celebrated by the applause of the clergy who asserted that the restoration of idols and the persecution of the church would have been the first measure of the reign of Euterius the son of Stiliccio, however was educated in the bosom of Christianity which his father had uniformly professed and zealously supported Serena had borrowed her magnificent necklace from the statue of Vesta and the pagans excricated the memory of the sacrilegious minister by whose order the Sibyline books the Oracles of Rome had been committed to the flames the pride and power of Stiliccio constituted his real guilt an honourable reluctance to shed the blood of his countrymen appears to have contributed to the success of his unworthy rival and it is the last humiliation of the character of Honorius that posterity has not condescended to reproach him with his base in gratitude to the guardian of his youth and the support of his empire among the train of dependence whose wealth and dignity attracted the notice of their own times our curiosity is excited by the celebrated name of the poet Claudian who enjoyed the favour of Stiliccio and was overwhelmed in the ruin of his patron the titular offices of Tribune and Notary fixed his rank in the imperial court he was indebted to the powerful intercession of Serena for his marriage with a very rich heiress of the province of Africa and the statue of Claudian erected in the Forum of Trajan was a monument to the taste and liberality of the Roman senate after the praises of Stiliccio became offensive and criminal Claudian was exposed to the enmity of a powerful and unforgiving courtier whom he had provoked by the insolence of wit he had compared, in a lively epigram the opposite characters of two praetorian prefects of Italy he contrasts the innocent repose of a philosopher who sometimes resigned the hours of business to slumber, perhaps to study with the interesting diligence of a rapacious minister indefatigable in the pursuit of unjust or sacrilegious gain how happy continues Claudian how happy might it be for the people of Italy if Malleus could be constantly awake and if Hadrian would always sleep the repose of Malleus was not disturbed by this friendly and gentle admonition but the cruel vigilance of Hadrian watched the opportunity of revenge and easily obtained from the enemies of Stiliccio the trifling sacrifice of an obnoxious poet who concealed himself, however, during the tumult of the revolution and consulting the dictates of prudence rather than of honour he addressed, in the form of an epistle a supplyant and humble recantation to the offended prefect he deplores in mournful strains the fatal indiscretion into which he had been hurried by passion and folly submits to the imitation of his adversary the generous examples of the clemency of gods of Malleus and of lions and expresses his hope that the magnanimity of Hadrian will not trample on a defenceless and contemptible foe already humbled by disgrace and poverty and deeply wounded by the exile the tortures and the death of his dearest friends whatever might be the success of his prayer or the accidents of his future life the period of a few years leveled in the grave the minister and the poet but the name of Hadrian is almost sunk in oblivion while Claudian is read with pleasure in every country which has retained or acquired the knowledge of the Latin language if we fairly balance his merits and his defects we shall acknowledge that Claudian does not either satisfy or silence our reason it would not be easy to produce a passage that deserves the epithet of sublime or pathetic but a verse that melts the heart or enlarges the imagination we should vainly seek in the poems of Claudian the happy invention and artificial conduct of an interesting fable or the just and lively representation of the characters and situations of real life for the service of his patron he published occasional panagyrics and invectives and the design of these slavish compositions encouraged his propensity to exceed the limits of truth and nature these imperfections however are compensated in some degree by the poetical virtues of Claudian he was endowed with the rare and precious talent of raising the meanest of adorning the most barren and of diversifying the most similar topics his colouring more especially in descriptive poetry is soft and splendid and he seldom fails to display and even to abuse the advantages of a cultivated understanding a copious fancy an easy and sometimes forcible expression and a perpetual flow of harmonious versification to these commendations independent of any accidents of time and place we must add the peculiar merit which Claudian derived from the unfavourable circumstances of his birth in the decline of arts and of empire a native of Egypt who had received the education of a Greek assumed in a mature age the familiar use and absolute command of the Latin language soared above the heads of his feeble contemporaries and placed himself after an interval of 300 years among the poets of ancient Rome end of chapter 30 part 5 chapter 31 part 1 of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire volume 3 this is a LibriVox recording while LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Lizzie Driver chapter 31 Invasion of Italy Occupation of Territories by Barbarians part 1 Invasion of Italy by Alaric manners of the Roman Senate and people Rome is thrice besieged and its length pillaged by the Goths death of Alaric the Goths evacuate Italy fall of Constantine Gaul and Spain are occupied by the Barbarians independence of Britain the incapacity of a weak and distracted government may often assume the appearance and produce the effects of a treasonable correspondence with the public enemy if Alaric himself had been introduced into the Council of Ravenna he would probably have advised the same measures which were actually besieged by the ministers of Honorius the king of the Goths would have conspired perhaps with some reluctance to destroy the formidable adversary by whose arms in Italy as well as in Greece he had been twice overthrown their active and interested hatred laboriously accomplished the disgrace and ruin of the great Stilico the valor of Saras his fame in arms and his personal or hereditary influence over the Confederate Barbarians could recommend him only to the friends of their country who despised or detested the worthless characters of Topelio Varinus and Vigilantius by the pressing insistences of the new favourites these generals unworthy as they had shown themselves of the name of soldiers were promoted to the command of the cavalry of the infantry and of the domestic troops the Gothic Prince would have subscribed with pleasure the edict which the fanaticism of Olympias dictated to the simple and devout emperor honoris excluded all persons who were adverse to the Catholic church from holding any office in the state obstinately rejected the service of all those who dissented from his religion and rashly disqualified many of his bravest and most skillful officers who adhered to the pagan worship or who had imbibed the opinions of Arianism these measures so advantageous to an enemy Alleric would have approved and might perhaps have suggested but it may seem doubtful whether the barbarian would have promoted his interest at the expense of the inhuman and absurd cruelty which was perpetrated by the direction or at least with the connivance of the imperial ministers the foreign auxiliaries who had been attached to the person of Stelico lamented his death but the desire of revenge was checked by a natural apprehension for the safety of their wives and children who were detained as hostages in the strong cities of Italy where they had likewise deposited their most valuable effects at the same hour and as if by a common signal the cities of Italy were polluted by the same horrible scenes of universal massacre and pillage which involved impromiscuous destruction the families and fortunes of the barbarians exasperated by such an injury which might have awakened the tamest and most servile spirit they cast a look of indignation and hope towards the camp of Alleric and unanimously swore to pursue with just an implacable war the profidious nation who had so basely violated the laws of hospitality by the impudent conduct of the ministers of Honoris the Republic lost the assistance and deserved the enmity of thirty thousand of her bravest soldiers and the weight of that formidable army which alone might have determined the event of the war was transferred from the scale of the Romans into that of the Goths in the arts of negotiation as well as in those of war the Gothic king maintained his superior ascendant over an enemy whose seeming changes proceeded from the total want of council and design from his camp on the confines of Italy Alleric attentively observed the revolutions of the palace watched the progress of faction and discontent disguised the hostile aspect of a barbarian invader and assumed the more popular appearance of the friend and ally of the great Silico to whose virtues when they were no longer formidable he could pay a just tribute of sincere praise and regret the pressing invitation of the male contents who urged the king of the Goths to invade Italy was enforced by a lively sense of his personal injuries and he might especially complain that the imperial minister still delayed and eluded the payment of the four thousand pounds of gold which had been granted by the Roman senate either to reward his services or to appease his fury his dissent firmness was supported by an artful moderation which contributed to the success of his designs he required a fair and reasonable satisfaction but he gave the strongest assurances that as soon as he had obtained it he would immediately retire he refused to trust the faith of the Romans Alessatius and Jason the sons of two great officers of state were sent as hostages to his camp but he offered to deliver in exchange several of the noblest youth of the Gothic nation the modesty of Alaric was interpreted by the ministers of Ravana as a sure evidence of his weakness and fear they disdained either to negotiate a treaty or to assemble an army and with a rash confidence they lived only from their ignorance of the extreme danger irretrievably wasted the decisive moments of peace and war while they expected in sullen silence that the barbarians would evacuate the confines of Italy Alaric with bold and rapid marches passed the Alps and the Po hastily pillaged the cities of Aquilia, Altenium Concordia and Cremonia which yielded to his arms increased his forces by the ascension of 30,000 auxiliaries and without meeting a single enemy in the field advanced as far as the edge of the morass which protected the impregnable residents of the emperor of the west instead of attempting the hopeless siege of Ravana the prudent leader of the Goths proceeded to Romani stretched his ravages along the sea coast of the Hadriatic and meditated the conquest of the ancient mistress of the world an Italian hermit whose zeal and sanctity were respected by the barbarians themselves encountered the victorious monarch and boldly denounced the indignation of heaven against the oppressors of the earth but the saint himself was confounded by the solemn severation of Alaric that he felt a secret and preternatural impulse which directed and even compelled his march to the gates of Rome he felt that his genius and his fortune were equal to the most arduous enterprises and the enthusiasm which he communicated to the Goths insensibly removed the popular and almost superstitious reverence of the nations for the majesty of the Roman name his troops animated by the hopes of spoil followed the course of the Flaminian way occupied the unguarded passes of the Apennine descended into the rich plains of Umbria and as they lay encamped on the banks of the Catumnas might wantonly slaughter and devour the milk white oxen which had been so long reserved for the use of Roman triumphs a lofty situation and a seasonable tempest of thunder and lightning preserved the little city of Nani but the king of the Goths despising the ignoble prey still advanced with unbated vigor and after he had passed through the stately arches adorned with the spoils of barbaric victories he pitched his camp under the walls of Rome during a period of 619 years the seat of empire had never been violated by the presence of a foreign enemy the unsuccessful expedition of Hannibal served only to display the character of the senate and people of a senate degraded rather than ennobled by the comparison of an assembly of kings and of a people to whom the ambassador of Pyrrhus ascribed the inexhaustible resources of the Hydra each of the senators in the time of the Punic War had accomplished his term of the military service either in a subordinate or a superior station and the decree which invested with temporary command all those between consuls or censures or dictators gave the republic the immediate assistance of many brave and experienced generals in the beginning of the war the Roman people consisted of 250,000 citizens of an age to bear arms 50,000 had already died in the defence of their country and the 23 legions which were employed in the different camps of Italy, Greece, Sardinia Sicily and Spain required about 100,000 men but there still remained an equal number in Rome and the adjacent territory who were animated by the same intrepid courage and every citizen was trained from his earliest youth in the discipline and exercises of a soldier Hannibal was astonished by the consistency of the senate who without raising the siege of Capua or recalling their scattered forces expected his approach he encamped on the banks of the Anio at the distance of three miles from the city and he was soon informed that the ground on which he had pitched his tent was sold for an adequate price at a public auction and that a body of troops was dismissed by an opposite road to reinforce the legions of Spain he led his Africans to the gates of Rome where he found three armies in order of battle prepared to receive him but Hannibal dreaded the event of a combat for which he could not hope to escape unless he destroyed the last of his enemies and his speedy retreat confessed the invincible courage of the Romans from the time of the Punic War the uninterrupted succession of senators had preserved the name and image of the Republic and the degenerate subjects of Honorius ambitiously derived their descent from the heroes who had repulsed the arms of Hannibal and subdued the nations of the earth the temporal honors which the devout Paula inherited and despised are carefully recapitulated by Jerome the guide of a conscience and the historian of her life the genealogy of her father Rogatus who ascended as high as Agamemnon might seem to portray a Grecian origin but her mother Belicia numbered the Scipius Amelius Paulius and the Gracchi in the list of her ancestors and Toxetius the husband of Paula deduced his royal lineage from Ineus the father of the Julian line the vanity of the rich who desired to be noble was gratified by these lofty pretensions encouraged by the applause of their parasites they equally imposed on the credulity of the vulgar and were countenanced in some measure by the custom of adopting the name of their patron which had always prevailed among the freedmen and clients of illustrious families most of those families attacked by so many causes of external violence or internal decay were gradually extirpated and it would be more reasonable to seek for a lineal descent of 20 generations among the mountains of the Alps or in the peaceful solitude of Apolia then on the theatre of Rome the seat of fortune of danger and of perpetual revolutions under each successive reign and from every province of the empire a crowd of hardy adventurers rising to eminence by their talents or their vices assert the wealth, the honours and to the palaces of Rome and oppressed or protected the poor and humble remains of consular families who were ignorant perhaps of the glory of their ancestors in the time of Jerome and Claudian the senators unanimously yielded the preeminence to the Aeneasian line and a slight view of their history will serve to appreciate the rank and antiquity of the noble families which contended only for the second place during the first five ages of the city the name of the Aeneasians was unknown they appeared to have derived their origin from preonesty and the ambition of those new citizens was long satisfied with the plebeian honours of tribunes of the people 168 years before the Christian era the family was enabled by the preotorship of Aeneasias who gloriously terminated the Illyrian War by the conquest of the nation and the captivity of their king from the triumph of that general three consulships in distant periods marked the succession of the Aeneasian name from the reign of Deocletian to the final extinction of the western empire that name shone with a luster which was not eclipsed in the public estimation by the majesty of the imperial purple the several branches to whom it was communicated united by marriage or inheritance the wealth and titles of the Aenean the preatorian and the Illyrian houses and in each generation the number of consulships was multiplied by an hereditary claim the Aeneasian family excelled in faith and in riches they were the first of the Roman senate who embraced Christianity and it is probable that Aeneasias Julian who was afterwards consul and prefect of the city atoned for his attachment to the party of Maxenteus by the readiness with which he accepted the religion of Constantine their ample patrimony was increased by the industry of probus the chief of the Aeneasian family who shared with Gratian the honors of the consulship and exercised four times the high office of the preatorian prefect his immense estates were scattered over the wide extent of the Roman world and though the public might suspect or disapprove the methods by which they had been acquired the generosity and magnificent of that fortunate statesman deserved the gratitude of his clients and the admiration of strangers such was the respect entertained for his memory that the two sons of probus in their earliest youth and at the request of the senate were associated in the consular dignity a memorable distinction without example in the annals of Rome End of chapter 31 part 1