Ammianus Marcellinus, History

ToposText · Ammianus Marcellinus · 2,797 sections

urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.7.6
§ 21.7.6 When these and other less important and trifling matters had been arranged as Constantius thought would be to his advantage under the circumstances, he was informed by messages and letters of his generals that the Persian forces had united with their haughty king at their head, and were already drawing near to the banks of the Tigris, but that where they were intending to break through was uncertain.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.7.7
§ 21.7.7 Aroused by this news, Constantius left his winter quarters as speedily as possible, in order to act from nearer at hand and so be able to anticipate the coming attempts. He gathered from all sides cavalry and the flower of his infantry, on which he relied, and crossing the Euphrates by Capersana on a bridge of boats, proceeded to Edessa, a city strongly fortified and well supplied with provisions; there he waited for a time, until scouts or deserters should give information of the moving of the enemy's camp.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.8.1
§ 21.8.1 Meanwhile Julian, leaving Rauraci after finishing the business of which we have already spoken, sent Sallustius, who had been advanced to the rank of prefect, back to Gaul, bidding Germanianus take the place of Nebridius; he also made Nevitta commander of the cavalry, fearing Gomoarius as an old-time traitor, who (as he had heard), when leading the targeteers, secretly betrayed his prince, Veteranio. To Jovius, of whom I made mention in connection with the actions of Magnentius, he gave the quaestorship, and to Mamertinus the charge of the sacred largesses; he put Dagalaifus in command of the household troops, and assigned many others, whose services and loyalty he knew, to military commands on his own authority.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.8.2
§ 21.8.2 He intended then to make his way through the Marcian woods and along the roads near the banks of the river Danube, but being exceedingly uncertain amid the sudden changes of events, he feared lest his small retinue might bring him into contempt and lead the populace to oppose him.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.8.3
§ 21.8.3 To prevent this from happening, he devised an ingenious plan: he divided his army and sent one part with Jovinus and Jovius to march rapidly along the familiar roads of Italy; the others were assigned to Nevitta, the commander of the cavalry, to advance through the middle of Raetia; to the end that, being spread over various parts of the country, they might give the impression of a huge force and fill everything with alarm. For this was what Alexander the Great had done, and many other skilful generals after him, when occasion so required.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.8.4
§ 21.8.4 He also charged them, when they left, to be on their guard as they marched, as if the enemy were to meet them at once, and at night to keep watch and ward, so as not to be surprised by a hostile attack.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.9.1
§ 21.9.1 When these arrangements had thus been made (suitably, as it seemed), he proceeded to go farther on by the method through which he had often broken through the country of the savages, relying upon a series of successes.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.9.2
§ 21.9.2 And when he came to the place where he learned that the river was navigable, embarking in boats, of which by a fortunate chance there was a good supply, he was carried down the channel of the river as secretly as possible; and he escaped notice because, being enduring and strong and having no need of choice food, but content with a scanty and simple diet, he passed by the towns and fortresses without entering them, taking as his model that fine saying of Cyrus of old, who on coming to an inn and being asked by the host what viands he should prepare, replied: “Nothing but bread, for I hope to dine near a stream.”
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.9.3
§ 21.9.3 But Rumour, which with a thousand tongues, as men say, strangely exaggerates the truth, spread herself abroad with many reports throughout all Illyricum, saying that Julian, after overthrowing a great number of kings and nations in Gaul, was on the way with a numerous army and puffed up by sundry successes.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.9.4
§ 21.9.4 Alarmed by this news, the pretorian prefect Taurus speedily retreated, as if avoiding a foreign enemy, and using the rapid changes of the public courier-service, he crossed the Julian Alps, at the same stroke taking away with him Florentius, who was also prefect.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.9.5
§ 21.9.5 None the less, Count Lucillianus, who then commanded the troops stationed in those regions, with headquarters at Sirmium, having some slight intelligence of Julian's move, gathered together such forces as regard for speedy action allowed to be summoned from the neighbouring stations and planned to resist him when he should arrive.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.9.6
§ 21.9.6 But Julian, like a meteor or a blazing dart, hastened with winged speed to his goal; and when he had come to Bononea, distant nineteen miles from Sirmium, as the moon was waning and therefore making dark the greater part of the night, he unexpectedly landed, and at once sent Dagalaifus with a light-armed force to summon Lucillianus, and if he tried to resist, to bring him by force.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.9.7
§ 21.9.7 The prefect was still asleep, and when he was awakened by the noise and confusion and saw himself surrounded by a ring of strangers, he understood the situation and, overcome with fear on hearing the emperor's name, obeyed his command, though most unwillingly. So the commander of the cavalry, just now so haughty and self-confident, following another's behest, was set upon the first horse that could be found and brought before the emperor like a base captive, scarcely keeping his wits through terror.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.9.8
§ 21.9.8 But when at first sight of Julian he saw that the opportunity was given him of bowing down to the purple, taking heart at last and no longer in fear for his life, he said: “Incautiously and rashly, my Emperor, you have trusted yourself with a few followers to another's territory.” To which Julian replied with a bitter smile: “Reserve these wise words for Constantius, for I have offered you the emblem of imperial majesty, not as to a counsellor, but that you might cease to fear.”
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.10.1
§ 21.10.1 Then, after getting rid of Lucillianus, thinking that it was no time for delay or for inaction, bold as he was and confident in times of peril, he marched to the city, which he looked on as surrendered. And advancing with rapid steps, he had no sooner come near the suburbs, which were large and extended to a great distance, than a crowd of soldiers and people of all sorts, with many lights, flowers, and good wishes, escorted him to the palace, hailing him as Augustus and Lord.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.10.2
§ 21.10.2 There, rejoicing in his success and in the good omen, and with increased hope of the future, since he believed that following the example of a populous and famous metropolis the other cities also would receive him as a health-giving star, he gave chariot races on the following day, to the joy of the people. But with the dawn of the third day, impatient of delay, he hastened along the public highways, and since no one ventured to oppose him, placed a force in the pass of Succi, and entrusted its defence to Nevitta, as a faithful officer. And it will now be suitable in a brief digression, to describe the situation of this place.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.10.3
§ 21.10.3 The closely united summits of the lofty mountain ranges Haemus and Rhodope, of which the one rises immediately from the banks of the Danube and the other, from those of the Axius, on our side, end with swelling hills in a narrow pass, and separate Illyricum and Thrace. On the one side they are near to the midlands of Dacia and to Serdica, on the other they look down upon Thrace and Philippopolis, great and famous cities; and as if nature had fore-knowledge that the surrounding nations must come under the sway of Rome, the pass was purposely so fashioned that in former times it opened obscurely between hills lying close together, but afterwards, when our power rose to greatness and splendour, it was opened even for the passage of carts; and yet it could sometimes be so closed as to check the attempts of great leaders and mighty peoples.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.10.4
§ 21.10.4 The part of this pass, which faces Illyricum, since it rises more gently, is sometimes easily surmounted, as though it kept no guard. But the opposite side, over against Thrace, precipitous and falling sheer downward, is made difficult on both sides by rough paths, and is hard to get over even when there is no opposition. At the foot of these heights on both sides lie spacious plains, the upper one extending as far as the Julian Alps, the other so flat and open that there is no hindrance to its habitation as far as the strait and the Propontis.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.10.5
§ 21.10.5 After these arrangements had been made in a matter so momentous and so urgent, the emperor, leaving the commander of the cavalry there, returned to Naessus (a well-supplied town), from which he might without hindrance attend to everything that would contribute to his advantage.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.10.6
§ 21.10.6 There he made Victor, the writer of history, whom he had seen at Sirmium and had bidden to come from there, consular governor of Pannonia Secunda, and honoured him with a statue in bronze, a man who was a model of temperance, and long afterwards prefect of the City.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.10.7
§ 21.10.7 And now, lifting himself higher and believing that Constantius could never be brought into harmony with him, he wrote to the senate a sharp oration full of invective, in which he specifically charged Constantius with disgraceful acts and faults. When these were read in the House, while Tertullus was still acting as prefect, the striking independence of the nobles was manifest as well as their grateful affection; for with complete agreement they one and all shouted: “We demand reverence for your own creator.”
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.10.8
§ 21.10.8 Then he passed on to abuse the memory of Constantine as an innovator and a disturber of the ancient laws and of customs received of old, openly charging that he was the very first to advance barbarians even to the rods and robes of consuls. In so doing he showed neither good taste nor consideration; for instead of avoiding a fault which he so bitterly censured, he himself soon afterwards joined to Mamertinus as colleague in the consulship Nevitta, a man neither in high birth, experience, nor renown comparable with those on whom Constantine had conferred the highest magistracy, but on the contrary uncultivated, somewhat boorish, and (what was more intolerable) cruel in his high office.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.11.1
§ 21.11.1 While Julian was thinking of these and like matters and troubled by important and grave affairs, terrifying and unexpected news came to him of the monstrous and daring acts of certain men, which would check his eager advance, unless he could by watchful care repress these also before they came to a head. These shall be set forth briefly.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.11.2
§ 21.11.2 Two of Constantius' legions, which with one cohort of bowmen he had found at Sirmium, being not yet sure of their loyalty he had sent to Gaul under colour of urgent necessity. These were slow to move, through dread of the long march and of the Germans, our fierce and persistent foes, and were planning a rebellion, aided and abetted by Nigrinus, a native of Mesopotamia and commander of a troop of horsemen. Having arranged the plot by secret conferences and added to its strength by profound silence, on arriving at Aquileia, a well-situated and prosperous city, surrounded by strong walls, with hostile intent they suddenly closed its gates, supported in this revolt by the native population, because of the dread which was even then connected with the name of Constantius.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.11.3
§ 21.11.3 And having closed the entrances and posted armed men on the towers and bulwarks, they made ready whatever would be helpful in the coming contest, meanwhile living free from care or restraint; and by so daring an act they roused the neighbouring Italians to side with Constantius, whom they thought to be still living.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.1
§ 21.12.1 When Julian learned of this, being still at Naessus, and fearing no trouble from behind him, he recalled reading and hearing that this city had indeed oftentimes been besieged, but yet had never been razed nor had ever surrendered. Therefore he hastened with the greater earnestness to win it to his side either by craft or by sundry kinds of flattery before any greater mischief should arise.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.2
§ 21.12.2 Hence he ordered Jovinus, a commander of the horse, who was coming over the Alps and had entered Noricum, to return with speed, in order to quench in any way he could the fire that had broken out. Also, that nothing might be wanting, he gave orders that all soldiers who followed the court or the standards should be detained as they passed through that same town, in order to give help according to their powers.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.3
§ 21.12.3 These arrangements made, he himself, learning not long afterwards of the death of Constantius, hastily traversed Thrace and entered Constantinople. And being often advised that the said siege would be long rather than formidable, he assigned Immo with his other officers to that task and then ordered Jovinus to go and attend to other matters of greater urgency.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.4
§ 21.12.4 And so when Aquileia was surrounded with a double line of shields, it was thought best in the unanimous opinion of the generals to try, partly by threats and partly by fair words, to induce the defenders to surrender; but when after much debate to and fro their obstinacy became immensely greater, the conference ended without result.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.5
§ 21.12.5 And since now nothing was looked for except battle, both sides refreshed themselves with food and sleep; at daybreak the sound of the trumpets roused them to slay one another, and raising a shout they rushed to battle with more boldness than discretion.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.6
§ 21.12.6 Then the besiegers, pushing before them mantlets and closely-woven hurdles, advanced slowly and cautiously, and with a great number of iron tools tried to undermine the walls. Many carried scaling-ladders made to match the height of the walls, but when they could all but touch the ramparts, some were crushed by stones that were hurled down upon them, others were pierced with whizzing darts; and as the survivors gave way, they carried with them all the rest, whom fear of a like fate turned from their purpose of fighting.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.7
§ 21.12.7 This first encounter raised the courage of the besieged, who felt confident of still greater success, and made light of what remained to do; with settled and resolute minds they placed artillery in suitable places and with unwearied labour kept guard and attended to other measures of safety.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.8
§ 21.12.8 On the other side the assailants, though anxious and fearful of danger, yet from shame of seeming spiritless and slack, seeing that assault by open force effected little, turned to the devices of the besiegers' art. And since a suitable place could nowhere be found for moving up rams, for bringing engines to bear, or for digging mines, the fact that the river Natesio flows by the city only a short distance off suggested a device as worthy of admiration as those of old.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.9
§ 21.12.9 With eager speed they built wooden towers higher than the enemy's ramparts and placed each upon three ships strongly fastened together. On these stood armed men, who, with forces gathered from near at hand strove with combined and equal courage to dislodge the defenders; and below, light-armed skirmishers issued forth from the lower rooms of the towers and threw out little bridges, which they had made beforehand, and hastened to cross on them. Thus they worked in unison, in order that while those stationed above on both sides assailed each other in turn with missiles and stones, those who had crossed by the bridges might without interference tear down a part of the wall and open an approach into the heart of the city.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.10
§ 21.12.10 But the result of this well-laid plan was unsuccessful. For when the towers were already drawing near, fire-darts steeped in pitch were hurled at them and they were assailed as well with reeds, faggots, and all kinds of kindling material. When by the rapidly spreading fire and the weight of the men who stood precariously upon them the towers toppled and fell into the river, some of the soldiers were killed on their very tops, pierced by missiles from the distant engines.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.11
§ 21.12.11 Meanwhile the foot-soldiers, left alone after the death of their companions on the ships, were crushed by huge stones, except a few whom speed of foot through the encumbered passageways saved from death. Finally, after the conflict had lasted until evening, the usual signal for retreat was given; whereupon both sides withdrew and spent what remained of the day with different feelings.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.12
§ 21.12.12 For the laments of the besiegers, as they grieved for the death of their comrades, encouraged the defenders to hope that they were now getting the upper hand, although they, too, had a few losses to mourn. Yet, in spite of this, no time was lost, and after a whole night, during which enough food and rest to recover their strength was allowed, the battle was renewed at daybreak at the sound of the trumpet.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.13
§ 21.12.13 Then some with their shields raised over their heads, to be less hampered in fighting, others carrying ladders on their shoulders as before, rushed forward in fiery haste, exposing their breasts to wounds from many kinds of weapons. Still others tried to break the iron bars of the gates, but were assailed in their turn with fire or slain by great stones hurled from the walls. Some, who boldly tried to cross the moat, taken unawares by the sudden onslaughts of those that secretly rushed forth through the postern gates, either fell, if overbold, or withdrew wounded. For the return to the walls was safe and a rampart before the walls covered with turf protected from all danger those who lay in wait.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.14
§ 21.12.14 But although the besieged, who had no help other than that of the walls, excelled in endurance and the arts of war, yet our soldiers, selected from the better companies, unable to bear the long delay, went about all the suburbs, diligently seeking for places where they could force an entrance into the city by main strength or by their artillery.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.15
§ 21.12.15 But when this proved impossible, prevented by the greatness of the difficulties, they began to conduct the siege with less energy, and the garrison troops, leaving behind only the sentinels and pickets, ransacked the neighbouring fields, got an abundance of all suitable things, and gave their comrades a large share of their plunder; and in consequence, by drinking immoderately and stuffing themselves with rich food, they lost their vigour.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.16
§ 21.12.16 When Julian, who was still wintering in Constantinople, heard from the report of Immo and his colleagues what had happened, he devised a shrewd remedy for the troubles; he at once sent Agilo, commander of the infantry, who was well known at that time, to Aquileia, hoping that the sight of so distinguished a man, and the announcement through him of Constantius' death, might put an end to the blockade.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.17
§ 21.12.17 Meanwhile, that the siege of Aquileia might not be interrupted, it was decided, since all the rest of their toil had come to nothing, to force a surrender of the vigorous defenders by thirst. And when the aqueducts had been cut off, but in spite of that they resisted with still greater confidence, with a mighty effort the river was turned from its course; but that also was done in vain. For when the means of drinking more greedily were diminished, men whom their own rashness had beleaguered lived frugally, and contented themselves with water from wells.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.18
§ 21.12.18 While these events were taking place with the results already told, Agilo (as he was ordered) came to them, and covered by a close array of shields drew near confidently; but after giving a detailed and true account of the death of Constantius and the establishment of Julian's rule, he was overwhelmed with endless abuse as a liar. And no one believed his account of what had happened until he was admitted alone within the walls under a pledge of safe conduct and repeated what he had said, adding a solemn oath that it was true.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.19
§ 21.12.19 When this was heard, the gates were opened, and after their long torment all poured forth and gladly met the peace-making general. Trying to excuse themselves, they presented Nigrinus as the author of the whole outrage, along with a few others, asking that by the execution of these men the crime of treason and the woes of their city might be expiated.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.20
§ 21.12.20 Finally, a few days later, after the affair had been more thoroughly investigated before Mamertinus, the praetorian prefect, then sitting in judgement, Nigrinus as the chief instigator of the war was burned alive. But after him Romulus and Sabostius, senators of Aquileia, being convicted of having sown the seeds of discord without regard to its dangerous consequences, died by the executioner's sword. All the rest, whom compulsion, rather than inclination, had driven to this mad strife, escaped unpunished. For so the emperor, naturally mild and merciful, had decided on grounds of justice.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.21
§ 21.12.21 Now these things happened later. But Julian was still at Naessus, beset by deep cares, since he feared many dangers from two quarters. For he stood in dread lest the soldiers besieged at Aquileia should by a sudden onset block the passes of the Julian Alps, and he should thus lose the provinces and the support which he daily expected from them.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.22
§ 21.12.22 Also he greatly feared the forces of the Orient, hearing that the soldiers dispersed over Thrace had been quickly concentrated to meet sudden violence and were approaching the frontiers of Succi under the lead of the count Martianus. But in spite of this he himself also, acting with an energy commensurate with the pressing mass of dangers, assembled the Illyrian army, reared in the toil of Mars and ready in times of strife to join with a warlike commander.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.23
§ 21.12.23 Nor did he at so critical a time disregard the interests of private persons, but he gave ear to their suits and disputes, especially those of the senators of the free towns, whom he was much inclined to favour, and unjustly invested many of them with high public office.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.24
§ 21.12.24 There it was that he found Symmachus and Maximus, two distinguished senators, who had been sent by the nobles as envoys to Constantius. On their return he received them with honour, and passing over the better man, in place of Tertullus made Maximus prefect of the eternal city, to please Rufinus Vulcatius, whose nephew he knew him to be. Under this man's administration, however, there were supplies in abundance, and the complaints of the populace, which were often wont to arise, ceased altogether.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.12.25
§ 21.12.25 Then, to bring about a feeling of security in the crisis and to encourage those who were submissive, he promoted Mamertinus, the pretorian prefect in Illyricum, to the consulship, as well as Nevitta; and that too although he had lately beyond measure blamed Constantine as the first to raise the rank of base foreigners.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.13.1
§ 21.13.1 While by these and similar means Julian, wavering between hope and fear, was planning new measures, Constantius at Edessa, troubled by the varying reports of his scouts, was hesitating between two different courses, now preparing his soldiers for battle in the field, now, if opportunity should offer, planning a second siege of Bezabde, with the prudent design of not leaving the flank of Mesopotamia unprotected when he was presently about to march to the north.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.13.2
§ 21.13.2 But in this state of indecision he was kept back by many delays, since the Persian king was waiting on the other side of the Tigris until the signs from heaven should warrant a move; for if Sapor had crossed the river and found no one to oppose him, he could easily have penetrated to the Euphrates; besides this, since he was keeping his soldiers in condition for civil war, he feared to expose them to the dangers of an attack upon a walled city, knowing by experience the strength of its fortifications and the energy of its defenders.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.13.3
§ 21.13.3 However, in order not to be wholly inactive, nor be criticised for slackness, he ordered Arbitio and Agilo, commanders of the cavalry and of the infantry, to sally forth promptly with strong forces, not with a view of provoking the Persians to battle, but to draw a cordon on our bank of the Tigris and be on the watch to see where the impetuous king might break through. Moreover, he often warned them by word of mouth and in writing that if the enemy's horde should begin to cross, they were to retreat quickly.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.13.4
§ 21.13.4 Now, while these generals were guarding the frontiers assigned them, and the hidden purposes of that most deceitful nation were being observed, he himself with the stronger part of his army was attending to urgent affairs (getting ready for battle) and now and then sallying forth to protect the towns. But the scouts and deserters who appeared from time to time brought conflicting accounts, being uncertain what would happen, because among the Persians plans are communicated to none save the grandees, who are reticent and loyal, and with whom among their other gods Silence is honoured.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.13.5
§ 21.13.5 Moreover, the aforesaid generals kept sending for the emperor and begging that reinforcements be sent to them. For they declared that the attack of a most energetic king could not be met, unless all the forces were united at one point.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.13.6
§ 21.13.6 During these anxious proceedings frequent and trusty messengers arrived, from whose clear and faithful reports it was learned that Julian, having in swift course passed through Italy and Illyricum, had meanwhile seized the pass of Succi, where he was awaiting auxiliaries summoned from every quarter, in order to invade Thrace attended by a great force of soldiers.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.13.7
§ 21.13.7 When this was known, Constantius, though overwhelmed with sorrow, was sustained by the one comforting thought, that in civil strife he had always come off victor; but while the present situation made it most difficult to decide upon a plan, he resolved, as the best course, gradually to send his soldiers on in advance in the public conveyances, in order the sooner to meet the dread and imminent peril.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.13.8
§ 21.13.8 This plan met with general approval and the troops set out lightly equipped, as was ordered. But as he was carrying out this arrangement, word came next morning that the king with the entire force under his command had returned home, since the auspices put an end to his enterprise; relieved therefore of fear, Constantius recalled all the troops, except those that formed the usual defence of Mesopotamia, and quickly returned to the city of Nicopolis.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.13.9
§ 21.13.9 There, being still uncertain as to the outcome of his main enterprise, as soon as the army had come together he summoned all the centuries, maniples, and cohorts to an assembly; and when the trumpets sounded and the plain was filled with the multitude, in order to make them the more inclined to carry out his orders, he took his place upon a high tribunal with a larger retinue than common, and assuming an expression of calm confidence, addressed them as follows:
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.13.10
§ 21.13.10 Being always careful by no act or word, however slight, to allow myself to do anything inconsistent with faultless honour, and like a cautious steersman putting my helm up or down according to the movements of the waves, I am now constrained, dearly beloved soldiers, to confess to you my mistake, or rather (if I may be allowed to use the right word) my kindheartedness, which I believed would be profitable to the interests of all. Therefore, that you may the more readily know the ground for convoking this assembly, hear me, I pray you, with unprejudiced and favourable ears.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.13.11
§ 21.13.11 At the time when Magnentius, whom your valorous deeds overthrew, was obstinately bent upon making general confusion in the state, I raised my cousin Gallus to the high rank of Caesar and sent him to defend the Orient. When he by many deeds abominable to witness and to rehearse had forsaken the path of justice, he was punished by the laws' decree.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.13.12
§ 21.13.12 And would to Heaven that Envy, that busiest inciter of trouble, had been content with that, in order that only this one recollection of grief now past, but unaccompanied by dangers, might disquiet me. But now another blow has fallen, more to be lamented, I might venture to say, than those that went before, which the aid of Heaven through your native valour will make harmless.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.13.13
§ 21.13.13 Julian, to whom we entrusted the defence of Gaul while you were fighting the foreign nations that raged around Illyricum, presuming upon some trivial battles which he fought with the half-armed Germans, exulting like a madman, has involved in his ambitious cabal a few auxiliaries, whom their savagery and hopeless condition made ready for a destructive act of recklessness; and he has conspired for the hurt of the state, treading under foot Justice, the mother and nurse of the Roman world, who, as I readily believe from experience and from the lessons of the past, will in the end, as the punisher of evil deeds, take vengeance on them, and will blow away their proud spirits like ashes.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.13.14
§ 21.13.14 What, then, remains but to meet the storms that have been raised, with the purpose of crushing by the remedies of speed the madness of the growing war before it attains greater strength? For there is no doubt that through the present help of the most high Deity, by whose eternal verdict the ungrateful are condemned, the sword that has impiously been whetted must inevitably be turned to the destruction of those who, not provoked, but made greater by many favours, have risen to endanger the guiltless.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.13.15
§ 21.13.15 For, as my mind presages, and as Justice promises, who will aid right purposes, I give you my word that, when we come hand to hand, they will be so benumbed with terror as to be able to endure neither the flashing light of your eyes nor the first sound of your battle-cry."
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.13.16
§ 21.13.16 After these words all were led to his opinion, and brandishing their spears in anger they first replied with many expressions of good will, and then asked to be led at once against the rebel. This mark of favour turned the emperor's fear into joy; he at once dissolved the assembly and ordered Arbitio, whom he already knew from former experiences to be successful before all others in quelling civil wars, to go before him on his march with the lancers, the mattiarii, and the companies of light armed troops; also Gomoarius with the Laeti, to oppose the coming advance of the enemy in the pass of Succi, a man chosen before others because he was a bitter enemy of Julian, who had treated him with contempt in Gaul.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.14.1
§ 21.14.1 In this welter of adverse events Constantius' fortune, already wavering and at a standstill, showed clearly by signs almost as plain as words, that a crisis in his life was at hand. For at night he was alarmed by apparitions, and when he was not yet wholly sunk in sleep, the ghost of his father seemed to hold out to him a fair child; and when he took it and set it in his lap, it shook from him the ball which he held in his right hand and threw it to a great distance. And this foretold a change in the state, although the seers gave reassuring answers.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.14.2
§ 21.14.2 After that he admitted to his more intimate attendants that, as though forsaken, he ceased to see a kind of secret something which he used to think occasionally appeared to him, though somewhat dimly; and it was supposed that a sort of guardian spirit, assigned to protect his life, had deserted him, since he was destined quickly to leave this world.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.14.3
§ 21.14.3 For the theologians maintain that there are associated with all men at their birth, but without interference with the established course of destiny, certain divinities of that sort, as directors of their conduct; but they have been seen by only a very few, whom their manifold merits have raised to eminence.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.14.4
§ 21.14.4 And this oracles and writers of distinction have shown; among the latter is also the comic poet Menander, in whom we read these two senarii: A daemon is assigned to every man At birth, to be the leader of his life.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.14.5
§ 21.14.5 Likewise from the immortal poems of Homer we are given to understand that it was not the gods of heaven that spoke with brave men, and stood by them or aided them as they fought, but that guardian spirits attended them; and through reliance upon their special support, it is said, that Pythagoras, Socrates, and Numa Pompilius became famous; also the earlier Scipio, and (as some believe) Marius and Octavianus, who first had the title of Augustus conferred upon him, and Hermes Trismegistus, Apollonius of Tyana, and Plotinus, who ventured to discourse on this mystic theme, and to present a profound discussion of the question by what elements these spirits are linked with men's souls, and taking them to their bosoms, as it were, protect them (as long as possible) and give them higher instruction, if they perceive that they are pure and kept from the pollution of sin through association with an immaculate body.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.15.1
§ 21.15.1 Constantius, therefore, having reached Antiochia by forced marches, intending (as was his custom) eagerly to encounter civil disturbances at their outset, and having made all his preparations, was in immoderate haste to set out, although many opposed it, but only by murmurs; for no one dared openly to dissuade or to forbid him.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.15.2
§ 21.15.2 When autumn was already waning he began his march, and on coming to a suburban estate called Hippocephalus, distant three miles from the city, he saw in broad daylight on the right side of the road the corpse of a man with head torn off, lying stretched out towards the west. Terrified by the omen, although the fates were preparing his end, he kept on with the greater determination and arrived at Tarsus. There he was taken with a slight fever, but in the expectation of being able to throw off the danger of his illness by the motion of the journey he kept on over difficult roads to Mopsucrenae, the last station of Cilicia as you go from here, situated at the foot of Mount Taurus; but when he tried to start again on the following day, he was detained by the increasing severity of the disease. Gradually the extreme heat of the fever so inflamed his veins that his body could not even be touched, since it burned like a furnace; and when the application of remedies proved useless, as he breathed his last he lamented his end. However, while his mind was still unimpaired he is said to have designated Julian as the successor to the throne.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.15.3
§ 21.15.3 Then the death-rattle began and he was silent, and after a long struggle with life now about to leave him, he died on the fifth of October, in the thirty-eighth year of his reign at the age of forty-four years and a few months.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.15.4
§ 21.15.4 After this followed the last mournful call to the deceased, and grief and wailing broke out; then those who held the first rank in the royal court considered what they should do, or what they ought to attempt. And after a few had been sounded secretly as to the choice of an emperor, at the suggestion of Eusebius (as was reported), whom the consciousness of his guilt pricked, since Julian's nearness made an attempt at revolution inadvisable, Theolaifus and Aligildus, at that time counts, were sent to him, to report the death of his kinsman, and beg him to lay aside all delay and come to take over the Orient, which was ready to obey him.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.15.5
§ 21.15.5 However, rumour and an uncertain report had it that Constantius had made a last will, in which (as I have said) he wrote down Julian as his heir and gave commissions and legacies to those who were dear to him.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.15.6
§ 21.15.6 Now he left his wife with child, and the posthumous daughter to whom she afterwards gave birth was called by his name, and when she grew up was united in marriage with Gratianus.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.16.1
§ 21.16.1 Observing, therefore, a true distinction between his good qualities and his defects, it will be fitting to set forth his good points first. He always maintained the dignity of imperial majesty, and his great and lofty spirit disdained the favour of the populace. He was exceedingly sparing in conferring the higher dignities, with few exceptions allowing no innovations in the way of additions to the administrative offices; and he never let the military lift their heads too high.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.16.2
§ 21.16.2 Under him no leader of an army was advanced to the rank of clarissimus. For they were (according to my personal recollection) all perfectissimi. The governor of a province never officially met a commander of the cavalry, nor was the latter official allowed to take part in civil affairs. But all the military and civil officials always looked up to the praetorian prefects with the old-time respect, as the peak of all authority.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.16.3
§ 21.16.3 In the maintenance of the soldiers he was exceedingly careful; somewhat critical at times in evaluating services, he bestowed appointments at court by the plumb-line, as it were. Under him no one who was to hold a high position was appointed to a post in the palace suddenly or untried, but a man who after ten years was to be marshal of the court, or head treasurer, or to fill any similar post, was thoroughly known. It very rarely happened that any military officer passed to a civil magistracy, and on the other hand, none were put in command of soldiers who had not grown hardy in the dust of battle.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.16.4
§ 21.16.4 He made great pretensions to learning, but after failing in rhetoric because of dullness of mind, he turned to making verses, but accomplished nothing worth while.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.16.5
§ 21.16.5 By a prudent and temperate manner of life and by moderation in eating and drinking he maintained such sound health that he rarely suffered from illnesses, but such as he had were of a dangerous character. For that abstinence from dissipation and luxury have this effect on the body is shown by repeated experience, as well as by the statements of physicians.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.16.6
§ 21.16.6 He was content with little sleep when time and circumstances so required. Throughout the entire span of his life he was so extraordinarily chaste, that not even a suspicion could be raised against him even by an ill-disposed attendant on his private life, a charge which malice, even if it fails to discover it, still trumps up, having regard to the unrestrained liberty of supreme power.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.16.7
§ 21.16.7 In riding, in hurling the javelin, and especially in the skilful use of the bow, and in all the exercises of the foot-soldiers, he was an adept. That no one ever saw him wipe his mouth or nose in public, or spit, or turn his face in either direction, or that so long as he lived he never tasted fruit, I leave unmentioned, since it has often been related.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.16.8
§ 21.16.8 Having given a succinct account of his merits, so far as I could know them, let us now come to an enumeration of his defects. While in administrative affairs he was comparable to other emperors of medium quality, if he found any indication, however slight or groundless, of an aspiration to the supreme power, by endless investigations, in which he made no distinction between right and wrong, he easily surpassed the savagery of Caligula, Domitian, and Commodus. For it was in rivalry of the cruelty of those emperors that at the beginning of his reign he destroyed root and branch all who were related to him by blood and race.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.16.9
§ 21.16.9 To add to the sufferings of the wretches who were reported to him for impairment of, or insult to, his majesty, his bitterness and angry suspicions were stretched to the uttermost in all such cases. If anything of the kind was bruited abroad, he gave himself up to inquisitions with more eagerness than humanity, and appointed for such trials merciless judges; and in the punishment of some he tried to make their death lingering, if nature allowed, in some particulars being even more ruthless than Gallienus in such inquisitions.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.16.10
§ 21.16.10 As a matter of fact, he was the object of many genuine plots of traitors, such as Aureolus, Postumus, Ingenuus, Valens surnamed Thessalonicus, and several others, yet he often showed leniency in punishing crimes which would bring death to the victim; but he also tried to make false or doubtful cases appear well-founded by excessively violent tortures.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.16.11
§ 21.16.11 And in such affairs he showed deadly enmity to justice, although he made a special effort to be considered just and merciful. And as sparks flying from a dry forest even with a light breeze of wind come with irresistible course and bring danger to rural villages, so he also from trivial causes roused up a mass of evils, unlike that revered prince Marcus, who, when Cassius had mounted to imperial heights in Syria, and a packet of letters sent by him to his accomplices had fallen into the emperor's hands through the capture of their bearer, at once ordered it to be burned unopened, in order that, being at the time still in Illyricum, he might not know who were plotting against him, and hence be forced to hate some men against his will.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.16.12
§ 21.16.12 And, as some right-thinking men believed, it would have been a striking indication of true worth in Constantius, if he had renounced his power without bloodshed, rather than defended it so mercilessly.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.16.13
§ 21.16.13 And this Tully also shows in a letter to Nepos, in which he taxes Caesar with cruelty, saying: “For happiness is nothing else than success in noble actions. Or, to express it differently, happiness is the good fortune that aids worthy designs, and one who does not aim at these can in no wise be happy. Therefore, in lawless and impious plans, such as Caesar followed, there could be no happiness. Happier, in my judgement, was Camillus in exile than was Manlius at that same time, even if (as he had desired) he had succeeded in making himself king.”
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.16.14
§ 21.16.14 Heraclitus the Ephesian also agrees with this, when he reminds us that the weak and cowardly have sometimes, through the mutability of fortune, been victorious over eminent men; but that the most conspicuous praise is won, when high-placed power sending, as it were, under the yoke the inclination to harm, to be angry, and to show cruelty, on the citadel of a spirit victorious over itself has raised a glorious trophy.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.16.15
§ 21.16.15 Now, although this emperor in foreign wars met with loss and disaster, yet he was elated by his success in civil conflicts and drenched with awful gore from the internal wounds of the state. It was on this unworthy rather than just or usual ground that in Gaul and Pannonia he erected triumphal arches at great expense commemorating the ruin of the provinces, and added records of his deeds, that men might read of him so long as those monuments could last.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.16.16
§ 21.16.16 He was to an excessive degree under the influence of his wives, and the shrill-voiced eunuchs, and certain of the court officials, who applauded his every word, and listened for his “yes” or “no,” in order to be able to agree with him.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.16.17
§ 21.16.17 The bitterness of the times was increased by the insatiate extortion of the tax-collectors, who brought him more hatred than money; and to many this seemed the more intolerable, for the reason that he never investigated a dispute, nor had regard for the welfare of the provinces, although they were oppressed by a multiplicity of taxes and tributes. And besides this, he found it easy to take away exemptions which he had once given.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.16.18
§ 21.16.18 The plain and simple religion of the Christians he obscured by a dotard's superstition, and by subtle and involved discussions about dogma, rather than by seriously trying to make them agree, he aroused many controversies; and as these spread more and more, he fed them with contentious words. And since throngs of bishops hastened hither and thither on the public post- horses to the various synods, as they call them, while he sought to make the whole ritual conform to his own will, he cut the sinews of the courier-service.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.16.19
§ 21.16.19 His bodily appearance and form were as follows: he was rather dark, with bulging eyes and sharp-sighted; his hair was soft and his regularly shaven cheeks were neat and shining; from the meeting of neck and shoulders to the groin he was unusually long, and his legs were very short and bowed, for which reason he was good at running and leaping.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.16.20
§ 21.16.20 When the corpse of the deceased emperor had been washed and placed in a coffin, Jovianus, who was at that time still an officer in the bodyguard, was ordered to escort it with regal pomp to Constantinople, to be interred beside his kinsfolk.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:21.16.21
§ 21.16.21 And as he sat in the carriage that bore the remains, samples of the soldiers' rations ( “probae,” as they themselves call them) were presented to him, as they commonly are to emperors, and the public courier- horses were shown to him, and the people thronged about him in the customary manner. These and similar things foretold imperial power for the said Jovianus, but of an empty and shadowy kind, since he was merely the director of a funeral procession.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:22.1.1
§ 22.1.1 Book 22 While Fortune's mutable phases were causing these occurrences in a different part of the world, Julian in the midst of his many occupations in Illyricum was constantly prying into the entrails of victims and watching the flight of birds, in his eagerness to foreknow the result of events; but he was perplexed by ambiguous and obscure predictions and continued to be uncertain of the future.
urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001:22.1.2
§ 22.1.2 At length, however, Aprunculus, a Gallic orator skilled in soothsaying, afterwards advanced to be governor of Gallia Narbonensis, told him what would happen, having learned it (as he himself declared) from the inspection of a liver which he had seen covered with a double lobe. And although Julian feared that it might be a fiction conformable to his own desire, and was therefore troubled, he himself saw a much more evident sign which clearly foretold the death of Constantius. For at the very moment when that emperor died in Cilicia, a soldier who lifted Julian with his right hand to mount his horse slipped and fell to the ground; and Julian at once cried in the hearing of many: “The man has fallen who raised me to my high estate.”

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.