Ammianus Marcellinus, History

ToposText · Ammianus Marcellinus · 2,797 sections

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§ 14.1.1 Book XIV: After the survival of the events of an unendurable campaign, when the spirits of both parties, broken by the variety of their dangers and hardships, were still drooping, before the blare of the trumpets had ceased or the soldiers been assigned to their winter quarters, the gusts of raging Fortune brought new storms upon the commonwealth through the misdeeds, many and notorious, of Gallus Caesar. He had been raised, at the very beginning of mature manhood, by an unexpected promotion from the utmost depths of wretchedness to princely heights, and overstepping the bounds of the authority conferred upon him, by excess of violence was causing trouble everywhere. For by his relationship to the imperial stock, and the affinity which he even then had with the name of Constantius, he was raised to such a height of presumption that, if he had been more powerful, he would have ventured (it seemed) upon a course hostile to the author of his good fortune.
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§ 14.1.2 To his cruelty his wife was besides a serious incentive, a woman beyond measure presumptuous because of her kinship to the emperor, and previously joined in marriage by her father Constantine with his brother's son, King Hanniballianus. She, a Megaera in mortal guise, constantly aroused the savagery of Gallus, being as insatiable as he in her thirst for human blood. The pair in process of time gradually became more expert in doing harm, and through underhand and crafty eavesdroppers, who had the evil habit of lightly adding to their information and wanting to learn only what was false and agreeable to them, they fastened upon innocent victims false charges of aspiring to royal power or of practising magic.
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§ 14.1.3 There stood out among their lesser atrocities, when their unbridled power had already surpassed the limits of unimportant delinquencies, the sudden and awful death of one Clematius, a nobleman of Alexandria. This man's mother-in-law, it was said, had a violent passion for her son-in-law, but was unable to seduce him; whereupon, gaining entrance to the palace by a back door, she presented the queen with a valuable necklace, and thus secured the dispatch of his death-warrant to Honoratus, at that time Count of the East; and so Clematius, a man contaminated by no guilt, was put to death without being allowed to protest or even to open his lips.
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§ 14.1.4 After the perpetration of this impious deed, which now began to arouse the fears of others also, as if cruelty were given free rein, some persons were adjudged guilty on the mere shadow of suspicion and condemned. Of these some were put to death, others punished by the confiscation of their property and driven from their homes into exile, where, having nothing left save tears and complaints, they lived on the doles of charity; and since constitutional and just rule had given place to cruel caprice, wealthy and famous houses were being closed.
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§ 14.1.5 And no words of an accuser, even though bribed, were required amid these accumulations of evils, in order that these crimes might be committed, at least ostensibly, under the forms of law, as has sometimes been done by cruel emperors; but whatever the implacable Caesar had resolved upon was rushed to fulfilment, as if it had been carefully weighed and determined to be right and lawful.
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§ 14.1.6 It was further devised that sundry low-born men, whose very insignificance made them little to be feared, should be appointed to gather gossip in all quarters of Antioch and report what they had heard. These, as if travellers, and in disguise, attended the gatherings of distinguished citizens, and gained entrance to the houses of the wealthy in the guise of needy clients; then, being secretly admitted to the palace by a back door, they reported whatever they had been able to hear or learn, with one accord making it a rule to add inventions of their own and make doubly worse what they had learned, but suppressing the praise of Caesar which the fear of impending evils extorted from some against their will.
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§ 14.1.7 And sometimes it happened that if the head of a household, in the seclusion of his private apartments, with no confidential servant present, had whispered something in the ear of his wife, the emperor learned it on the following day, as if it were reported by Amphiaraus or Marcius, those famous seers of old. And so even the walls, the only sharers of secrets, were feared.
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§ 14.1.8 Moreover, his fixed purpose of ferreting out these and many similar things increased, spurred on by the queen, who pushed her husband's fortunes headlong to sheer ruin, when she ought rather, with womanly gentleness, to have recalled him by helpful counsel to the path of truth and mercy, after the manner of the wife of that savage emperor Maximinus, as we have related in our account of the acts of the Gordians.
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§ 14.1.9 Finally, following an unprecedented and destructive course, Gallus also ventured to commit the atrocious crime which, to his utter disgrace, Gallienus is said to have once hazarded at Rome. Taking with him a few attendants with concealed weapons, he used to roam at evening about the inns and street-corners, inquiring of every one in Greek, of which he had remarkable command, what he thought of the Caesar. And this he did boldly in a city where the brightness of the lights at night commonly equals the resplendence of day. At last, being often recognized, and reflecting that if he continued that course he would be conspicuous, he appeared only in broad daylight, to attend to matters which he considered important. And all this conduct of his caused very deep sorrow to many.
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§ 14.1.10 Now at that time Thalassius was the Praetorian Prefect at court, a man who was himself of an imperious character. He, perceiving that Gallus' temper was rising, to the peril of many, did not try to soothe it by ripe counsel, as sometimes high officials have moderated the ire of princes; but rather roused the Caesar to fury by opposing and reproving him at unseasonable times; very frequently he informed the emperor of Gallus' doings, exaggerating them and taking pains — whatever his motive may have been — to do it openly. Through this conduct the Caesar was soon still more violently enraged, and as if raising higher, as it were, the standard of his obstinacy, with no regard for his own life or that of others, he rushed on with uncontrollable impetuosity, like a swift torrent, to overthrow whatever opposed him.
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§ 14.2.1 And indeed this was not the only calamity to afflict the Orient with various disasters. For the Isaurians too, whose way it is now to keep the peace and now put everything in turmoil by sudden raids, abandoned their occasional secret plundering expeditions and, as impunity stimulated for the worse their growing boldness, broke out in a serious war. For a long time they had been inflaming their warlike spirits by restless outbreaks, but they were now especially exasperated, as they declared, by the indignity of some of their associates, who had been taken prisoner, having been thrown to beasts of prey in the shows of the amphitheatre at Iconium, a town of Pisidia — an outrage without precedent.
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§ 14.2.2 And, in the words of Cicero, “as even wild animals, when warned by hunger, generally return to the place where they were once fed, so they all, swooping like a whirlwind down from their steep and rugged mountains, made for the districts near the sea; and hiding themselves there in pathless lurking-places and defiles as the dark nights were coming on-the moon being still crescent and so not shining with full brilliance they watched the sailors. And when they saw that they were buried in sleep, creeping on all fours along the anchor-ropes and making their way on tiptoe into the boats, they came upon the crew all unawares, and since their natural ferocity was fired by greed, they spared no one, even of those who surrendered, but massacred them all and without resistance carried off the cargoes, led either by their value or by their usefulness.”
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§ 14.2.3 This however did not continue long; for when the fate of those whom they had butchered and plundered became known, no one afterwards put in at those ports, but avoiding them as they would the deadly cliffs of Sciron, they coasted along the shores of Cyprus, which lie opposite to the crags of Isauria.
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§ 14.2.4 Then presently, as time went on and nothing came their way from abroad, they left the sea-coast and withdrew to that part of Lycaonia that borders on Isauria; and there, blocking the roads with close barricades, they lived on the property of the provincials and of travellers.
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§ 14.2.5 Anger at this aroused the soldiers quartered in the numerous towns and fortresses which lie near those regions, and each division strove to the best of its power to check the marauders as they ranged more widely, now in solid bodies, sometimes even in isolated bands. But the soldiers were defeated by their strength and numbers; for since the Isaurians were born and brought up amid the steep and winding defiles of the mountains, they bounded over them as if they were a smooth and level plain, attacking the enemy with missiles from a distance and terrifying them with savage howls.
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§ 14.2.6 And sometimes our infantry in pursuing them were forced to scale lofty slopes, and when they lost their footing, even if they reached the very summits by catching hold of underbrush or briars, the narrow and pathless tracts allowed them neither to take order of battle nor with mighty effort to keep a firm footing; and while the enemy, running here and there, tore off and hurled down masses of rock from above, they made their perilous way down over steep slopes; or if, compelled by dire necessity, they made a brave fight, they were overwhelmed by falling boulders of enormous weight.
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§ 14.2.7 Therefore extreme caution was shown after that, and when the marauders began to make for the mountain heights, the soldiers yielded to the unfavourable position. When, however, the Isaurians could be found on level ground, as constantly happened, they were allowed neither to stretch out their right arms nor poise their weapons, of which each carried two or three, but they were slaughtered like defenceless sheep.
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§ 14.2.8 Accordingly these same marauders, distrusting Lycaonia, which is for the most part level, and having learned by repeated experience that they would be no match for our soldiers in a stand-up fight, made their way by retired by-paths into Pamphylia, long unmolested, it is true, but through fear of raids and massacres protected everywhere by strong garrisons, while troops were spread all over the neighbouring country.
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§ 14.2.9 Therefore they made great haste, in order by extreme swiftness to anticipate the reports of their movements, trusting in their bodily strength and activity; but they made their way somewhat slowly to the summits of the hills over winding trails. And when, after overcoming extreme difficulties, they came to the steep banks of the Melas, a deep and eddying stream, which surrounds the inhabitants like a wall and protects them, the lateness of the night increased their alarm, and they halted for a time, waiting for daylight. They thought, indeed, to cross without opposition and by their unexpected raid to lay waste all before them; but they endured the greatest hardships to no purpose.
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§ 14.2.10 For when the sun rose, they were prevented from crossing by the size of the stream, which was narrow but deep. And while they were hunting for fishermen's boats or preparing to cross on hastily woven hurdles, the legions that were then wintering at Side poured out and fell upon them in swift attack. And having set up their standards near the river-bank, the legions drew themselves up most skilfully for fighting hand to hand with a close formation of shields; and with perfect ease they slew some, who had even dared to cross the river secretly, trusting to swimming, or in hollowed out tree trunks.
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§ 14.2.11 From there, after trying the skill of our soldiers even to a final test without gaining anything, dislodged by fear and the strength of the legions, and not knowing what direction to take, they came to the neighbourhood of the town of Laranda.
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§ 14.2.12 There they were refreshed with food and rest, and after their fear had left them, they attacked some rich villages; but since these were aided by some cohorts of cavalry, which chanced to come up, the enemy withdrew without attempting any resistance on the level plain; but as they retreated, they summoned all the flower of their youth that had been left at home.
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§ 14.2.13 And since they were distressed by severe hunger, they made for a place called Palaea, near the sea, which was protected by a strong wall. There supplies are regularly stored even today, for distribution to the troops that defend the whole frontier of Isauria. Therefore they invested that fortress for three days and three nights; but since the steep slope itself could not be approached without deadly peril, and nothing could be effected by mines, and no method of siege was successful, they withdrew in dejection, ready, under the pressure of extreme necessity, to undertake even tasks beyond their powers.
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§ 14.2.14 Accordingly, filled with still greater fury, to which despair and famine added fuel, with increased numbers and irresistible energy they rushed on to destroy Seleucia, the metropolis of the province, which Count Castricius was holding with three legions steeled by hard service.
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§ 14.2.15 Warned of their approach by trusty scouts, the officers of the garrison gave the watchword, according to regulations, and in a swift sally led out the entire force; and having quickly crossed the bridge over the river Calycadnus, whose mighty stream washes the towers of the city walls, they drew up their men in order of battle. And yet no one charged or was allowed to fight; for they feared that band on fire with madness, superior in numbers, and ready to rush upon the sword, regardless of their lives.
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§ 14.2.16 Consequently, when the army came into view afar off, and the notes of the trumpeters were heard, the marauders stopped and halted for a while; then, drawing their formidable swords, they came on at a slower pace.
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§ 14.2.17 And when the unperturbed soldiers made ready to meet them, deploying their ranks and striking their shields with their spears, an action which rouses the wrath and resentment of the combatants, they intimidated the nearest of the enemy by their very gestures. But as they were eagerly rushing to the fray, their leaders called them back, thinking it inadvisable to risk a doubtful combat when fortifications were not far distant, under the protection of which the safety of all could be put on a solid foundation.
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§ 14.2.18 In this conviction, then, the warriors were led back within the walls, the entrances to the gates on all sides were barred, and they took their place on the battlements and pinnacles with rocks gathered from every hand and weapons in readiness, so that, if anyone should force his way near to the walls, he might be overwhelmed by a shower of spears and stones.
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§ 14.2.19 Still, the besieged were greatly troubled by the fact that the Isaurians, having captured some boats which were carrying grain on the river, were abundantly supplied with provisions, while they themselves had already exhausted the regular stores and were dreading the deadly pangs of approaching famine.
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§ 14.2.20 When the news of this situation spread abroad, and repeated messages dispatched to Gallus Caesar had roused him to action, since the Master of the Horse was at the time too far removed from the spot, orders were given to Nebridius, Count of the East. He quickly got together troops from every side and with the greatest energy was hastening to rescue this great and strategically important city from danger. On learning this, the freebooters departed without accomplishing anything more of consequence, and scattering (after their usual fashion) made for the trackless wastes of the high mountains.
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§ 14.3.1 When affairs had reached this stage in Isauria, the king of Persia, involved in war with his neighbours, was driving back from his frontiers a number of very wild tribes which, with inconsistent policy, often make hostile raids upon his territories and sometimes aid him when he makes war upon us. One of his grandees, Nohodares by name, having received orders to invade Mesopotamia whenever occasion offered, was carefully reconnoitring our territory, intending a sudden incursion in case he found any opening.
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§ 14.3.2 And as all the districts of Mesopotamia, being exposed to frequent raids, were protected by frontier-guards and country garrisons, Nohodares, having turned his course to the left, had beset the remotest parts of Osdroene, attempting a novel and all but unprecedented maneuver; and if he had succeeded, he would have devastated the whole region like a thunderbolt. Now what he planned was the following.
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§ 14.3.3 The town of Batne, founded in Anthemusia in early times by a band of Macedonians, is separated by a short space from the river Euphrates; it is filled with wealthy traders when, at the yearly festival, near the beginning of the month of September, a great crowd of every condition gathers for the fair, to traffic in the wares sent from India and China, and in other articles that are regularly brought there in great abundance by land and sea.
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§ 14.3.4 This district the above-mentioned leader made ready to invade, on the days set for this celebration, through the wilderness and the grass-covered banks of the river Abora; but he was betrayed by information given by some of his own soldiers, who, fearing punishment for a crime which they had committed, deserted to the Roman garrison. Therefore, withdrawing without accomplishing anything, he languished thereafter in inaction.
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§ 14.4.1 The Saracens, however, whom we never found desirable either as friends or as enemies, ranging up and down the country, in a brief space of time laid waste whatever they could find, like rapacious kites which, whenever they have caught sight of any prey from on high, seize it with swift swoop, and directly they have seized it make off.
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§ 14.4.2 Although I ( Ammianus Marcellinus ) recall having told of their customs in my history of the emperor Marcus, and several times after that, yet I will now briefly relate a few more particulars about them.
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§ 14.4.3 Among those tribes whose original abode extends from the Assyrians to the cataracts of the Nile and the frontiers of the Blemmyae all alike are warriors of equal rank, half-nude, clad in dyed cloaks as far as the loins, ranging widely with the help of swift horses and slender camels in times of peace or of disorder. No man ever grasps a plough-handle or cultivates a tree, none seeks a living by tilling the soil, but they rove continually over wide and extensive tracts without a home, without fixed abodes or laws; they cannot long endure the same sky, nor does the sun of a single district ever content them.
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§ 14.4.4 Their life is always on the move, and they have mercenary wives, hired under a temporary contract. But in order that there may be some semblance of matrimony, the future wife, by way of dower, offers her husband a spear and a tent, with the right to leave him after a stipulated time, if she so elect: and it is unbelievable with what ardour both sexes give themselves up to passion.
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§ 14.4.5 Moreover, they wander so widely as long as they live, that a woman marries in one place, gives birth in another, and rears her children far away, without being allowed any opportunity for rest.
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§ 14.4.6 They all feed upon game and an abundance of milk, which is their main sustenance, on a variety of plants, as well as on such birds as they are able to take by fowling; and I have seen many of them who were wholly unacquainted with grain and wine. So much for this dangerous tribe. Let us now return to our original theme.
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§ 14.5.1 While this was happening in the East, Constantius was passing the winter at Arelate, where he gave entertainments in the theatre and the circus with ostentatious magnificence. Then, on the 10th of October, which completed the thirtieth year of his reign, giving greater weight to his arrogance and accepting every false or doubtful charge as evident and proven, among other atrocities he tortured Gerontius, a count of the party of Magnentius, and visited him with the sorrow of exile.
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§ 14.5.2 And, as an ailing body is apt to be affected even by slight annoyances, so his narrow and sensitive mind, thinking that every sound indicated something done or planned at the expense of his safety, made his victory lamentable through the murder of innocent men.
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§ 14.5.3 For if anyone of the military commanders or ex-officials, or one of high rank in his own community, was accused even by rumour of having favoured the party of the emperor's opponent, he was loaded with chains and dragged about like a wild beast. And whether a personal enemy pressed the charge or no one at all, as though it was enough that he had been named, informed against, or accused, he was condemned to death, or his property confiscated, or he was banished to some desert island.
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§ 14.5.4 Moreover his harsh cruelty, whenever the majesty of the empire was said to be insulted, and his angry passions and unfounded suspicions were increased by the bloodthirsty flattery of his courtiers, who exaggerated everything that happened and pretended to be greatly troubled by the thought of an attempt on the life of a prince on whose safety, as on a thread, they hypocritically declared that the condition of the whole world depended.
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§ 14.5.5 And he is even said to have given orders that no one who had ever been punished for these or similar offences should be given a new trial after a writ of condemnation had once been presented to him in the usual manner, which even the most inexorable emperors commonly allowed. And this fatal fault of cruelty, which in others sometimes grew less with advancing age, in his case became more violent, since a group of flatterers intensified his stubborn resolution.
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§ 14.5.6 Prominent among these was the state secretary Paulus, a native of Spain, a kind of viper, whose countenance concealed his character, but who was extremely clever in scenting out hidden means of danger for others. When he had been sent to Britain to fetch some officers who had dared to conspire with Magnentius, since they could make no resistance he autocratically exceeded his instructions and, like a flood, suddenly overwhelmed the fortunes of many, making his way amid manifold slaughter and destruction, imprisoning freeborn men and even degrading some with handcuffs; as a matter of fact, he patched together many accusations with utter disregard of the truth, and to him was due an impious crime, which fixed an eternal stain upon the time of Constantius.
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§ 14.5.7 Martinus, who was governing those provinces as substitute for the prefects, deeply deplored the woes suffered by innocent men; and after often begging that those who were free from any reproach should be spared, when he failed in his appeal he threatened to retire, in the hope that, at least through fear of this, that malevolent man-hunter might finally cease to expose to open danger men naturally given to peace.
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§ 14.5.8 Paulus thought that this would interfere with his profession, and being a formidable artist in devising complications, for which reason he was nicknamed “The Chain,” since the substitute continued to defend those whom he was appointed to govern, Paulus involved even him in the common peril, threatening to bring him also in chains to the emperor's court, along with the tribunes and many others. Thereupon Martinus, alarmed at this threat, and thinking swift death imminent, drew his sword and attacked that same Paulus. But since the weakness of his hand prevented him from dealing a fatal blow, he plunged the sword which he had already drawn into his own side. And by that ignominious death there passed from life a most just ruler, who had dared to lighten the unhappy lot of many.
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§ 14.5.9 After perpetrating these atrocious crimes, Paulus, stained with blood, returned to the emperor's camp, bringing with him many men almost covered with chains and in a state of pitiful filth and wretchedness. On their arrival, the racks were made ready and the executioner prepared his hooks and other instruments of torture. Many of the prisoners were proscribed, others driven into exile; to some the sword dealt the penalty of death. For no one easily recalls the acquittal of anyone in the time of Constantius when an accusation against him had even been whispered.
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§ 14.6.1 Meanwhile Orfitus was governing the eternal city with the rank of Prefect, and with an arrogance beyond the limits of the power that had been conferred upon him. He was a man of wisdom, it is true, and highly skilled in legal practice, but less equipped with the adornment of the liberal arts than became a man of noble rank. During his term of office serious riots broke out because of the scarcity of wine; for the people, eager for an unrestrained use of this commodity, are roused to frequent and violent disturbances.
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§ 14.6.2 Now I ( Ammianus Marcellinus ) think that some foreigners who will perhaps read this work (if I shall be so fortunate) may wonder why it is that when the narrative turns to the description of what goes on at Rome, I tell of nothing save dissensions, taverns, and other similar vulgarities. Accordingly, I shall briefly touch upon the reasons, intending nowhere to depart intentionally from the truth.
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§ 14.6.3 At the time when Rome first began to rise into a position of world-wide splendour, destined to live so long as men shall exist, in order that she might grow to a towering stature, Virtue and Fortune, ordinarily at variance, formed a pact of eternal peace; for if either one of them had failed her, Rome had not come to complete supremacy.
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§ 14.6.4 Her people, from the very cradle to the end of their childhood, a period of about three hundred years, carried on wars about her walls. Then, entering upon adult life, after many toilsome wars, they crossed the Alps and the sea. Grown to youth and manhood, from every region which the vast globe includes, they brought back laurels and triumphs. And now, declining into old age, and often owing victory to its name alone, it has come to a quieter period of life.
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§ 14.6.5 Thus the venerable city, after humbling the proud necks of savage nations, and making laws, the everlasting foundations and moorings of liberty, like a thrifty parent, wise and wealthy, has entrusted the management of her inheritance to the Caesars, as to her children.
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§ 14.6.6 And although for some time the tribes have been inactive and the centuries at peace, and there are no contests for votes but the tranquillity of Numa's time has returned, yet throughout all regions and parts of the earth she is accepted as mistress and queen; everywhere the white hair of the senators and their authority are revered and the name of the Roman people is respected and honoured.
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§ 14.6.7 But this magnificence and splendour of the assemblies is marred by the rude worthlessness of a few, who do not consider where they were born, but, as if licence were granted to vice, descend to sin and wantonness. For as the lyric poet Simonides tells us, one who is going to live happy and in accord with perfect reason ought above all else to have a glorious fatherland.
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§ 14.6.8 Some of these men eagerly strive for statues, thinking that by them they can be made immortal, as if they would gain a greater reward from senseless brazen images than from the consciousness of honourable and virtuous conduct. And they take pains to have them overlaid with gold, a fashion first introduced by Acilius Glabrio, after his skill and his arms had overcome King Antiochus. But how noble it is, scorning these slight and trivial honours, to aim to tread the long and steep ascent to true glory, as the bard of Ascra expresses it, is made clear by Cato the Censor. For when he was asked why he alone among many did not have a statue, he replied: “I would rather that good men should wonder why I did not deserve one than (which is much worse) should mutter'Why was he given one?'”
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§ 14.6.9 Other men, taking great pride in coaches higher than common and in ostentatious finery of apparel, sweat under heavy cloaks, which they fasten about their necks and bind around their very throats, while the air blows through them because of the excessive lightness of the material; and they lift them up with both hands and wave them with many gestures, especially with their left hands, in order that the over-long fringes and the tunics embroidered with parti-coloured threads in multiform figures of animals may be conspicuous.
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§ 14.6.10 Others, though no one questions them, assume a grave expression and greatly exaggerate their wealth, doubling the annual yield of their fields, well cultivated (as they think), of which they assert that they possess a great number from the rising to the setting sun; they are clearly unaware that their forefathers, through whom the greatness of Rome was so far flung, gained renown, not by riches, but by fierce wars, and not differing from the common soldiers in wealth, mode of life, or simplicity of attire, overcame all obstacles by valour.
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§ 14.6.11 For that reason the eminent Valerius Publicola was buried by a contribution of money, and through the aid of her husband's friends the needy wife of Regulus and her children were supported. And the daughter of Scipio received her dowry from the public treasury, since the nobles blushed to look upon the beauty of this marriageable maiden long unsought because of the absence of a father of modest means.
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§ 14.6.12 But now-a-days, if as a stranger of good position you enter for the first time to pay your respects to some man who is well-to-do and therefore puffed up, at first you will be greeted as if you were an eagerly expected friend, and after being asked many questions and forced to lie, you will wonder, since the man never saw you before, that a great personage should pay such marked attention to your humble self as to make you regret, because of such special kindness, that you did not see Rome ten years earlier.
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§ 14.6.13 When, encouraged by this affability, you make the same call on the following day, you will hang about unknown and unexpected, while the man who the day before urged you to call again counts up his clients, wondering who you are or whence you came. But when you are at last recognized and admitted to his friendship, if you devote yourself to calling upon him for three years without interruption, then are away for the same number of days, and return to go through with a similar course, you will not be asked where you were, and unless you abandon the quest in sorrow, you will waste your whole life to no purpose in paying court to the blockhead.
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§ 14.6.14 And when, after a sufficient interval of time, the preparation of those tedious and unwholesome banquets begins, or the distribution of the customary doles, it is debated with anxious deliberation whether it will be suitable to invite a stranger, with the exception of those to whom a return of hospitality is due; and if, after full and mature deliberation, the decision is in the affirmative, the man who is invited is one who watches all night before the house of the charioteers, or who is a professional dicer, or who pretends to the knowledge of certain secrets.
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§ 14.6.15 For they avoid learned and serious people as unlucky and useless, in addition to which the announcers of names, who are wont to traffic in these and similar favours, on receiving a bribe, admit to the doles and the dinners obscure and low-born intruders.
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§ 14.6.16 But I pass over the gluttonous banquets and the various allurements of pleasures, lest I should go too far, and I shall pass to the fact that certain persons hasten without fear of danger through the broad streets of the city and over the upturned stones of the pavements as if they were driving post- horses with hoofs of fire (as the saying is), dragging after them armies of slaves like bands of brigands and not leaving even Sannio at home, as the comic writer says. And many matrons, imitating them, rush about through all quarters of the city with covered heads and in closed litters.
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§ 14.6.17 And as skilful directors of battles place in the van dense throngs of brave soldiers, then light-armed troops, after them the javelin-throwers, and last of all the reserve forces, to enter the action in case chance makes it needful, just so those who have charge of a city household, made conspicuous by wands grasped in their right hands, carefully and diligently draw up the array; then, as if the signal had been given in camp, close to the front of the carriage all the weavers march; next to these the blackened service of the kitchen, then all the rest of the slaves without distinction, accompanied by the idle plebeians of the neighbourhood; finally, the throng of eunuchs, beginning with the old men and ending with the boys, sallow and disfigured by the distorted form of their members; so that, wherever anyone goes, beholding the troops of mutilated men, he would curse the memory of that Queen Samiramis of old, who was the first of all to castrate young males, thus doing violence, as it were, to Nature and wresting her from her intended course, since she at the very beginning of life, through the primitive founts of the seed, by a kind of secret law, shows the ways to propagate posterity.
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§ 14.6.18 In consequence of this state of things, the few houses that were formerly famed for devotion to serious pursuits now teem with the sports of sluggish indolence, re-echoing to the sound of singing and the tinkling of flutes and lyres. In short, in place of the philosopher the singer is called in, and in place of the orator the teacher of stagecraft, and while the libraries are shut up forever like tombs, water-organs are manufactured and lyres as large as carriages, and flutes and instruments heavy for gesticulating actors.
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§ 14.6.19 At last we have reached such a state of baseness, that whereas not so very long ago, when there was fear of a scarcity of food, foreigners were driven neck and crop from the city, and those who practised the liberal arts (very few in number) were thrust out without a breathing space, yet the genuine attendants upon actresses of the mimes, and those who for the time pretended to be such, were kept with us, while three thousand dancing girls, without even being questioned, remained here with their choruses, and an equal number of dancing masters.
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§ 14.6.20 And, wherever you turn your eyes, you may see a throng of women with curled hair, who might, if they had married, by this time, so far as age goes, have already produced three children, sweeping the pavements with their feet to the point of weariness and whirling in rapid gyrations, while they represent the innumerable figures that the stage-plays have devised.
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§ 14.6.21 Furthermore, there is no doubt that when once upon a time Rome was the abode of all the virtues, many of the nobles detained here foreigners of free birth by various kindly attentions, as the Lotus-eaters of Homer did by the sweetness of their fruits.
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§ 14.6.22 But now the vain arrogance of some men regards everything born outside the pomerium of our city as worthless, except the childless and unwedded; and it is beyond belief with what various kinds of obsequiousness men without children are courted at Rome.
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§ 14.6.23 And since among them, as is natural in the capital of the world, cruel disorders gain such heights that all the healing art is powerless even to mitigate them, it has been provided, as a means of safety, that no one shall visit a friend suffering from such a disease, and by a few who are more cautious another sufficiently effective remedy has been added, namely, that servants sent to inquire after the condition of a man's acquaintances who have been attacked by that disorder should not be readmitted to their masters' house until they have purified their persons by a bath. So fearful are they of a contagion seen only by the eyes of others.
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§ 14.6.24 But yet, although these precautions are so strictly observed, some men, when invited to a wedding, where gold is put into their cupped right hands, although the strength of their limbs is impaired, will run even all the way to Spoletium. Such are the habits of the nobles.
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§ 14.6.25 But of the multitude of lowest condition and greatest poverty some spend the entire night in wineshops, some lurk in the shade of the awnings of the theatres, which Catulus in his aedileship, imitating Campanian wantonness, was the first to spread, or they quarrel with one another in their games at dice, making a disgusting sound by drawing back the breath into their resounding nostrils; or, which is the favourite among all amusements, from sunrise until evening, in sunshine and in rain, they stand open-mouthed, examining minutely the good points or the defects of charioteers and their horses.
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§ 14.6.26 And it is most remarkable to see an innumerable crowd of plebeians, their minds filled with a kind of eagerness, hanging on the outcome of the chariot races. These and similar things prevent anything memorable or serious from being done in Rome. Accordingly, I must return to my subject.
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§ 14.7.1 His lawlessness now more widely extended, Caesar became offensive to all good men, and henceforth showing no restraint, he harassed all parts of the East, sparing neither ex-magistrates nor the chief men of the cities, nor even the plebeians.
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§ 14.7.2 Finally, he ordered the death of the leaders of the senate of Antioch in a single writ, enraged because when he urged a prompt introduction of cheap prices at an unseasonable time, since scarcity threatened, they had made a more vigorous reply then was fitting. And they would have perished to a man, had not Honoratus, then count-governor of the East, opposed him with firm resolution.
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§ 14.7.3 This also was a sign of his savage nature which was neither obscure nor hidden, that he delighted in cruel sports; and sometimes in the Circus, absorbed in six or seven contests, he exulted in the sight of boxers pounding each other to death and drenched with blood, as if he had made some great gain.
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§ 14.7.4 Besides this, his propensity for doing harm was inflamed and incited by a worthless woman, who, on being admitted to the palace (as she had demanded) had betrayed a plot that was secretly being made against him by some soldiers of the lowest condition. Whereupon Constantina, exulting as if the safety of her husband were now assured, gave her a reward, and seating her in a carriage, sent her out through the palace gates into the public streets, in order that by such inducements she might tempt others to reveal similar or greater conspiracies.
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§ 14.7.5 After this, when Gallus was on the point of leaving for Hierapolis, ostensibly to take part in the campaign, and the commons of Antioch suppliantly besought him to save them from the fear of a famine, which, through many difficulties of circumstance, was then believed to be imminent, he did not, after the manner of princes whose widely extended power sometimes cures local troubles, make any arrangements or command the bringing of supplies from neighbouring provinces; but to the multitude, which was in fear of the direst necessity, he delivered up Theophilus, consular governor of Syria, who was standing near by, constantly repeating the statement, that no one could lack food if the governor did not wish it.
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§ 14.7.6 These words increased the audacity of the lowest classes, and when the lack of provisions became more acute, driven by hunger and rage, they set fire to the pretentious house of a certain Eubulus, a man of distinction among his own people; then, as if the governor had been delivered into their hands by an imperial edict, they assailed him with kicks and blows, and trampling him under foot when he was half-dead, with awful mutilation tore him to pieces. After his wretched death each man saw in the end of one person an image of his own peril and dreaded a fate like that which he had just witnessed.
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§ 14.7.7 At that same time Serenianus, a former general, through whose inefficiency Celse in Phoenicia had been pillaged, as we have described, was justly and legally tried for high treason, and it was doubtful by what favour he could be acquitted; for it was clearly proved that he had enchanted by forbidden arts a cap which he used to wear, and sent a friend of his with it to a prophetic shrine, to seek for omens as to whether the imperial power was destined to be firmly and safely his, as he desired.
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§ 14.7.8 At that time a twofold evil befell, in that an awful fate took off Theophilus, who was innocent, and Serenianus, who was deserving of universal execration, got off scotfree, almost without any strong public protest.
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§ 14.7.9 Constantius, hearing of these events from time to time, and being informed of some things by Thalassius, who, as he had now learned, had died a natural death, wrote in flattering terms to the Caesar, but gradually withdrew from him his means of defence. He pretended to be anxious, since soldiers are apt to be disorderly in times of inaction, lest they might conspire for Gallus' destruction, and bade him be satisfied with the palace troops only and those of the guards, besides the Targeteers and the Household troops. He further ordered Domitianus, a former state treasurer, and now prefect, that when he came into Syria, he should politely and respectfully urge Gallus, whom he had frequently summoned, to hasten to return to Italy.
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§ 14.7.10 But when Domitianus had quickened his pace because of these instructions and had come to Antioch, passing by the gates of the palace in contempt of the Caesar, on whom he ought to have called, he went to the general's quarters with the usual pomp, and having for a long time pleaded illness, he neither entered the palace nor appeared in public, but remaining in hiding he made many plots for Gallus' ruin, adding some superfluous details to the reports which from time to time he sent to the emperor.
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§ 14.7.11 At last, being invited to the palace and admitted to the council, without any preliminary remarks he said inconsiderately and coolly: “Depart, Caesar and know that, if you delay, I shall at once order your supplies and those of your palace to be cut off.” Having said only this in an insolent tone, he went off in a passion, and although often sent for, he never afterwards came into Gallus' presence.
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§ 14.7.12 Caesar, angered at this and feeling that such treatment was unjust and undeserved, ordered his faithful guards to arrest the prefect. When this became known, Montius, who was then quaestor, a spirited man but somewhat inclined to moderate measures, having in view the public welfare, sent for the foremost members of the palace troops and addressed them in mild terms, pointing out that such conduct was neither seemly nor expedient and adding in a tone of reproof that if they approved of this course, it would be fitting first to overthrow the statues of Constantius and then plan with less anxiety for taking the life of the prefect.
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§ 14.7.13 On learning this, Gallus, like a serpent attacked by darts or stones, waiting now for a last expedient and trying to save his life by any possible means, ordered all his troops to be assembled under arms, and while they stood in amazement, he said, baring and gnashing his teeth, “Stand by me, my brave men, who are like myself in danger.”
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§ 14.7.14 Montius with a kind of strange and unprecedented arrogance in this loud harangue of his accuses us of being rebels and as resisting the majesty of Augustus, no doubt in anger because I ordered an insolent prefect, who presumes to ignore what proper conduct requires, to be imprisoned, merely to frighten him."
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§ 14.7.15 With no further delay the soldiers, as often eager for disturbance, first attacked Montius, who lodged close by, an old man frail of body and ill besides, bound coarse ropes to his legs, and dragged him spread- eagle fashion without any breathing-space all the way to Caesar's headquarters.
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§ 14.7.16 And in the same access of rage they threw Domitianus down the steps, then bound him also with ropes, and tying the two together, dragged them at full speed through the broad streets of the city. And when finally their joints and limbs were torn asunder, leaping upon their dead bodies, they mutilated them in a horrible manner, and at last, as if glutted, threw them into the river.
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§ 14.7.17 Now these men, reckless to the point of madness, were roused to such atrocious deeds as they committed by a certain Luscus, curator of the city. He suddenly appeared and with repeated cries, like a bawling leader of porters, urged them to finish what they had begun. And for that not long afterwards he was burned alive.
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§ 14.7.18 And because Montius, when about to breathe his last in the hands of those who were rending him, cried out upon Epigonus and Eusebius, but without indicating their profession or rank, men of the same name were sought for with great diligence. And in order that the excitement might not cool, a philosopher Epigonus from Cilicia was arrested, and a Eusebius, surnamed Pittacas, a vehement orator, from Edessa, although it was not these that the quaestor had implicated, but some tribunes of forges, who had promised arms in case a revolution should be set on foot.
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§ 14.7.19 In those same days Apollinaris, son-in-law of Domitianus, who a short time before had been in charge of Caesar's palace, being sent to Mesopotamia by his father-in-law, inquired with excessive interest among the companies of soldiers whether they had received any secret messages from Gallus which indicated that he was aiming higher; but when he heard what had happened at Antioch, he slipped off through Lesser Armenia and made for Constantinople, but from there he was brought back by the guards and kept in close confinement.
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§ 14.7.20 Now, while these things were happening, attention was drawn at Tyre to a royal robe that had been made secretly, but it was uncertain who had ordered it or for whose use it was made. Consequently the governor of the province at that time, who was the father of Apollinaris and of the same name, was brought to trial as his accomplice; and many others were gathered together from various cities and were bowed down by the weight of charges of heinous crimes.
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§ 14.7.21 And now, when the clarions of internal disaster were sounding, the disordered mind of Caesar, turned from consideration of the truth, and not secretly as before, vented its rage; and since no one conducted the usual examination of the charges either made or invented, or distinguished the innocent from association with the guilty, all justice vanished from the courts as though driven out. And while the legitimate defence of cases was put to silence, the executioner (trustee of plunderings), hoodwinking for execution, and confiscation of property ranged everywhere throughout the eastern provinces. These I think it now a suitable time to review, excepting Mesopotamia, which has already been described in connection with the account of the Parthian wars, and Egypt, which we will necessarily postpone to another time.
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§ 14.8.1 After one passes the summits of Mount Taurus, which on the east rise to a lofty height, Cilicia spreads out in widely extended plains, a land abounding in products of every kind; and adjoining its right side is Isauria, equally blest with fruitful vines and abundant grain, being divided in the middle by the navigable river Calycadnus.
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§ 14.8.2 This province too, in addition to many towns, is adorned by two cities; Seleucia, the work of king Seleucus, and Claudiopolis, which Claudius Caesar founded as a colony. For Isaura, which was formerly too powerful, was long ago overthrown as a dangerous rebel, and barely shows a few traces of its former glory.
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§ 14.8.3 Cilicia, however, which boasts of the river Cydnus, is ennobled by Tarsus, a fair city; this is said to have been founded by Perseus, son of Jupiter, and Dana, or else by a wealthy and high-born man, Sandan by name, who came from Ethiopia. There is also Anazarbus, bearing the name of its founder, and Mopsuestia, the abode of that famous diviner Mopsus. He, wandering from his fellow-warriors the Argonauts when they were returning after carrying off the Golden Fleece, and being borne to the coast of Africa, met a sudden death. Thereafter his heroic remains, covered with Punic sod, have been for the most part effective in healing a variety of diseases.
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§ 14.8.4 These two provinces, crowded with bands of brigands, were long ago, during the war with the pirates, sent under the yoke by the proconsul Servilius and made to pay tribute. And these regions indeed, lying, as it were, upon a promontory, are separated from the eastern continent by Mount Amanus.

Via ToposText (topostext.org), a project of the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation created by Brady Kiesling. Translated by John Carew Rolfe (1859-1943). Composed ca. 390 CE. Licence: public domain. Source.