LIBRARY
DIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE
Ex Libris ISAAC FOOT
THE
HISTORY
ROMAN EMPIRE.
BY
EDWARD GIBBON, ESQ.
IN TWELVE VOLUMES.
VOL. VI.
LONDON :
PRINTED FOR W. ALLASON ; B. WHITROW AND CO.; C. CHAPPLF. W. BARTON ; J. EVANS AND SON; J. GREENHIl.L; J. HARWOOD
R. HILL; G. HEBERT; w. HARRIS; T. MASON; B.^SCHOLEY j. MAYNARD; T. BOHN ; w. MASON; J. CARLISLE; T. FISHER j. BUMPUS; J. CRANWELL; i. PARSONS AND cb. ; J. ROB T. LESTER; — ALSO w. AND p. JENKINS; AND E. KHULL AND co.
GLASGOW ; J. CUMMING AND C. LA GRANGE, DUBLIN
1820.
Plummer and Brewis, Printers, Love-Lane,
CONTENTS
OF THE
CHAP. XXXIII.
Death of Honoring— Valentinian III, emperor of the East— Admini- ttration of kit mother Placidia—JEtiut and Bonifice—Conquett of Africa by the Vandal*.
A. D. PAG p.
423 Last years and death of Honorius - i
423-425 Elevation and fall of the usurper John - 4
425-455 Valentinian III, emperor of the West - 6
425-450 Administration of his mother Placitlia • - 8
Her two generals ./Eli us and Boniface - ib.
427 Error and revolt of Boniface in Africa 1 1
428 He invites the Vandals - - 12 Genseric king of the Vandals - - 13
439 He lands in Africa ,;v«, . - - 14
429 And reviews his army - - fb. The Moors - • • 15 The Donatists - 16
430 Tardy repentence of Boniface 18 Desolation of Africa 20
430 Siege of Hippo 21
430 Death of Augustus 22
431 Defeat and retreat of Boniface 24
432 ILs death - 25 431-439 Progress of the Vandals in Africa 36 439 They surprise Carthage - 28
African exiles and captives 30
Fable of the seven sleepers - - 32
IV CONTENTS.
CHAP. XXXIV.
Tlie diameter, conquests, and court of Attila, king of the Hwis — Death ofThcodosiiis the younger— Elevation of Martian to tite empire of the East.
A. D. PAGE.
376 433 The Huns -
Their establishment in modern Hungary 38
433-453 Reign of Attila 40
His figure and character 41
He discovers tiie sword of Mars - 43
And acquires the empire of Scythia aud Germany 45
430-440 The Huns invade Persia 47
441 They attack the eastern empire - 40
And ravage Europe as far as Constantinople 52
The Scythian, or Tartar wars 53
State of the captives ... 57
446 Treaty of peace between Attila and the eastern em- pire - - - 61 Spirit of the Azimuntines - 63 Embassies from Attila to Constantinople • 65
448 The embassy of Maximin to Attila 68
The royal village and palace - 72
The behaviour of Attila to the Roman ambassadors 75
The royal feast - 77
Conspiracy of the Romans against the life of Attila 80
He reprimands and forgives the emperor 82
450 Theodosius the younger dies 84
And is succeeded by Marcian 86
CHAP. XXXV.
Invation of Gaul by Attila— He it repulsed by JEtius and tite Visigotht —Attila invades and evacuates Italy— The deaths of Attila, JEtiut, and Valeiitinien III.
A.D. PAGE.
450 Attila threatens both empires and prepares to invade
Gaul ... 87
143-144 Character and administration of yEtiu.t 88
His connection with the Huns and Alanni - 91 419-451 The Visigoths in Gaul under the reign of Theo-
doric - 93 435-439 The Franks in Gaul under the Merovingian
kings ... yg
The adventures of the princes Honoria 103
451 Attila invades Gaul and besieges Orleans - 106 Alliance of the Romans and Visigoths - 109 Attila retires to the plains of Champagne • 112 Battle of Chalons . 116 Retreat of Attila - - - 119
CONTENTS. V
A.D. PACE.
452 Invasion of Italy by Attila - * - 122 Foundation of the republic of Venice 125 Attila gives peace to the Romans - 129
453 The death of Attila 132 Destruction of his empire - 134
454 Valentinian murders the patrician JEiiut, 137 And ravishes the wife of Maximus - 139
455 Death of Valentinian - 141 Symptoms of decay and ruin - , ib.
CHAP. XXXVI.
Sack of Rome by Genseric, king of the Vandals — His naval deprtda- tions — Succession of the last emperors of the West, Maximus, Avitvs, Majorian, Seveints, Anthemius, Olybrins, Glyceriits, Nepos, Avgus-
tulus — Total extinction of the western empire — Reign of Odoacer, the first barbarian king of Italy.
A. D. PAGE.
439-455 Naval power of the Vandals • 144
455 The character and reign of the emperor Maximus 146
455 His death ... i\'-"'i 148.
455 Sack of Rome by the Vandals ^ '- 150
455 The emperor Avitus - - 153 455-453-466 Character of Thcodoric king of the Visigoths 156
456 His expedition into Spain - - 160
456 Avitus is deposed - - 163
457 Character and elevation of Majorian - 166 457-461 His salutary laws - 169
The edifices of Rome - - - 172
457 Majorian prepares to invade Africa - 175
The loss of his fleet 179
461 Hisdeatk - - - 181 461-467 Ricimer reigns under the name of Severn* ib.
Revolt of Marcellinns in Dalmatia' - 182
Andof jEgidiusin Gaul "- - 183
361-467 Naval war of the Vandals 184
462 Negotiations with the eastern empire - 186 451-474 Leo, emperor of the East - - 188 467-472 Anthemius emperor of the West - 191 467-468 The festival of the Lupercalia 193 468 Preparations against the Vandals of Africa 196
Failure of the expedition - - 199
477-462-572 Conquests of the Visigoths in Spain and
Gaul .... 202
468 Trial of Arvandus 205
471 Discord of Anthemius and Riciiner • 209
472 Olyljrius, emperor of the West - - 212 472 Sack of Rome, and death of Anthemius - 214
Death of Ricimer - - 215
And of Olybiius - ib.
VI . CONTENTS.
A.D. PACE.
472-475 Julias Nepos, and Glycerius, emperor» of the
West - - 216
475 The patrician Orestes 218
476 His son Augustulus the last emperor of the West 219 476-490 Odoacer king of Italy - 221
476 or 479 Extinction of the western empire 223 Augustulus is banished to the Lucullan villa 225 Decay of the Roman spirit 227
476-490 Character and reign of Odoacer - 229
Miserable state of Italy - - .. 230
CHAP. XXXVII.
Origin, progress, and effects of the mcjiastic life— Conversion of the barbarians to Christianity and Arianism — Persecution of the Van- dals in Africa — Extinction of Arianism among the barbarians.
A. D. PAGE.
I. The MONASTIC LIFE. — Origin of the Monks 234 305 Antony and the Monks of Egypt - 237 251-356-341 Propagation of the monastic life at Rome 239 328 Hilarion in Palestine - - 240 360 Basil in Pontus - - ib. 370 Martin in Gaul - - 241
Causes of its rapid progress 242
Obedience of the monks - 246
Their dress and habitations 248
Their diet 249
Their manual labour - 251
Theirriches - - 253
Their solitude - - 255
Their devotion and visions - 256
The Coenobites and Anachorets - 258
395-451 Simeon Stylites - - 260
Miracles and worship of the monks 262
Superstition of the age 263
II. CONVERSION of the BARBARIANS ib. 360 Ulphilss, apostle of the Goths 264 400 The Goths, Vandals, Burgundians, &c. embrace
Christianity - - 266
Motives of their faith - - - 267
Effects of their conversion - - 270
They are involved in the Arian heresy - 272
General toleration - - 274
Arian persecution of the Vandals - ib.
429-477 Genseric - •> -^ <.*> - 275
477 Hunneric - ib. 484 Gundamund , -.r - - 276 496 Thrasimund ... ib, 623 Hilderic - 277 630 Gelimer .... ib.
CONTENTS. ' >ii
A.D. PAGE.
A general view of the persecution in Africa 277
Catholic frauds - 285
And miracles - 287
600-700 The ruin of Arianism among the barbarians 290
677-584 Revolt and .martyrdom of Hermenegild in Spain ib.
586-589 Conversion of Recared and the Visigoths of Spain 293
630 Conversion of the Lombards of Italy 295
612-712 Persecution of the Jews in Spain 296
Conclusion - - 298
CHAP. XXXVIII.
Reign and conversion of Clovis— His victories over the Alemanni, Burgundiant, and Visigoths — Establishment of the French monarchy in Gaul — Laws of the barbarians — State of the Romans—The Visi- goths of Spain — Conquest of Britain by the Saxons.
A. IX PAGE.
The revolution of Gaul 476-485 Eurie king of the Visigoths 486-512 Clovis king of the Franks 486 His victory over Syagrius 426 Defeat and submission of the Alemanni 496 Conversion of Clovis
300 302 304 306 309 811
496 Submission of the Armoricans and the Roman troops 315
499 The Burgundian war - - 317
500 Victory of Clovis ... . 319 532 Final conquest of Burgundy by the Franks 321
607 The Gothic war - 323 60* Victory of Clovis 326
608 Conquest of Aqnitain by the Franks - 329 610 Consulship of Clovis - 331 636 Final establishment of the French monarchy in Gaul 332
Political controversy - - 334
Laws of the barbarians - - 336
Pecuniary fines for homicide - 339
Judicial combats - - 343
Division of lands by the barbarians 345
Domain and benefices of the Merovingians 348
Private usurpations 349
Personal servitude - - , - 351
Example of Auvergne - - - 354
Story of Attains - 357
Privileges of the Romans of Gaul - 361
Anarchy of the Franks 364
The Visigoths of Spain - - 366
Legislative assemblies of Spain - 307
Code of the Visigoths - - 369
Revolution of Britain - - 370
449 Descent of the Saxons - - .- 372
466-582 Establishment of the Saxon heptarchy 374
v.il A.D.
CONTENTS.
State of the prisons
Their resistance
And flight
The feme of Arthur
Desolation of Britain
Servitude
Manners of the Britons
Obscure or fabulous state of Britain
Fall of the Roman empire in the west
fACE. 376 377 379 380 383 385 388 391 394
General Observations on the Fattoftlie Roman Empire in the Wett.
THE
HISTORY
OF THE
DECLINE AND FALL
OF THE
ROMAN EMPIRE.
CHAP. XXXIII.
Death ofHonorius — Valentinian III. emperor of the East — Administration of his mother Pla- cidia — jElius and JBoniface — Conquest of Africa by the Vandals.
DURING a long and disgraceful reign of twenty- CH AP;
eight years, Horonius, emperor of the West, .»^'l
was separated from the friendship of his bro- Last years
. and death
ther, and afterwards of his nephew, who reign- of Hono- ed over the East; and Constantinople beheld, ""D. 423, with apparent indifferencir and secret joy, the AU!J< 27 calamities of Rome. The strange adventures of Placidia* gradually renewed, and cemented,
the alliance of the two empires. The daughter
*
' See vol. v, p. 332-355. VOL. vr. B
2 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, of the great Theodosius had been the captive, ["jand the queen of the Goths; she lost an affec- tionate husband ; she was dragged in chains by his insulting assassin; she tasted the pleasure of revenge, and was exchanged, in the treaty of peace, for six hundred thousand measures of wheat. After her return from Spain to Italy, Placidia experienced a new persecution in the bosom of her family. She was averse to a mar- riage, which had been stipulated without her consent; and the brave Constantius, as a noble reward for the tyrants whom he had vanquished, received, from the hand of Honorius himself, the struggling and reluctant hand of the widow of Adolphus. But her resistance ended with the ceremony of the nuptials ; nor did Placidia refuse to become the mother of Honoria and Valenti- nian III, or to assume and exercise an absolute dominion over the mind of her grateful hus- band. The generous soldier, whose time had hi- therto been divided between social pleasure and military service, was taught new lessons of ava- rice and ambition : he extorted the title of Au- gustus ; and the servant of Honorius was associ- ated to the empire of the West. The death of Constantius, in the seventh month of his reign, instead of diminishing, seemed to increase, the power of Placidia; and the indecent familiarity*
b T<t «-WI^B X«T« j-CjUa $<X>>|UaTa, is the expression of Olympiodorus, (apnd Photium, p. 197); who means, perhaps to describe the same caresses which Mahomet bestowed on his daughter Phatemah. Quando, (says the prophet himself), quando sub't milii desidmum Paradisi,
otculor
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 3
of her brother, which might be no more than the CHAP. symptoms of a childish affection, were universal- ^^ ly attributed to incestuous love. On a sudden, by some base intrigues of a steward and a nurse, this excessive fondness was converted into an ir- reconcilable quarrel: the debates of the emperor and his sister were not long confined within the walls of the palace; and as the Gothic soldiers adhered to their queen, the city of Ravenna was agitated with bloody and dangerous tumults, which could only be appeased by the forced or voluntary retreat of Placidia and her children. The royal exiles landed at Constantinople, soon after the marriage of Theodosius, during the fes- tival of the Persian victories. They were treated with kindness and magnificence ; but as the sta- tutes of the emperor Constantius had been reject- ed by the eastern court, the title of Augusta could not decently be allowed to his widow. Within a few months after the arrival of Placidia, a swift messenger announced the death of Honorius, the consequence of a dropsy; butTh^TKIportant se cret was not divulged, till the necessary orders had been despatched for the march of a large body of troops to the sea-coast of Dalmatia. The shops and the gates of Constantinople re- mained shut during seven days ; and the loss of a foreign prince, who could neither be esteemed
osculor earn et ingero linguam mean) in os ejus. But this sensual indulgence was justified by miracle and mystery; and the anecdote has been communicated to the public by the Reverend Father Marracei, in his Version and Confutation of the Koran, torn, i, p. 32.
4 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, nor regretted, was celebrated with loud and ***"l', affected demonstrations of the public grief. Election While the ministers of Constantinople delibe- tahe usurpf rate<1> the vacant throne of Honorius was usurped « John, Dy t]ie ambition of a stranger. The name of the
A D 423*
485. rebel was John: he filled the confidential office of Primicerius, or principal secretary; and his- tory has attributed to his character more virtues than can easily be reconciled with the violation of the most sacred duty. Elated by the submis- sion of Italy, and the hope of an alliance with the Huns, John presumed to insult, by an em- bassy, the majesty of the eastern emperor; but when he understood that his agents had been banished, imprisoned, and at length chased away with deserved ignominy, John prepared to assei% by arms, the injustice of his claims. In such a cause, the grandson of the great Theodosius should have marched in person: but the young emperor wras easily diverted, by his physicians, from so rash and hazardous a design ; and the conduct of the Italian expedition was prudently intrusted to Ardaburius, and his son Aspar, who had already signalized their valour against the Persians. It was resolved, that Ardaburius should embark with the infantry; whilst Aspar, at the head of the cavalry, conducted Placidia, and her son Valentinian, along the sea-coast of the Hadriatic. The march of the cavalry, was performed with such active diligence, that they surprised, without resistance, the important city of Aquileia; when the hopes of Aspar were un
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 5
expectedly confounded by the intelligence, that CHAP.
"\ \ \. T II
a storm had dispersed the imperial fleet ; and that w j
his father, with only two galleys, was taken and carried a prisoner into the port of Ravenna. Yet this incident, unfortunate as it might seem, faci- litated the conquest of Italy. Ardaburius employed, or abused, the courteous freedom which he was permitted to enjoy, to revive among the troops a sense of loyalty and gratitude ; and, as soon as the conspiracy was ripe for execution, he invited, by private messages, and pressed the approach of, Aspar. A shepherd, whom the po- pular credulity transformed into an angel, guided the eastern cavalry, by a secret, and, it was thought, an impassable road, through the moras- ses of the Po ; the gates of Ravenna, after a short struggle, were thrown open; and the defenceless tyrant was delivered to the mercy, or rather to the cruelty, of the conquerors. His right hand was first cut off; and, after he had been exposed, mounted on an ass, to the public derision, John was beheaded in the circus of Aquileia. The emperor Theodosius, when he received the news of the victory, interrupted the horse-races; and singing as he marched through the streets, a suitable psalm, conducted his people from the Hippodrome to the church, where he spent the remainder of the day in grateful devotion,'
e For these revolutions of the western empire, consult Olym- piodor. apud Phot. p. 192, 193, 196, 197, 200 ; Sozoraen, 1. ix, c. 16 ; Socrates, 1. vii, 23, 24 ; Pliilostorgius, 1. xii, c. 10, 11, and Godefroy, Disscrtat. p. -186 ; Procopius, de Bell. Vandal. 1. i, c. 3, p. 182, 183 ; Theophanes, in Chronograph, p. 72, 73, and the Chronicles.
h 3
6 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. In a monarchy, which, according to various ,***j"j precedents, might be considered as elective, or Vaienti- hereditary, or patrimonial, it was impossible that emjeror' the intricate claims of female and collateral suc- wc?t" cession should be clearly defined ;d and Theo- A. D. 425- dosius, by the right of consanguinity or con- quest, might have reigned the sole legitimate emperor of the Romans. For a moment, per- haps, his eyes were dazzled by the prospect of unbounded sway ; but his indolent temper gra- dually acquiesced in the dictates of sound policy. He contented himself with the possession of the East; and wisely relinquished the laborious task of waging a distant and doubtful war against the barbarians beyond the Alps ; or of securing the obedience of the Italians and Africans, whose minds were alienated by the irreconcileable dif- ference of language and interest. Instead of listening to the voice of ambition, Theodosius resolved to imitate the moderation of his grand- father, and to seat his cousin Valentinian on the throne of the West. The royal infant was dis- tinguished at Constantinople by the title of Nobilissimiis ; he was promoted before his de- parture from Thessalonica, to the rank and dig- nity of CfBsar; and, after the conquest of Italy, the patrician Helion, by the authority of Theo- dosius, and in the presence of the senate, saluted
" See Grotius de Jure Belli et Pacis, 1. ii, c. 7. He has laboriously, but vainly attempted to form a reasonable system of jurisprudence, from the various and discordant modes of royal succession, which have been introduced by fraud or force, by time or accident.
OF THE ROMAN EMIMHB. 7
Valentinian III. by the name of Augustus, and CHAP.
X.XX11I
solemnly invested him with the diadem, and the M J
imperial purple." By the agreement of the three females who governed the Roman world, the son of Placidia was betrothed to Eudoxia, the daugh- ter of Theodosius and Athenais ; and, as soon as the lover and his bride had attained the age of puberty, this honourable alliance was faithfully accomplished. At the same time, as a compen sation, perhaps, for the expences of the war, the Western Illyricum was detached from the Italian dominions, and yielded to the throne of Con- stantinople/ The emperor of the East acquired the useful dominion of the rich and maritime province of Dalmatia, and the dangerous sove- reignty of Pannonia and Noricum, which had been filled and ravaged above twenty years by a promiscuous crowd of Huns, Ostrogoths Van- dals, and Bavarians. Theodosius and Valen- tinian continued to respect the obligations of their public and domestic alliance ; but the unity of the Roman government was finally dissolved. By a positive declaration, the validity of all fu- ture laws was limited to the dominions of their peculiar author; unless he should think proper to communicate them, subcribed with his own
« The original writers are not agreed (see Muratori, Annali d'ltalia, torn, iv, p. 139) whether Valentinian received the imperial diadem at Rome or Ravenna. In this uncertainty, I am willing to believe, that •uine respect was shewn to the senate.
f The Count de Buat (Hist, des Pcupk-s de 1'Europe, torn. >ij, p. 292-300) has established the reality, explained tbe motives, and traced the consequences of this remarkable cession,
8 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, hand for the approbation of his independent
XXXIII. I! .
_ _______ colleague.8
Valentinian, when he received the title of Au-
liation of }
his mother* gustus, was no more than six years of age: and A.'D! 425-| his long minority was intrusted to the guardian 450< care of a mother, who might assert a female claim to the succession of the western empire. Placidia envied, but she could not equal the reputation and virtues of the wife and sister of Theodosius ; the elegant genius of Eudoxia, the wise and successful policy of Pulcheria. The mother of Valentinian was jealous of tKe power which she was incapable of exercising:1 she reigned twenty-five years, in the name of her son : and the character of that unworthy emperor gra- dually countenanced the suspicion, that Placidia had enervated his youth by a dissolute education, Her two and studiously diverted his attention from every manly and honourable pursuit. Amidst the de- cay of military spirit, her armies were com-
* See the first Notel of Theodosius, by which be ratifies and com- municates (A. D. 438) the Theodosian Code. About forty yeari before that time, the unity of legislation had been proved by an ex- ception. The Jews, who were numerous in the cities of Apulaand Calabria, produced a law of the East to justify their exemption from municipal offices, (Cod. Theod. \. xvi, tit. viii, leg. 13); and the western emperor was obliged to invalidate, by a special edict, the law, quam constat meis partibus esse damnosam. Cod. Theod. 1. «> tit. i, leg. 158.
h Cassiodorius (Varior. 1. xi, epist. i, p. 238) has compared the regencies of Placidia and Amalasuntha. He arraigns the weakness of the mother of Valentinian, and praises the rirtues of his royal mis- tress. On this occasion, flattery seems to have spoken the language of truth.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
manded by two generals, ^Etius1 and Boniface,* CHAP.
•v v v TT I
who may be deservedly named as the last of the ___ r _____ J Romans. Their union might have supported a sinking empire; their discord was the fatal and immediate cause of the loss of Africa. The in- vasion and defeat of Attila have immortalized the fame of JEtius ; and though time has thrown a shade over the exploits of his rival, the defence of Marcelles, and the deliverance of Africa, attest the military talents of Count Boniface. In the field of battle, in partial encounters, in single combats, he was still the terror of the bar- barians ; the clergy, and particularly his friend Augustin, were edified by the Christian piety, which had once tempted him to retire from the world; the people applauded his spotless in* tegrity ; the army dreaded his equal and inexor- able justice, which ,may be displayed in a very singular example. A peasant who complained of the criminal intimacy between his wife and a Gothic soldier, was directed to attend his tribu- nal the following day ; in the evening the count,
1 Philostorgius, 1. xii, c. 12, and Godefroy's Dissertat. p. 493. &c. ; and Kenatus Frigeridus, apud Gregor. Turon. 1. ii, c. 8, in torn. ii, p. 163. The father of vEtius was Gaudeutius, an illustrious ci- li*en of the province of Scythia, and master-general of the cavalry; his mother was a rich and noble Italian. From his earliest youth, .Stius, as a soldier and a hostage, had conversed with the barba- rians.
k For the character of Boniface, see Olympiodorus, apud Phot. p. 190; and St, Augustin apud Tillemout, Meinoires Eccles. torn, xiii, p. 712-715, 886. The bishop of Hippo at length deplored the fall of his friend, who, after a solemg vow of chastity, had married • se- eoiid wife of tbe Arian sect, and who ww suspected of keeping several eonevbinet in his house.
10 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, who had diligently informed himself of the time
V v v TT»
,„ J and place of the assignation, mounted his horse,
rode ten miles into the country, surprised the guilty couple, punished the soldier with instant death, and silenced the complaints of the hus- band, by presenting him, the next morning, with the head of the adulterer. The abilities of JEtius and Boniface might have been usefully employed against the public enemies, in separate and important commands ; but the experience of their past conduct should have decided the real favour and confidence of the empress Placidia. In the melancholy season of her exile and die- tress Boniface alone had maintained her cause with unshaken fidelity ; and the troops and trea- sures of Africa had essentially contributed to ex tinguish the rebellion. The same rebellion had been supported by the zeal and activity of JEtms, who brought an army of sixty thousand Huns from the Danube to the confines of Italy, for the service of the usurper. The untimely death of John compelled him to accept an advantageous treaty; but he still continued, the subject and the soldier of Valentinian, to entertain a secret, per- haps a treasonable correspondence with his bar- barian allies, whose retreat had been purchased by liberal gifts, and more liberal promises. But jEtius possessed an advantage of singular mo- ment in a female reign: he was present: he be- sieged, with artful and assiduous flattery, the palace of Ravenna; disguised his dark designs with the mask of loyalty and friendship ; and at
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 11
length deceived both his mistress and his absent CHAP.
rival, by a subtle conspiracy, which a weak ^, J
woman, and a brave man, could not easily sus- Error and pect. He secretly persuaded1 Placidia to recal Boniface Boniface from the government of Africa; he se- A. u. 427 cretly advised Boniface to disobey the imperial summons; to the one he represented the other as a sentence of death ; to the other, he stated the refusal as a signal of revolt; and when the cre- dulous and unsuspecting count had armed the province in his defence, JEtius applauded his sa- gacity in foreseeing the rebellion which his own perfidity had excited. A temperate inquiry into the real motives of Boniface would have restored a faithful servant to his duty and to the republic ; but the arts of ^Etius still continued to betray and to inflame, and the count was urged, by per- secution to embrace the most desperate counsels. The success with which he eluded or repelled the first attacks, could not inspire a vain confi- dence, that at the head of some loose, disorderly Africans, he should be able to withstand the re- gular forces of the West, commanded by a rival, whose military character it was impossible for him to despise. After some hesitation, the last struggles of prudence and loyalty, Boniface des- patched a trusty friend to the court, or rather to the camp, of Gonderic, king of the Vandals, with
1 Protopius (de Bell. Vandal/1. i c. 3, 4, p. 182-186) relates the fraud of JEtivu, the revolt of Boniface, and the loss of Africa. Thi* anecdote, which is supported by some collateral testimony, (see Rui- nart, Hist. Persecut. Vandal, p. 420, 421), seems agreeable to the practice of ancient and modern courts, and would be naturally re- realed by the repentance of Boniface.
12 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP the proposal of a strict alliance, and the offer of *~~~~+ an advantageous and perpetual settlement. He inrite. After the retreat of the Goths, the authority of Honorius had obtained a precarious establish- >. 428. ment m Spain . except only in the province of Gallicia, where the Suevi and the Vandals had fortified their camps in mutual discord, and hos- tile independence. The Vandals prevailed; and their adversaries were besieged in the Nervasian hills, between Leon and Oviedo, till the ap- proach of Count Asterius compelled, or rather provoked, the victorious barbarians to remove the scene of the war to the plains of Bcetica. The rapid progress of the Vandals soon required a more effectual opposition ; and the master-ge- neral Castinus marched against them with a nu- merous army of Romans and Goths. Van quished in battle by an inferior enemy, Castinus fled with dishonour to Tarragona ; and this memo- rable defeat, which has been represented as the punishment, was most probably the effect, of his rash presumption.113 Seville and Carthagena be- came the reward, or rather the prey, of the fe. rocious conquerors; and the vessels which they found in the harbour of Carthagena, might easily transport them to the isles- of Majorca and Mi- norca, where the Spanish fugitives, as in a secure recess, had vainly concealed their families and
re See the Chronicles of Prosper and Idatiiu. Salvian (de Guber- nat. Dei, L vii, p. 246, Paris, 1608) ascribes the victory of the Van- dals to their superior piety. They fasted, they prayed, they carried a bible in the front of the host, with the design, perhaps, of reproach' ing the perfidy and the sacrilege of their enemies.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. , 3
their fortunes. The experience of navigation, and CHAP.
perhaps the prospect of Africa, encouraged the J,
Vandals to accept the invitation which they re- ceived from Count Boniface ; and the death of Gonderic served only to forward and animate the bold enterprise. In the room of a prince, not con- spicuous for any superior powers of the mind or body^ they acquired his bastard brother, the ter- rible Genseric"; a name which, in the destruction Genseric, of the Roman empire, has deserved an equal rank valfdaU * with the names of Alaric and Attila. The king of the Vandals is described to have been of a middle stature, with a lameness in one leg, which he had contracted by an accidental fall froir his horse. His slow and cautious speech seldom declared the deep purposes of his soul; he disdained to imitate the luxury of the vanquished : but he in- dulged the sterner passions of anger and revenge. The ambition of Genseric was without bounds, and without scruples; and the warrior could dextrously employ the dark engines of policy to solicit the allies who might be useful to his success, or to scatter among his enemies the seeds of hatred and contention. Almost in the * moment of his departure he was informed, that Hermanric, king of the Sue vi, had presumed to
n Gizcricus (his name is variously expressed) staturfi mediocnt et equi casii claudicans, animo profundus, sermone rams, luxuiia. contemptor, ira turbidus liabendi, cupidus, ad soliciiandes gentes piovidentissimus, semina contentionum jacere, odia raiscere paratus. Jornandes de Rebus Geticis, c. 33, p. 657. Thii portrait, which is drawn with some skill, and a strong likeness, must have been copied from the Gothic history of Caasiodorius.
14 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, ravage the Spanish territories, which he was re-
"\ "V Y TTT
; solved to abandon. Impatient of the insult,
Genseric pursued the hasty retreat of the Suevi as far asMerida; precipitated the king and his army into the river Anes, and calmly returned He lands to the sea-shore, to embark his victorious troops. 1° D.IS, The vessels which transported the Vandals over May ; the modern straits of Gibraltar, a channel only twelve miles in breadth, were furnished by the Spaniards, who anxiously wished their depar- ture; and by the African general, who had im- plored their formidable assistance.0 and re- Our fancy so long accustomed to exaggerate riews his an(| muitiply the martial swarms of barbarians
flrniyj f *f
A. D. 429. that seemed to issue from the north, will per- haps be surprised by the account of the army which Genseric mustered on the coast of Mau- ritania. The Vandals, who in twenty years had penetrated from the Elbe to Mount Atlas, were united under the command of their warlike king; and he reigned with equal authority over the Alani, who had passed within the term of human life, from the cold of Scythia to the excessive heat of an African climate. The hopes of the bold enterprise had excited many brave adven- tures of the Gothic nation ; and many deperate provincials were tempted to repair their fortunes
0 See the Chronicle of Idatius. That bishop a Spaniard aud a contemporary, places the passage of the Vandals in the month of May, of the year of Abraham (which commences in October) 2444. This date, which coincides with A. D. 429, is confirmed by Isidore, another Spanish bishop, and is justly preferred to the opinion of th«vse writer, who have marked for that event, one of the two pre- ceding years. See Pagi Critica, torn H, p. 205, &e.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 15
by the same means which had occasioned their CHAP.
'V v v Til
ruin. Yet this various multitude amounted only ^ J
to fifty thousand effective men ; and though Gen- seric artfully magnified his apparent strength, by appointing eighty chiliarchs, or commanders of thousands, the fallacious increase of old men, of children and of slaves, would scarcely have swelled his army to the number of fourscore thousand persons.p But his own dexterity, and the discontents of Africa, soon fortified the Van- dal powers, by the accession of numerous and active allies. The parts of Mauritania, which The border on the great desert, and the Atlantic Moor* ocean, were filled with a fierce and untractable race of men, whose savage temper had been exasperated, rather than reclaimed, by their dread of the Roman arms. The wandering Moors,q as they gradually ventured to approach the sea-shore, and the camp of the Vandals, must have viewed with terror arid astonishment the dress, the armour, the martial pride and disci- pline of the nnknown strangers, who had landed
> Compare Procopius, (de Bell. Vandal. 1. i, c. 5, p. 190), and Victor Vitensis, (de Pemecutione Vandal. 1. i, c. 1, p. 3, edit. Rui- i»art). We are assured by Idatius, that Genseric evacuated Spaiu, cum Vandalis omnibus eoumque familiis ; and Possidius (in Vit. Augustin. c. 28, apud Ruiuart, p. 427) describe* hie army, as manus ingens immauium gettium Vandalorum et Alanorum, com- mixtani secum habens Gothorutn gentem, aliarumque diversarum personas.
11 For the manners of the Moors, see Procopiut, (de Bell Van- dal. 1. ii, c. 6, p. 249) ; for their figure and complexion, M. de Buffon, (Histoire Naturelle, torn, iii, p. 430). Procopius say« in general, that the Moors had joined the Vandals before the death of Valentinian, (de Bell. Vandal. 1. i, c. 5, p. 190) ; and it is probable, that the independent tribes did uot embrace any uniform .ystera of policy.
10 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, on their coast: and the fair complexions of the
V ^/ v TIT
,", J blue-eyed warriors of Germany, formed a very
singular contrast with the swarthy or olive hue, which is derived from the neighbourhood of the torrid zone. After the first difficulties had in some measure been removed, which arose from the mutual ignorance of their respective lan- guage, the Moors, regardless of any future con- sequence, embraced the alliance of the enemies of Rome ; and a crowd of naked savages rushed from the woods and valleys of Mount Atlas, to satiate their revenge on the polished tyrants, who had injuriously expelled them from the native sovereignty of the land.
The persecution of the donatists' was an event not less favourable to theTdesigns of Genseric. Seventeen years before he landed in Africa, a public conference was held at Carthage, by the order of the magistrate. The catholics were satisfied, that, after the invincible reasons which they had alleged, the obstinacy of the schismatics must be inexcusable and voluntary ; and the em- peror Honorius was persuaded to inflict the most rigourous penalties on a faction, which had so long abused his patience and clemency. Three hundred bishops,* with many thousands of the inferior clergy, were torn from their churches,
r See Tillemont, Memoires Eccles. torn, xiii, p. 516-558; and the whole series of the persecution, in the original monuments, published by Dupin al the end of Optntus, p. 823-515.
* The donatist bishops, at the conference of Carthage, amounted to 279 ; and they asserted, that their whole number was not less than 400. The catholics had 286 present, 120 absent, besides sixty-four vecant bishoprics.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
stripped of -their ecclesiastical possessions, ba- nished to the islands, and proscribed by the laws, if they presumed to conceal themselves in the provinces of Africa. Their numerous congregations, both in cities and in the coun- try, were deprived of the rights of citizens, and of the exercise of religious worship. A regular scale of fines, from ten to two hundred pounds of silver, was curiously ascertained, according to the distinctions of rank and fortune, to punish the crime of assisting at a schismatic conventicle ; and if the fine had been levied five times, without subduing the obstinacy of the offender, his future punishment was referred to the discretion of the imperial court.1 By these everities, which obtained the warmest appro- bation of St. Augustin," great numbers of dona- tists were reconciled to the catholic church: but the fanatics who still persevered in their op- position, were provoked to madness and de- spair ; the distracted country was filled with tumult and bloodshed ; the armed troops of Circumcellions alternately pointed their rage against themselves, or against their adversaries ;
' The fifth title of the sixteenth book of the Theodosian Code ex- hibits n series of the imperial laws against tne donatists, from the year 400 to the year 428. Of these the 54th law, promulgated by Honoring, A. D. 414, is the most severe and effectual.
u St. August in altered* his opinion with regard to the proper treat- ment of heretics. Ilis pathetic declaration of pity and indulgence for the maiiichseans, has been inserted by Mr. Locke, (vol. iii, p. 469), among tne choice specimens of his common-place book; Another phi- losopher, the celebrated Bayle, (torn, ii, p. 445-496), has refuted, with superfluous diligence and ingenuity, the arguments, by which the bishop of Hippo justified, in his old age, the persecution of the donnivg.
VOL. vi. c
17
THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, and the calendar of martyrs received on both
,,,„, 'f sides a considerable augmentation/ Under
these circumstances, Genseric, a Christian, but an enemy of the orthodox communion, shewed himself to the donatists as a powerful deliverer, from whom they might reasonably expect the repeal of the odious and oppressive edicts of the Roman emperors/ The conquest of Africa was facilitated by the active zeal, or the secret favour, of a domestic faction ; the wanton out- rages against the churches and the clergy, of which the Vandals are accused, may be fairly imputed to the fanaticism of their allies ; and the intolerant spirit, which disgraced the triumph of Christianity, contributed to the loss of the most important province of the West.2 Tardy re- The court and the people were astonished UJJoni? by the strange intelligence, that a virtuous hero, fac*> after so many favours, and so many services, had renounced his allegiance, and invited the barbarians to destroy the province intrusted to
x See Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. torn, xiii, p. 586-592, 806. The dona- lists boasted of thousands of these voluntary martyrs. Augustiu asserts, and probably with truth, that these numbers were much exaggerated ; but he sternly maintains, that it was better that some should burn them- selves in this world, than that all should burn in hell flames.
7 According to St. Augustin and Theodoret, the donatists were in- clined to the principles, or at least to the party, of the Arians, which Genseric supported. Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. torn, vi, p. 68.
z See Baronius, Annal. Eccles. A. D. 428, N°7; A. D. 439, N° 35. The cardinal, though more inclined to seek the cause of great events iu heaven than on the earth, has observed the apparent connection of the Vandals and the donatists. Under the reign of the barbarians, the schismatics of Africa enjoyed an obscure peace of one hundred years; at the end of which, we may again trace them by the light of the imperial persecutions. See Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. torn, vi, p. 192, kc.
OP THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 19
his command. The friends of Boniface, who CHAP.
still believed that his criminal behaviour might ffff ,'„
be excused by some honourable motive, solici- ted, during the absence of ^Etius, a free confer- ence with the count of Africa ; and Darius, an officer of high distinction, was named for the im- portant embassy,* In their first interview at Carthage, the imaginary provocations were mu- tually explained ; the opposite letters of JEtius were produced and compared ; and the fraud was easily detected. Placidia and Boniface lamented their fatal error ; and the Count had sufficient magnanimity to confide in the forgive- ness of his sovereign, or to expose his head to her future resentment. His repentance was fervent and sincere ; but he soon discovered, that it was no longer in his power to restore the edifice which he had shaken to its foundations. Carthage, and the Roman garrisons, returned with their general to the allegiance of Valenti- nian ; but the rest of Africa was still distracted with war and faction ; and the inexorable king of the Vandals, disdaining all terms of accom- modation, sternly refused to relinquish the pos- session of his prey. The band of veterans, who marched under the standard of Boniface, and his hasty levies of provincial troops, were de-
* la a confidential letter to Count Boniface, St. Augustin, without examining the grounds of the quarrel, piously exhorts him to discharge the duties of a Christian and a subject; to extricate himself without delay from his d:ingerous and guilty situation ; and even, if he could obtain the consent of his wife, to embrace a life of celibacy and penance, (Tillemout, Mem. Eccles. torn, xiii, p. 890). The bishop was inti- mately connected with Darius, the minister of peace, (Id. torn, xiii, p. 928).
c 2
20 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, feated \vith considerable loss : the victorious . „ barbarians insulted the open country ; and Car- thage, Cirta, and Hippo Regius, were the only cities that appeared to rise above the general inundation.
Desolation The long and narrow tract of the African of Africa. coast was filled with frequent monuments of Roman art and magnificence ; and the respec- tive degrees of improvement might be accurate- ly measured by the distance from Carthage and the Mediterranean. A simple reflection will impress every thinking mind with the clearest idea of fertility and cultivation : the country was extremely populous ; the inhabitants re- served a liberal subsistence for their own use ; and the annual exportation, particularly of wheat, was so regular and plentiful, that Africa deserved the name of the common granary of Rome and of mankind. On a sudden, the seven fruitful provinces, from Tangier to Tri- poli, were overwhelmed by the invasion of the Vandals ; whose destructive rage has perhaps been exaggerated by popular animosity, reli- gious zeal, and extravagant declamation War, in its fairest form, implies a perpetual violation of humanity and justice ; and the hostilities ot barbarians are inflamed by the fierce and law- less spirit which incessantly disturbs their peace- ful and domestic society. The Vandals, where they found resistance, seldom gave quarter; and the deaths of their valiant countrymen were expiated by the ruin of the cities under whose walls they had fallen. Careless of the distinc-
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 21
tions of age, or sex, or rank, they employed CHAP.
every species of indignity and torture, to force , '„
from the captives a discovery of their hidden wealth. The stern policy of Genseric justified his frequent examples of military execution : he was not always the master of his own passions, or of those of his followers ; and the calamities ( of war were aggravated by the licentiousness ( of the Moors, and the fanaticism of the donatists. ' Yet I shall not easily be persuaded, that it was the common practice of the Vandals to extirpate the olives and other fruit-trees, of a country where they intended to settle ; nor can I believe that it was a usual stratagem to slaughter great numbers of their prisoners before the walls of a besieged city, for the sole purpose of infecting the air, and producing a pestilence, of which they themselves must have been the first vic- tims.11
The generous mind of Count Boniface was sie$e of tortured by the exquisite distress of beholding A.' DP.°430, the ruin which he had occasioned, and whose May> rapid progress he was unable to check. After the loss of a battle, he retired into Hippo Re- gius ; where he was immediately besieged by an enemy, who considered him as the real bul- wark of Africa. The maritime colony of
b The original complaints of the desolation of Africa are contained, — 1. In a letter from Capreolu*, bishop of Carthage, to excuse his ab- sence from the council of Ephesus, (ap. Ruinart, p. 429). 2. In the life of St. Augustiu, by his friend and colleague Possidius, (ap. Rui- uart, p. 427). 3. In the History of the Vandalic Persecution, by Vic- tor Vitensis, (1. i, c. 1, 2, 3, edit. Ruinart). The last picture, which was drawn siyty years after the event, is more expressive of the a«. thor's passions than of the truth of facts.
• c 3
** THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. Hippo* about two hundred miles westward of , „,, Carthage, had formerly acquired the distin- guishing epithet of Regius, from the residence of Numidian kings ; and some remains of trade and populousness still adhere to the modern city, which is known in Europe by the corrupt- ed name of Bona. The military labours, and anxious reflections, of Count Boniface, were al- leviated by the edifying conversation of his friend St. Augustin;d till that bishop, the light and pillaFof the catholic church, was gently re- leased in the third month of the siege, and in A"D 430 ^ie seventy-sixth year of his age, from the ac- i 28. ' tual and the impending calamities of his coun- try. The youth of Augustin had been stained by the vices and errors which he so ingenuously confesses; but from the moment of his conver- sion to that of his death, the manners of the bishop of Hippo were pure and austere : and the most conspicuous of his virtues was an ardent zeal against heretics of every denomination; the Manichaeans, the Donatists, and the Pela- gians, against whom he waged a perpetual con-
" See Cellarius, Geograph. Antiq. ii, part ii, p. 112. Leo African. in Ramusio, lorn, i, fol. 70. L'Afrique de Marmol. torn, ii, p. 434, 437. Shaw's Travels, p. 46, 47. The old Hippo Regms was finally de- stroyed by the Arabs in the seventh century ; but a new town, at the distance of two tuiles, was built with the materials ; and it contained, in the sixteenth century, about three hundred families of industrious, but turbulent manufacturers. The adjacent territory is renowned for a pure air, a fertile soil, and plenty of exquisite fruits.
rt The life of St. Augustin, hy Tillemont, fills a quarto volume (Mem. Eccles. torn, xiii) of more than one thousand pages ; and tbe diligence of that learned Janxenist was excited, on this occasion, by fac- tions and devout zeal for the founder of his sect.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 23
troversy. When the city, some months after his death, was burnt by the Vandals, the li- brary was fortunately saved, which contained his voluminous writing's; two hundred and thirty-two separate books or treatises on theo- logical subjects, besides a complete exposition of the psalter and the gospel, and a copius ma- gazine of epistles and homilies." According to the judgment of the most impartial critics, the superficial learning of Augustin was confined to the Latin language ;f and his style, though sometimes animated by the eloquence of pas- sion, is usually clouded by false and affected rhetoric. But he possessed a strong, capacious, argumentative mind ; he boldly sounded the dark abyss of grace, predestination, free-will, and original sin ; and the rigid system of Chris- tianity which he framed, or restored,8 has been
e Such at least is the account of Victor Vitensis, (de Persecut. Vandal. 1. i, c. 3) j though Gennadius seems to doubt whether any person had read, or even collected, all the works of St. Augustiu, (see Hieronym. Opera, torn, i, p. 319, in Catalog. Scriptor. Eccles.) They have been repeatedly printed ; and Dupin (Bibliotheque Ec- cles. torn, iii, p. 158-257) has given a large and satisfactory abstract of them, as they stand in the last edition of the Benedictines. My personal acquaintance with the bishop of Hippo does not extend be- yond the Confessions, and the City of God.
f In his early youth, (Confess, i, 14), St. Augustin disliked and neglected the study of Greek; and he frankly owns that he read the Platonists in a Latin version, (Confess, vii, 9). Some modern critics have thought, that his ignorance of Greek disqualified him from ex- pounding the Scriptures ; and Cicero or Quintilian would have re- quired the knowledge of that language in a professor of rhetoric.
* These questions were seldom agitated, from the time of St. Paul to that of St. Augustin. I am informed that the Greek fathers maintain the natural sentiment* of the semi-pelagians; and that the orthodoxy of St. Augustin was derived from the manichMB ichool.
24 THE DECLINE AND FALL
xyJxi» entertained with public applause, and secret re* ., !L luctance, by the Latin church.h
Sueaflf B? the ski11 of Boniface, and perhaps by the Boniface, ignorance of the Vandals, the siege of Hippo ' was protracted above fourteen months : the sea was continually open; and when the adjacent country had been exhausted by irregular rapine, the besiegers themselves were compelled by fa, mine to relinquish their enterprise. The im- portance and danger of Africa were deeply felt by the regent of the West. Placidia implored the assistance of her eastern ally ; and the Italian fleet and army were reinforced by A spar, who sailed from Constantinople with a powerful ar- mament. As soon as. the force of the two em- pires was united under the command of Boni- face, he boldly marched against the Vandals;- and the loss of a second battle irretrievably de- cided the fate of Africa. He embarked with the precipitation of despair ; and the people of Hippo were permitted, with their families and effects, to occupy the vacant place of the sol- • diers, the greatest part of whom were either slain or made prisoners by the Vandals. The Count, whose fatal credulity had wounded the vitals
11 The church of Rome has canonized Augustin, and reprobated Calvin. Yet as the real difference between them is invisible even to a theological microscope ; the Molinists are oppressed by the autho- rity of the saiut, and the Jansenists are disgraced by their resemblance to the heretic. In the meanwhile, the protestant Armenians stand aloof, and deride the mutual perplexity of the disputants, (see a cu- rious Revie;v of the Coptroverey, by Le Clerc. Bibliotheque Unirer- selle, torn, xiv, p. 1-14-398). Perhaps a reasoner still more independ- ent, may smile in his turn, when he peruses an Armenian Commen- tary on the Epistle to the Romans
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 25
of the republic, might enter the palace of Ra- venna with some anxiety, which was soon re- moved by the smiles of Placidia. Boniface accepted with gratitude the rank of patrician, and the dignity of master -general of the Roman armies ; but he must have blushed at the sight of those medals, in which he was represented with the name and attributes of victory.1 The discovery of his fraud, the displeasure of the empress, and the distinguished favour of his rival, exasperated the haughty and perfidious soul of jEtius. He hastily returned from Gaul to Italy, with a retinue, or rather with an army, of barbarian followers ; and such was the weakness of the government, that the two ge- nerals decided their private quarrel in a bloody battle. Boniface was successful ; but he re- ceived in the conflict a mortal wound from the spear of his adversary, of which he expired His death within a few days, in such Christian and charit- At Dt 432< able sentiments, that he exhorted his wife, a rich heiress of Spain, to accept JEtius for her second husband. But JEtius could not derive any immediate advantage from the generosity of his dying enemy ; he was proclaimed a rebel by the justice of Placidia; and though he attempt- ed to defend some strong fortresses erected on
1 Ducange, Fam. Byzant. p. 67. On one side, the head of Valen- tiniau ; on the reverse, Boniface, with a scourge in one hand, and a palm in the other, standing in a triumphal car, which i* drawn by font horses, or, in another medal, by four stags; an unlucky em- blem! I should doubt whether another example can be found of the head of a subject on the reverse of an imperial medal. See Science des Medailies, by the Pere Jobert, torn. i> p. 132-150, edit, of 1739, by tbe Baron de la Bastie.
A
THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, his patrimonial estate, the imperial power soon
\\X1I1
........ ^ compelled him to retire into Paimonia, to the
tents of his faithful Huns. The republic was deprived by their mutual discord, of the ser- vice of her two most illustrious champions.k Progress Jt might naturally be expected, after the re- Vautuis in treat of Boniface, that the Vandals would . »!a43i- achieve, without resistance or delay, the con- quest of Africa. Eight years, however, elapsed, from the evacuation of Hippo to the reduction of Carthage. In the midst of that interval, the ambitious Genseric, in the full tide of apparent prosperity, negotiated a treaty of peace, by which he gave his son Hunneric for an host- age ; and consented to leave the western em- peror in the undisturbed possession of the three Mauritanias.1 This moderation, which cannot be imputed to the justice, must be ascribed to the policy, of the conqueror. His throne was encompassed with domestic enemies; wrho ac- cused the baseness of his birth, and asserted the legitimate claims of his nephews, the sons of Gonderic. Those nephews, indeed, he sacri- ficed to his safety ; and their mother, the widow
k Procopius (de Bell. Vandal. 1. i, c. 3, p. 185) continues the his- tory of Boniface no farther than his return to Italy. His death is mentioned by Prosper and Marcellinus; the expression of the latter, that /Etuis, the day before, had provided himself with a longer spear, implies something like a regular duel.
1 See Procopius, de Bell. Vandal. 1. i, c. 4, p. 186. Valentinian published several humane laws, to relieve the distress of his Nutni- diau and Mauritania!! subjects : he discharged them, in a great measure, from the payment of their debts, reduced their tribute to one-eighth, and gave them a right of appeal from the provincial ma- gistrates to the prefect of Rome. Cod. Theod. torn, vi, Novell, p 11, 12.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 27
of the deceased king, was precipitated, by his order, into the river Ampsaga. But the public discontent burst forth in dangerous and frequent, conspiracies ; and the warlike tyrant is sup- posed to have shed more Vandal blood by the hand of the executioner, than in the field of battle.™ The convulsions of Africa, which had favoured his attack, opposed the firm establish- ment of his power ; and the various seditions of the Moors and Germans, the donatists and ca- tholics, continually disturbed, or threatened, the unsettled reign of the conqueror. As he ad- vanced towards Carthage, he was forced to with- draw his troops from the western provinces ; the sea-coast was exposed to the naval enter- prises of the Romans of Spain and Italy ; and in the heart of Numidia, the strong inland city of Corta still persisted in obstinate independ- ence." These difficulties were gradually sub- dued by the spirit, the perseverance, and the cruelty of Genseric ; who alternately applied the arts of peace and war to the establishment of his African kingdom. He subscribed a so- lemn treaty, with the hope of deriving some ad- vantage from the term of its continuance, and the moment of its violation. The vigilance of his enemies was relaxed by the protestations of friendship, which concealed his hostile ap- proach ; and Carthage was at length surprised
m Victor Vitensis, de Persecut. Vandal. 1. ii, c. 6, p. 26. The cruelties of Genseric towards his subjects, are strongly expressed in Proiper's Chronicle, A. D. 442.
• Possidiui, in Vit. Augustin. c. 28, apud Rumart, p. 428.
THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. XXXIII
by the Vandals, five hundred and eighty- five ^ years after the destruction of the city and re- public by the younger Scipio.0 They sur- A new city had arisen from its ruins, with the Sage,0*' title of a colony; and though Carthage might October3!*' yie^ to the royal prerogatives of Constantino- ple, and perhaps to the trade of Alexandria, or the splendour of Antioch, she still main- tained the second rank in the West; as the Rome (if we may use the style of contempo- raries) of the African world. That wealthy and opulent metropolis,1* displayed, in a de- pendant condition, the image of a flourishing republic. Carthage contained the manufac- tures, the arms, and the treasures of the six provinces. A regular subordination of civil honours, gradually ascended from the procura- tors of the streets and quarters of the city, to the tribunal of the supreme magistrate, who, with the title of proconsul, represented the state and dignity of a consul of ancient Rome. Schools and gymnasia were instituted for the education of the African youth ; and the liberal arts and manners, grammar, rhetoric, and phi- losophy, were publicly taught in the Greek and Latin languages. The buildings of Carthage
0 See the Chronicles of Idatius, Isidore, Prosper, and Marcellinus. They mark the same year, but different days, for the surorisal of Carthage.
p The picture of Carthage, as it flourished in the fourth and fifth centuries, is taken from the Expositio totius Mundi, p. 17, 18, in the third volume of Hudson's Minor Geographers ; from Ausonius de Claris Urbibus, p. 228, 229 ; and principally from Salvian, de Guber- natione Dei, 1. vii, p. 257, 258. I am surprised that the Notitia •honld not place either a mint, or an arsenal, at Carthage : but only a gynecseunij or female manufacture.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 20
were uniform and magnificent: a shady grove CHAP.
was planted in the midst of the capital ; the .„„ /,
new port, a secure and capacious harbour, was subservient to the commercial industry of citi- zens and strangers ; and the splendid games of the circus and theatre were exhibited almost in the presence of the barbarians. The reputa- tion of the Carthaginians was not equal to that of their country, and the reproach of Punic faith still adhered to their subtle and faithless character.*1 The habits of trade, and the abuse of luxury, had corrupted their manners ; but their impious contempt of monks, and the shameless practice of unnatural lusts, are the two abominations which excite the pious vehe- mence of Sal vian, the preacher of the age/ The king of the Vandals severely reformed the vices of a voluptuous people ; and the ancient, noble, ingenuous freedom of Carthage, (these expres- sions of Victor are not without energy), was re- duced by Genseric into a state of ignominious
* The anonymous author of the Expositio totius Mundi, com- pares, in liis barbarous Latin, the country and the inhabitants ; and, after dogmatizing their want of faith, he coolly concludes, Difficile auteui inter cos invenitur bonus, tamen in mult is pauci boni eese possunt. P. IS.
r He declares that the peculiar vices of each conntry were collec- ted in the sink of Carthage, (1. vii, p. 257). In the indulgence of vice, the Africans applauded their manly virtue. Et illi se magis virilis fortitudinis esse crederent, qui maxitue viros foeminei usus pro- brositate fregissent, (p. 208). The streets of Carthage were polluted by effeminate wretches, who publicly assumed the countenance, the dress, and the character of women, (p. 264). If a monk appeared in the city, the holy man was pursued with impious scorn and ri- dicule- detestantibus ridentiura cachinnis, (p. 289).
30 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, servitude. After he had permitted his licen-
XXXIII. . .
~,~~~1 tious troops to satiate their rage and avarice, he instituted a more regular system of rapine and oppression. An edict was promulgated, which enjoined all persons, without fraud or delay, to deliver their gold, silver, jewels, and valuable furniture or apparel, to the royal officers ; and the attempt to secrete any part of their patri- mony, was inexorably punished with death and torture, as an act of treason against the state. The lands of the proconsular province, which formed the immediate district of Carthage, were accurately measured, and divided among the barbarians; and the conqueror reserved for his peculiar domain, the fertile territory of Byza- cium, and the adjacent parts of Numidia and Getulia.'
AfHcan jt was natural enoujrh that Genseric should
exiles and ^
captives, hate those whom he had injured: the nobility and senators of Carthage were exposed to his jealousy and resentment; and all those whore- fused the ignominious terms, which their ho- nour and religion forbade them to accept, were compelled by the Arian tyrant to embrace the condition of perpetual banishment. Rome, Italy, and the provinces of the East, were filled with a crowd of exiles, of fugitives, . and of in- genuous captives, who solicited the public com- passion: and the benevolent epistles of Theo- doret, still preserve the names and misfortunes
* Compare Procopius dc Bell. Vandal. 1. i, c. 5, p. 189, 190 ; and Victor ViU'iisis, Ue Pcrsecut. Vandal. 1. i, c. 4,
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
of Cselestian and Maria/ The Syrian bishop deplores the misfortunes of Caelestian, who, from the state of a noble and opulent senator of Carthage, was reduced, with his wife and fa- mily, and servants, to beg his bread in a foreign country ; but he applauds the resignation of the Christian exile, and the philosophic temper, which, under the pressure of such calamities, could enjoy more real happiness, than was the ordinary lot of wealth and prosperity. The story of Maria, the daughter of the magnificent EudaemonTTs singular and interesting. In the sack of Carthage, she was purchased from the Vandals by some merchants of Syria, who after- wards sold her as a slave in their native coun- try. A female attendant, transported in the same ship, and sold in the same family, still continued to respect a mistress whom fortune had reduced to the common le,vel of servitude ; and the daughter of Eudaemon received from her grateful affection the domestic services, which she had once required from her obedience. This remarkable behaviour divulged the real condition of Maria, who, in the absence of the bishop of Cyrrhus, was redeemed from slavery by the generosity of some soldiers of the garri- son. The liberality of Theodoret provided for her decent maintenance; and she passed ten months among the deaconesses of the church ; till she was unexpectedly informed, that her fa- ther, who had escaped from the ruin of Carthage,
1 Ruinart (p. 444-457) has collected from Theodoret, and other authors, the misfortunes, real and fabulous, of the inhabitants of Carthage.
32
THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, exercised an honourable office in one of the wes- ,^L 1 tern provinces. Her filial impatience was se- conded by the pious bishop ; Theodoret, in a letter still extant, recommends Maria to the bishop of jEgse, a maritime city of Cilicia, which was frequented, during the annual fair, by the vessels of the West; most earnestly requesting, that his colleague would use the maiden with a tenderness suitable to her birth ; and that he would intrust her to the care, of such faithful merchants, as would esteem it a sufficient gain, if they restored a daughter, lost beyond all hu- man hope, to the arms of her afflicted parent. Fabic of Among: the insipid legends of ecclesiastical
the seven
history, I am tempted to distinguish the memor- able fable of the SEVEN SLEEPERS ;u whose ima- ginary date corresponds with the reign of the younger Theodosius, and the conquest of Africa by the Vandals/ When the emperor Decius persecuted the Christians, seven noble youths of
u The choice of fabulous circumstances is of small importance; yet I have confined myself to the narrative which was translated from the Syriac by the care of Gregory of Tours, (de Gloria Marty* rum, 1. i, c. 95, in Max. Bibliotheca Patrum, torn, xi, p. 856) ; to the Greek acts of their martyrdom, (apud Photium, p. 1400, 1401); and to the Annals of the Patriarch Eutychius, (torn, i, p. 391, 531, 532, 535, Vers. Pocock).
x Two Syriac writers, as they are quoted by Assemanni, (Bib- liot. Oriental, torn, i, p. 336, 338), place the resurrection of the Seven Sleepers in the years 736, (A. D. 425), or 748, (A. D. 437), of the era of the Seleucides. Their Greek acts, which Photius had read, assign the date of the thirty-eighth year of the reign of Theotlosius, which may coincide either with A. D. 439, or 446. The period which had elapsed since the persecution of Decius ic easily ascertained; and nothing less than the ignorance of Maho- met, or the legendaries, could suppose an interval of three or four hundred years.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 3
Ephesus concealed themselves in a spacious ca- CHAP. vern in the side of an adjacent mountain; where _,J,,,.' they were doomed to perish by the tyrant, who gave orders that the entrance should be firmly secured with a pile of huge stones. They imme- diately fell into a deep slumber, which was miraculously prolonged, without injuring the powers of life, during a period of one hundred and eighty-seven years. At the end of that time, the slaves of Adolius, to whom the inheritance of the mountain had descended, removed the stones, to supply material for some rustic edifice; the light of the sun darted into the cavern, and the seven sleepers were permitted to awake. After a slumber, as they thought, of a few hour^ they were pressed by the calls of hunger; and resolved that Jamblichus, one of their number, should secretly return to the city, to purchase bread for the use of his companions. The youth (if we may still employ that appellation) could no longer recognise the once familiar aspect of his native country ; and his surprise was increased by the appearance of a large cross, triumphantly erected over the principal gate of Ephesus. His singular dress, and obsolete language, con- founded the baker, to whom he offered an an- cient medal of Decius as the current coin of the empire ; and Jamblichus, on the suspicion of a secret treasure, was dragged before the judge. Their mutual inquiries produced the amazing discovery, that two centuries were almost elapsed since Jamblichus and his friends had escaped from the rage of a pagan tyrant. The bishop of
VOL. VI. D
34 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. Ephesus, the clergy, the magistrates, the people, ,„ J and, as it is said, the emperor Theodosius him-
self, hastened to visit the cavern of the Seven Sleepers; who bestowed their benediction, re- lated their story, and at the same instant peacea- i bly expired. The origin of this marvellous fable cannot be ascribed to the pious fraud and cre- dulity of the modern Greeks, since the authentic tradition may be traced within half a century of the suppose^ miracle. James of Sarug, a Syrian bishop, who was born only two years after the death of the younger Theodosius, has devoted one of his two hundred and thirty ho- milies to the praise of the young men of Ephesus/ Their legend, before the end of the sixth century, was translated from the Syriac into the Latin language, by the care of Gregory of Tours. The hostile communions of the East preserve their memory with equal reverence; and their names are honourably inscribed in the Roman, the Ha- byssinian, and the Russian calendar.2 Nor has their reputation been confined to the Christian
y James, one of the orthodox fathers of the Syrian church, wu burn A. D. 452: he began to compose his sermons, A. p. 474: he was made bishop of Batnac, in the district of Sarug, and province of Mesopotamia, A. D. 519, and died A. p. 521. (Assemanni, torn, i, p. 288289. For the homily de Pueris Ephesinis, see p. 335339: though I could wish that Assemanni had translated the text of James of Sarug, instead of answering the objections of Baronius.
1 See the Ada Sanctorum of the Bolandists, (Mensis Julii, torn ri, p. 375-397. This immense calendar of saints, in one hundred and twenty-six years, (1644-1770), and in fifty rolumes in folio, has ad- vanced no farther than the 7th day of October. The suppression of the Jesuits has most probably checked an undertaking, which, through the medium of fable and superstition, communicates much histor •m! philosophical instrucliou.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 36
world. This popular tale, which Mahomet CHAP.
XXXlTI
might learn when he drove his camels to the fairs '.„_„
of Syria, is introduced, as a divine relation, into the Koran.* The story of the Seven Sleepers has been adopted, and adorned, by the nations, from Bengal to Africa, who profess the Mahometan religion ;b and some vestiges of a similar tradition have been discovered in the remote extremities of Scandinavia.0 This easy and universal belief, so expressive of the sense of mankind, may be ascribed to the genuine merit of the fable itself. We imperceptibly advance from youth to age, without observing the gradual, but incessant, change of human affairs ; and even in our larger experience of history, the imagination is accus- tomed, by a perpetual series of causes and effects, to unite the most distant revolutions. But if the interval between two memorable eras could be instantly annihilated ; if it were possible, after a momentary slumber of two hundred years, to
1 See M aracci Alcoran, Sura xviii, torn, ii, p. 420-427, and torn, i, part iv, p. 103. With such an ample privilege, Mahomet has not •hewn much taste or ingenuity. He has invented the dog (Al Kakim) of the Seven Sleepers ; the respect of the sun who altered his course twice a day, that he might shine into the cavern ; and the care of God himself, who preserved their bodies from putrefaction, by turning them to the right and left.
b See d'Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 139; and Renaudct, Hist. Patriarch. Alexandria p. 39, 40,
c Paul the deacon of Aquileia, (de Gestis Langobardornm, I. i, c. 4, p>745, 746, edit. Grot.), who lived towards the end of the eighth century, has placed in a cavern under a rock, on the shore of the ocean, the Seven Sleepers of the North, whose long repose was respected by the barbarians. Their dress declared them to be Romans ; and the deacon conjectures, that they were reserved by Providence as the future apostles of those unbelieving countries.
D 2
30 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, display the new world to the eyes of a spectator,
["j who still retained a lively and recent impression
of the old, his surprise and his reflections would
furnish the pleasing subject of a philosophical
I romance. The scene could not be more advan-
i tageously placed, than in the two centuries
* which elapsed between the reigns of Decius and
of Theodosius the younger. During this pe-
Iriod, the seat of government had been trans- ported from Rome to a new city on the banks of the Thracian Bosphorus ; and the abuse of mi- litary spirit had been suppressed, by an artificial system of tame and ceremonious servitude. The throne of the persecuting Decius was filled by a succession of Christian and orthodox princes, who had extirpated the fabulous gods of an- tiquity: and the public devotion of the age was impatient to exalt the saints and martyrs of the catholic church, on the altars of Diana and Hercules. The union of the Roman empire was dissolved: its genius was humbled in the dust; and armies of unknown barbarians, issuing from the frozen regions of the North had esta- blished their victorious reign over the fairest pro- vinces of Europe and Africa.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRB. 37
CHAP XXXIV
The character, conquests, and court of Attila, king of the Huns — Death of Theodosius the younger — Elevation of Mar dan to the empire of the East.
THE western world was oppressed by the CHAP.
Goths and Vandals, who fled before the Huns ;
but the achievements of the Huns themselves The HUM, were not adequate to their power and prosper- 433. ity. Their victorious hordes had spread from the Volga to the Danube; but the public force was exhausted by the discord of independent chieftains ; their valour was idly consumed in obscure and predatory excursions; and they often degraded their national dignity, by con- descending, for the hopes of spoil, to inlist under the banners of their fugitive enemies. In the reign of ATTILA,* the Huns again became the
2 The authentic materials for the history of Attila may be found in Jornandes, (de- Rebus Geticis, c. 34-50, p. 660-688, edit. Grot), and Priscus, (Excerpta de Legationibus, p. 33-76, Paris, 1648). I Tiave not seen tbe lives of Attila, composed by Juvencus Caelius Calanus Dalmatians, in the twelfth century ; or by Nicholas Olahus, archbishop of Gran, in the sixteenth. . See Mascou's History of the Germans, ix, 23, and Maffei Osservazioni Litterarie, torn, i, p. 88, 89. What- ever the modern Hungarians have added, must be fabulous ; and they do uot seem to have excelled in the art of fiction. They suppose, that when Attila invaded Gaul and Italy, married innumerable wives, &c. he was one hundred and twenty years of age. Thwrocz Chron, p. i, c. 22, in Script. Hungar. torn, i, p. 76.
38 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CH A P terror of the world : and I shall now describe the ' character and actions of that formidable bar-
barian; who alternately insulted and invaded the East and the West, and urged the rapid downfal of the Roman empire.
Their jn the tide of emigration, which impetuously
rolled from the confines of China to those of Germany, the most powerful and populous tribes may commonly be found on the verge of the Roman provinces. The accumulated weight was sustained for a while by artificial barriers ; and the easy condescension of the emperors in- vited, without satisfying, the insolent demands of the barbarians, who had acquired an eager appetite for the luxuries of civilized life. The Hungarians, who ambitiously insert the name of Attila among their native kings, may affirm with truth, that the hordes, which were subject to his uncle Roas, or Rugilas, had formed their en- campment within the limits of modern Hungary," ill a fertile country, which liberally supplied the wants of a nation of hunters and shepherds. In this advantageous situation, Rugilas, and his valiant brothers, who continually added to their power and reputation, commanded the alterna-
fc Hungary has been successively occupied by three Scythian co- lonies. 1. the Huns of Attila; 2. The Abares, in the sixth century ; and, 3. The Turks of Magiars, A. D. 889 ; the immediate and genuine, ancestors of the modern Hungarians, whose connection with the two former is extremely faint and remote. The Prodromus and Notitia of Matthew Belius appear to contain a rich fund of information concern- ing ancient and Modern Hungary. I have seen the extracts in Biblio- theque Ancienne et Moderne, torn, xxii, p. 1-51, and Bibliotheque Rftisonnee, torn. xri,p. 127-175.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 39
live of peace or war with the two empires. His CHAP.
XiXX.IV
alliance with the Romans of the West was ce- , ] ^
mcuted by his personal friendship for the great jEtius; who was always secure of finding in the barbarian camp, a hospitable reception, and a powerful support. At his solicitation, and in the name of John the usurper, sixty thousand Huns advanced to the confines of Italy ; their march and their retreat were alike expensive to the state; and the grateful policy of JEtius aban- doned the possession of Pannonia to his faithful confederates. The Romans of the East were not less apprehensive of the arms of Rugilas, which threatened the provinces, or even the ca- pital. Some ecclesiastical historians have de- stroyed the barbarians with lightning and pesti- lence ;c but Theodosius was reduced to the more humble expedient of stipulating an annual pay- ment of three hundred and fifty pounds of gold, and of disguising this dishonourable tribute by the title of general, which the king of the Huris condescended to accept. The public tranquil- lity was frequently interrupted by the fierce impatience of the barbarians, and the perfidious intrigues of the Byzantine court, four depen- dant nations, among whom we may distinguish the Bavarians, disclaimed the sovereignty of the Huns ; and their revolt was encouraged and
e Socrates, 1. vii, c. 43. Theodoret, 1. v, c, 36. Tillemont, wb« always depends on the faith of his ecclesiastical, authors, strenuously contends, (Hist, des Etnp. torn, vi, p. 186. 6&7)r that the wart «od personages were not the same
40 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, protected by a Roman alliance; till the just ^claims, and formidable power, of Rugilas, were
effectually urged by the voice of Eslaw his am- bassador. Peace was the unanimous wish of the senate: their decree was ratified by the emperor; and two ambassadors were named, Plinthas, a general of Scythian extraction, but of consular rank; and the questor Epigenes, a wise and ex- perienced statesman who was recommended to that office by his ambitious colleague. Reign «f The death of Rugilas suspended the progress I. ix'433- of the treaty. His two nephews, Attila and 4S3> Bleda, who succeeded to the throne oTiheir un- cle, consented to a personal interview with the ambassadors of Constantinople; but as they proudly refused to dismount, the business was transacted on,horseback, in a spacious plain in the city of Margus, in the upper Maesia. The kings of the Huns assumed the solid benefits, as well as the vain honours, of the negociation. They dictated the conditions of peace, and each condition was an insult on the majesty of the empire. Besides the freedom of a safe and plentiful market on the banks of the Danube, they required that the annual contributions should be augmented from three hundred and fifty to seven hundred pounds of gold; that a fine, or ransom, of eight pieces of gold, should be paid for every Roman captive, who had es- caped from his barbarian master; that the em- peror should : renounce all treaties and engage- ments with the enemies of the Huns; and that all the fugitives who had taken refuge in the court,
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 41
or provinces, of Theodosius, should be delivered CHAP. to the justice of their offended sovereign. This i**1,^ justice was rigorously inflicted on some unfortu- nate youths of a royal race. They were cruci- fied on the territories of the empire, by the com- mand of Attila: and as soon as the king of the Huns had impressed the Romans with the terror of his name, he indulged them in a short and ar- bitrary respite, whilst he subdued the rebellious or independent nations of Scythia and Germany/
Attila, the son of Mundzuk, deduced his no- His ble, perhaps his regal, descent6 from the ancient Huns, who had formerly contended with the monarchs of China. His features, according to the observation of a Gothic historian, bore the stamp of his national origin; and the portrait of Attila exhibits the genuine deformity of a mo- dern Calmuck;f a large head, a swarthy com- plexion, small deep-seated eyes, a flat nose, a few hairs in the place of a beard, broad shoulders, and a short square body, of nervous strength, though of a disproportioned form. The haughty step and demeanour of the king of the Huns ex- pressed the consciousness of his superiority above the rest of mankind; and he had a custom
d See Pi-iscus, p. 47, 48, and Hist. de« Peuples de 1'Europe, torn, vi:, c. xii, xiii, xiv, XT.
e Priscus, p. 39. The modern Hungarians have deduced his gene* alogy, which ascends, in the thirty-fifth degree, to Ham the son of Noah : yet they are ignorant of his father's real name, (de Guignes, Hist, dcs Huns, torn. ii. p. 207).
f Compare Jurnandes (c. 35, p. 661) with Button, Hist. Naturelle, torn. iii, p. 380. The former had a right to observe, originis suae signa restituens. The character and portrait of Attila are probably transcribed from Cassiodoriut
42 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, of fiercely rolling Ins eves, as if be wished to en-
XXXIV . *
J joy the terror which lie inspired. Yet this
savage hero \vas not inaccessible to pity : his suppliant enemies might confide in the assurance of peace or pardon: and Attila was considered by his subjects as a just and indulgent master. He delighted in war; but, after he had ascended the throne in a mature age, his head, rather than his hand, achieved the conquest of the North; and the fame of an adventurous soldier was use- fuJly exchanged for that of a prudent and suc- cessful general. The effects of personal valour are so inconsiderable, except in poetry or ro- mance, that victory, even among the barbarians, must depend on the degree of skill, with which the passions of the multitude are combined and guided for the service of a single man. The Scythian conquerors, Attila and Zingis, sur- passed their rude countrymen in art, rather than in courage; and it may be observed, that the monarchies, both of the Huns and of the Moguls, were erected by their founders on the basis of popular superstition. The miraculous concep- tion, which fraud and credulity ascribed to the virgin mother of Zingis, raised him above the level of human nature; and the naked prophet, who, in the name of the Deity invested him with the empire of the earth, pointed the valour of the Moguls with irresistible enthusiasm.* The re-
1 Abulpharag. Dynast, rers. Pocock, p. 281. Genealogical History of the Tartars, by Abulghazi Bahadar Khan, part iii, c. 15 ; part hr, e. 3. Vie de Gengiscan, par Petit de la Croix, 1. i, c, 1, 6.
The
i
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 43
ligrious arts of Attila were not less skillfully CHAP.
XXX IV
adapted to the character of his age and country. ^
It was natural enough that the Scythians should adore, with peculiar devotion, the god of war; but as they were incapable of forming either an abstract idea, or a corporeal representation, they worshipped their tutelar deity under the symbol of an iron cimeter.k One of the shepherds of the Huns perceived, that a heifer, who was graz- He disco- ing, had wounded herself in the foot, and cu- riously followed the track of the blood, till he discovered, among the long grass, the point of an ancient sword ; which he dug out of the ground, and presented to Attila. That magnanimous, or rather that artful, prince accepted, with pious gratitude, this celestial favour ; and, as the right- ful possessor of the sword of Mars, asserted his divine and indefeasible claim to the dominion of the earth.1 If the rites of Scythia were practised on this solemn occasion, a lofty altar, or rather pile of faggots, three hundred yards in length
The relations of the missionaries, who visited Tartary in the thir- teenth century, (see the seventh volume of the Histoire des Voyages), express the popular language and opinions ; Zingis is styled the Son of God, &c. &c.
h Nee tcmplum apud eos visitur, aut delubrum, ne tugurium qui- dem culmo tectum cerni usquant potest ; sed gladius barbaiico ritu humi figitur mulus, eumque ut Martem reglonum quas circumcir- canl prsesulem vericundius colunt. Animiau. Marctllin. xxxi, 2, anc the learned notes of Lindenbrogius and Valesius.
1 Priscus relates this remarkable story, both in his own text, (p. 65), and in the quotation made by Jornandes, (c. 35, p. 662). He might have explained the tradition, or fable, which characterized this famous sword, and the name as well as attributes of the Scythian deity, whom he has translated into the Mars of the Greeks and Bo-
44 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, and in breadth, was raised in a spacious plain;
; and the sword of Mars was placed erect on the summit of this rustic altar, which was annually consecrated by the blood of sheep, horses, and of the hundredth captive.k Whether human sa- crifices formed any part of the worship of Attila, or, whether he propitiated the god of war with the victims which he continually offered in the field of battle, the favourite of Mars soon ac- quired a sacred character, which rendered his conquests more easy, and more permanent; and the barbarian princes confessed, in the language of devotion or flattery, that they could not pre- sume to gaze, with a steady eye, on the divine majesty of the king of the Huns.1 His brother Bleda, who reigned over a considerable part of the nation, was compelled to resign his sceptre, and his life. Yet even this cruel act was attri- buted to a supernatural impulse; and the vigour with which Attila wielded the sword of Mars, convinced the world that it had been reserved alone for his invincible arm.ra But the extent of his empire, affords the only remaining evidence
k Herodot. 1. ir, c. 62. For the sake of economy, I hare calcu- lated by the smallest stadium. In the human sacrifices, they cut off the shoulder and arm of the victim which they threw up into the air, aud drew omens and presages from the manner of their falling on the pile.
1 Prisons, p. 55. A more civilized hero, Augustus himself, was pleased, if the person on whom he fixed his eyes seemed unable to support their divine lustre, Seuton. in August, c. 79. ,
m The count de Buat (Hist, des Peuples de 1'Europe, torn, vii, p. 428, 429) attempts to clear Attila from the murder of his brother; and is almost inclined to reject the concurrent testimony of Jornandw mod the contemporary Chronicles.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 45
of the number, and importance, of his victories ; CHAP.
and the Scythian monarch, however ignorant of ^f'f
the value of science and philosophy, might, per- haps, lament that his illiterate subjects were destitute of the art which could perpetuate the memory of his exploits.
If a line of separation were drawn between the and ac- civilized and the savage climates of the globe ; Umpire of° between the inhabitants of cities, who cultivated the earth, and the hunters and shepherds, who dwelt in tents; Attila might aspire to the title of supreme and sole monarch of the barbarians.0 He alone, among the conquerors of ancient and modern times, united the two mighty kingdoms of Germany and Scythia; and those vague ap- pellations, when they are applied to his reign, may be understood with an ample latitude. Thuringia, which stretched beyond its actual limits as far as the Danube, was in the number of his provinces : he interposed, with the weight of a powerful neighbour, in the domestic affairs of the Franks; and one of his lieutenants chas- tised, and almost exterminated, the Burgun- dians of the Rhine. He subdued the islands of the ocean, the kingdoms of Scandinavia, encom- passed and divided by the waters of the Baltic ; and the Huns might derive a tribute of furs from that northern region, which has been protected
n Fortissimarum, gentium dominus, qui inaudita ante se potentil, solus Scythica et Germanica regna possedit. Jornaudes, c. 49, p. 684. Priscus, p. 64, 65. M. de Guigues, by his knowledge of the Chinese, has acquired (torn, ii, p. 295-301) an adequate idea of the empire of Attila.
4t> THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, from all other conquerors by the severity of the
\ 'f climate, and the courage of the natives. Towards
the east, it is difficult to circumscribe the domi- nion of Attilaover the Scythian deserts; yet we may be assured, that he reigned on the banks of the Volga; that the king of the Huns was dread- ed,not only as a warrior, but as a magician ;° that he insulted and vanquished the Khan of the for- midable Geougen; and that he sent ambassa- dors to negociate an equal alliance with the em- pire of China. In the proud review of the na- tions who acknowledged the sovereignty of Attila, and who never entertained, during his life-time, the thought of a revolt, the Gepidse and the Ostrogoths \vere distinguished by their numbers, their bravery, and the personal merit of their chiefs. The renowned Ardaric, king of the Gepidae, was the faithful and sagacious counsellor of the monarch, who esteemed his in- trepid genius, whilst he loved the mild and dis- creet virtues of the noble Walamir, king of the Ostrogoths. The crowd of vulgar kings, the leaders of so many martial tribes, who served under the. standard of Attila, were ranged in the submissive order of guards and domestics, round the person of their master. They watched his nod ; they trembled at his frown ; and at the
0 See Hist, des Huns, torn, ii, p. 296. The Geougen beliered, that the Huns could excite, at pleasure, storms of wind and raiu. This phenomenon was produced by the stone Gezi; to whose magic power the loss of a battle was ascribed by the Mahometan Tartan of the fourteenth century. See Cherefcddin All, Hist, de Tim ur Bee, torn, i, p. 82, 83.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 47
first signal of his will, they executed, without CHAP.
• XXXIV
murmur or hesitation, his stern and absolute , *
commands. In time of peace, the dependant princes, with their national troops, attended the royal camp in regular succession ; but when At- tila collected his military force, he was able to bring into the field an army of five, or, according to another account, of seven hundred thousand barbarians.p
The ambassadors of the Huns might awaken The HUM the attention of Theodosius, by reminding him, ?«£ that they were his neighbours both in Europe ^0Dt 430> and Asia; since they touched the Danube on one hand, and reached, with the other, as far as the Tanais. In the reign of his father Arcadius, a band of adventurous Huns had ravaged the pro- vinces of the East; from whence they brought away rich spoils and innumerable captives/1
» Jornandet, c. 35, p. 661 ; c. 37, p. 667. See Tillemont, Hist, del Eropereurs, torn, vi, p. 129, 138. Cornell le has represented the pride of Attila to his subject kings; and his tragedy opens with these two ridiculous lines. —
Us ne sont pas venus, nos deux rois ! qu'on leur die
Qu'ils se font trop attendre, et qu' Attila s'enuuie. The two kings of the Gepidae and the Ostrogoths are profound politi- cians and sentimental lovers ; and the whole piece exhibits the defects, without the genius, of the poet.
alii per Caspia claustra
Armeniasque nivcs, innpino tramite ducti t
Invadunt Orienlis opes : jam pascua fumant
Cappodocum, volucrumque parens ArgKus equorum.
Jam rubet altus Halys, nee se defendit iniquo
Monte Cilix ; Sy rise tractutt vastantur amar-ni ;
Assuetunique choris et lacta plebe canorum
Proterit imbellem sonipes hostilis Orontem
Claudia.., in Rufin. 1. ii, 28-85.
See likewise, in Eutrop. 1. i, 243-251, and the strong description of Jerom, who wrote from his feelings, torn, i, p. 26, ad Heliodor. p. 220, ad Ocean. Philostorgius (I. ix, r. 8) mentions this irruption.
48 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. They advanced, by a secret path, along the shores J of the Caspian sea : ta versed the snowy moun- tain of Armenia; passed the Tigris, the Euphra- tes, and the Halys ; recruited their weary cavalry with the generous "breed of Capadocian horses ; occupied the hilly country of Cicilia, and dis- turbed the festal songs, and dances, of the citizens of Antioch. Egypt trembled at their approach ; and the monks and pilgrims of the Holy Land prepared to escape their fury by a speedy embark- ation. The memory of this invasion was still recent in the minds of the orientals. The sub- jects of A ttila might execute, with superior forces, the design which these adventurers had so boldly attempted; and it soon became the subject of anxious conjecture, whether the tempest would fall on the dominions of Rome, or of Persia. Some of the great vassals of the king of the Huns who were themselves in the rank of powerful princes, had been sent to ratify an alliance and society of arms with the emperor, or rather with the general, of the West. They related, during their residence at Rome, the circumstances of an expedition, which they had lately made into the East. After passing a desert and a morass, sup- posed by the Romans to be the lake Mceotis, they penetra'ted through the mountains, and ar- rived, at the end of fifteen days march, on the confines of Media; where they advanced as far as the unknown cities of Basic and Cursic. They encountered the Persian army in the plains of Media; and the air, according to their own ex
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 49-
pression, was darkened by a cloud of arrows. But the Huns were obliged to retire, before the numbers of the enemy. Their laborious retreat was effected by a different road ; they lost the greatest part of their booty; and at length re- turned to the royal camp, with some knowledge of the country, and an impatient desire of re- venge. In the free conversation of the imperial ambassadors, who discussed at the court of At- tila, the character and designs of their formid- able enemy, the ministers of Constantinople ex- pressed their hope, that his strength might be diverted and employed in a long and doubtful contest with the princes of the house of Sassan. The more sagacious Italians admonished their eastern brethren of the folly and danger of such a hope, and convinced them, that the Medes and Persians were incapable of resisting the arms of the Huns; and that the easy and impor- tant acquisition would exalt the pride, as well as power, of the conqueror. Instead of con- tenting himself with a moderate contribution, and a military title, which equalled him only to the generals of Theodosius, Attila would pro- ceed to impose a disgraceful and intolerable yoke on the necks of the prostrate and captive Romans, who would then be encompassed, on all sides, by the empire of the Huns/
While the powers c-f Europe and Asia were jfj!jytjl!. solicitous to avert the impending danger, the eastern alliance of Attila maintained the Vandals in the 1? H'.^H
* See the original conversation in Priscus, p. 64, 65. VOL. VI. E
50 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, possession of Africa. An enterprise had been ,„'„ concerted between the courts of Ravenna and Constantinople, for the recovery of that valu- able province ; and the ports of Sicily were al- ready filled with the military and naval forces of Theodosius. But the subtle Genseric, who spread his negotiations round the world, pre- vented their designs, by exciting the king of the Huns to invade the eastern empire; and a trif- ling incident soon became the motive or pre- tence, of a destructive war.* Under the faith of a treaty of Margus, a free market was held on the northern side of the Danube, which was pro- tected by a Roman fortress, surnamed Con- stantia. A troop of barbarians violated the commercial security; killed, or dispersed, the unsuspecting traders; and levelled the fortress with the ground. The Huns justified this out- rage as an act of reprisal; alleged, that the bishop of Margus had entered their territories, to discover and steal a secret treasure of their kings ; and sternly demanded the guilty pre- late, the sacrilegious spoil, and the fugitive sub- jects, who had escaped from the justice of At- tila. The refusal of the Byzantine court was the signal of war ; and the Maesians at first ap-
* Priseus, p. 331. His history contained a copious and elegant ac- count of the war, (Evagrius, 1. i, e. 17); but the extracts which re- late to the embassies are the only parts that hare reached our times. The original work was accessible, however, to the writers, from whom we borrow our imperfect knowledge, Jornandes, Thcophanes, Count Marcellinus, Prosper-Tyro, and the author of the Alexandrian, or Paschal, Chronicle. M. de Buat. (Hist, des Peuples de 1' Europe, tona. vii, c. 15), has examined the cause, the circumstances, and the dura- tion of this war ; and will not allow it to extend beyond the year four hundred and forty-four.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 51
plauded the generous firmness of their sove- CHAP reign. But they were soon intimidated by the „„„„.. destruction of Viminiacum and the adjacent towns ; and the people was persuaded to adopt the convenient maxim, that a private citizen, however innocent or respectable, may be justly sacrificed to the safety of his country. The bishop of Margus, who did not possess the spi- rit of a martyr, resolved to prevent the designs which he suspected. He boldly treated with the princes of the Huns; secured, by solemn oaths, his pardon and reward ; posted a numer- ous detachment of barbarians, in silent ambush, on the banks of the Danube; and, at the ap- pointed hour, opened, with his own hand, the gates of his episcopal city. This advantage, which had been obtained by treachery, served as a prelude to more honourable and decisive victories. The Illyrian frontier was covered by a line of castles and fortresses ; and though the greatest part of them consisted only of a single tower, with a small garrison, they were com- monly sufficient to repel, or to intercept, the in- roads of an enemy, who was ignorant of the art, and impatient of the delay, of a regular siege. But these slight obstacles were instantly swept away by the inundation of the Huns.1 They destroyed, with fire and sword, the populous cities of Sinnium and Singidunum, of Ratiaria
1 Procopius, de Edificiis, 1. ir, c. 6. These fortresses were after- wards restored, strengthened, and enlarged by the emperor Justinian; but they were soon destroyed by the Abares, wbo succeeded to the power and possessions of the Hum.
52 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, and Marcianapolis, of Naissus and Sardica;
XXXIV.
'f where every circumstance, in the discipline of
the people, and the construction of the buildings, had been gradually adapted to the sole purpose and ravage of defence. The whole breadth of Europe, as fkra°PCon- ^ extends above five hundred miles from the Euxine to the Hadriatic, was at once invaded, and occupied, and desolated, by the myriads of barbarians whom Attila led into the field. The public danger and distress could not, however, provoke Theodosius to interrupt his amuse- ments and devotion, or to appear in person at the head of the Roman legions. But the troops which had been sent against Genseric, were has- tily recalled from Sicily; the garrisons, on the side of Persia, were exhausted; and a military force was collected in Europe, formidable by their arms and numbers, if the generals had understood the science of command, and their soldiers the duty of obedience. The armies of the eastern empire were vanquished in three successive engagements; and the progress of Attila may be traced by the fields of battle. The two former, on the banks of the Utus, and under the walls of Marcianapolis, were fought in the extensive plains between the Danube and Mount Ha3mus. As the Romans were pressed by a victorious enemy, they gradually, and un- skilfully, retired towards the Chersonesus of Thrace; and that narrow peninsula, the last ex- tremity of the land, was marked by their third, and irreparable, defeat. By the destruction of this army, Attila acquired the indisputable pos-
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 53
session of the field. From the Hellespont to CHAP.
• XXX IV
Thermopylae, and the suburbs of Constant!- ,„„',,
nople, he ravaged, without resistance, and with- out mercy, the provinces of Thrace and Mace- donia. Heraclea and Hadrianople might, per- haps, escape this dreadful irruption of the Huns; but the words, the most expressive of total extirpation and erasure, are applied to the calamities which they inflicted on seventy cities of the eastern empire." Theodosius, his court, and the unwarlike people, were protected by the walls of Constantinople; but those walls had been shaken by a recent earthquake, and the fall of fifty-eight towers had opened a large and tremendous breach. The damage indeed Has speedily repaired ; but this accident was aggravated by a superstitious fear, that Heaven itself had delivered the imperial city to the shepherds of Scythia, who were strangers to the laws, 'the language, and the religion, of the Romans/
In all their invasions of the civilized empires The scy- of the South, the Scythian shepherds have been Ta^or uniformly actuated by a savage and destructive >»a«. spirit. The laws of war that restrain the exer- cise of national rapine and murder, are founded
" Septuaginta civitates (says Prosper- Tyro) depiaedatione vastatw. The language of Count Marcellinus is still more forcible. Pene to- tam Eui-opam, invasis excisisque civitatibus atque castellis, conrasit.
" Tillemout (Hist. d«s Etnpereurs, torn, vi, p. 106, 107) has paid jsrt'iit attention to this memorable earthquake ; which was felt as far from Constantinople as Antioeb anil Alexandria, and is celebrated by all (lie ecclesiastical writers. In the hands of a popular preacher* an earthquake is an engine of admirable effect.
54 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, on two principles of substantial interest; the
.„ \ knowledge of the permanent benefits which may
be obtained by a moderate use of conquest; and a just apprehension, lest the desolation which we inflict on the enemy's country, may be retaliated on our own. But these consi derations of hope and fear are almost unknown in the pastoral state of nations. The Huns ot Attila may, without injustice, be compared to the Moguls and Tartars, before their primitive manners were changed by religion and luxury; and the evidence of oriental history may reflect some light on the short and imperfect annals of Rome. After the Moguls had subdued the northern provinces of China, it was seriously proposed, riot in the hour of victory and passion, but in calm deliberate council, to exterminate all the inhabitants of that populous country, that the vacant land might be converted to the pasture of cattle. The firmness of a Chinese mandarin/ who insinuated some principles of rational policy into the mind of Zingis, diverted him from the execution of this horrid design. But in the cities of Asia, which yielded to the Moguls, the inhuman abuse of the rights of war was exercised, with a regular form of disci- pline, which may, with equal reason, though
* H« represented to the emperor of the Moguls, that the four pro- rinces (Petclieli, Chantoug, Chansi, and Leaotong) which he already possessed, might annually produce, under a mild administration, 500,000 ounces of silver, 400,000 measures of rice, and 800,000 P'IFCCS of silk. Gaubil. Hist, de la Dyiiastie de Mongous, p. 58, 59. Ydutchouiay (such was the name of the mandarin) was a wise and virtuous minister, who saved his country, and civilized the cou- querort. See pp. 102, 103.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 55
not with equal authority, be imputed to the CHAP.
victorious Huns. The inhabitants, who had
submitted to their discretion, were ordered to evacuate their houses, and to assemble in some plain adjacent to the city; where a division was made of the vanquished into three parts. The first class consisted of the soldiers of the gar- rison, and of the young men capable of bear- ing arms ; and their fate was instantly decided : they were either enlisted among the Moguls, or they were massacred on the spot by the troops, who, with pointed spears and bended bows, had formed a circle round the captive multitude. The second class, composed of the young and beautiful women, of the artificers of very rank and profession, and of the more wealthy or honourable citizens, from whom a private ransom might be expected, was distri- buted in equal or proportionable lots. The re- mainder, whose life or death was alike useless to the conquerors, were permitted to return to the city; which, in the meanwhile, had beeik stripped of its valuable furniture ; and a tax was imposed on those wretched inhabitants for the indulgence of breathing their native air. Such was the behaviour of the Moguls, when they were not conscious of any extraordinary ri- gour.1 But the most casual provocation, the slightest motive, of caprice or convenience, often
1 Particular instance* would be endless ; but the curious resde ns£.y commit the life of Gengitcan, by Petit de 1m Croix, the Hiitoift de« Moiigous, and the fifteenth book of the History of the HUB*.
56 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, provoked them to involve a whole people in
XXX IV
^ ^ an indiscriminate massacre: and the ruin of
some flourishing cities was executed with such unrelenting perseverance, that, according to
I their own expression, horses might run, with- out stumbling, over the ground where they had once stood. The three great capitals of Kho- rasan, Mam, Neisabour, and Herat, were destroyed by the armies of Zingis; and the exact account, which was taken of the slain, amounted to four millions three hundred and forty-seven thousand persons.3 Timur, or Tamerlane, was educated in a less barbarous age, and in the profession of the Mahometan religion: yet, if Attila equalled the hostile ra- vages of Tamerlane,6 either the Tartar or the Hun might deserve the epithet of the SCOURGE PF GOD,C
« At Maru, 1,300,000 ; at Herat, 1,600,000 ; at Neisabour, 1,747,000. D'Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orieutale, pp. 380, 381. I use the orthography of d'Anville's maps. It must, however, be allowed, that the Persians were disposed to exaggerate their losses, and the Moguls to magnify their exploits
b Cherefeddin Ali, bis servile panegyrist, would afford us many horrid examples. In his camp before Delhi, Tiraur massacred 100,000 Indian prisoners, who had smiled when the army of their countrymen appeared in sight, (Hist, de Timur Bee, torn, iii, p. 90). The people of Ispahan supplied 70,000 human skulls for the struc- ture of several lofty towers, (id. torn, i, p. 434). A simitar tax was levied on the revolt of Bagdad, (torn, iii, p. 370); and the exact ac- count, which Cberefcddin was not able to procure from the proper officers, is stated by another historian (Ahmed Arabsiada, torn, ii, p. 175, vers. Manger) at 90,006 heads.
c The ancients, Jornandes, Priscus, &c. are ignorant of this epi- ttot. The modem Hungarians have imagined, that it wai applied,
by
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 57
It may be affirmed, with bolder assurance, CHAP.
XXXIV.
that the Huns depopulated the provinces of the
empire, by the number of Roman subjects state of whom they led away into captivity. In the hands of a wise legislator, such an industrious colony might have contributed to diffuse, through the deserts of Scythia, the rudiments of the useful and ornamental arts ; but these captives, who had been taken in war, were accidentally dispersed among the hords, that obeyed the empire of Attila. The estimate of their respective value was formed by the simple judgment of unenlightened, and unprejudiced, barbarians. Perhaps they might not under- stand the merit of a theologian, profoundly skilled in the controversies of the Trinity and the Incarnation : yet they respected the minis- ters of every religion; and the active zeal of the Christian missionaries, without approach- ing the person, or the palace, of the monarch, successfully laboured in the propagation of the gospel/ The pastoral tribes who were igno- rant of the distinction of landed property, must have disregarded the use, as well as the abuse, of civil jurisprudence; and the skill of an elo- quent lawyer could excite only their contempt,
by & hermit of Gaul, to Attila, who was pleased to insert it among the titles of his royal dignity. Mascou, ix, 23, and Tillemorit, Hist. des Empereurs, torn, vi, p. 143.
d The missionaries of St. Chrysostom had converted great num- bers of the Scythians, who dwelt beyond the Danube, in tents and waggons. Theodoret, 1. v, c. 31. Photius, p. 1517. The Maho- metans, the Nestorians, and the Latin Christians, thought them- selves secure of gaining the .sons and grandsons of Zingia, who treat- ed the rival missionaries with impartial favour.
58 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, or their abhorrence.' The perpetual inter-
XXXIV.
^ ^ course of the Huns and the Goths had commu- nicated the familiar knowledge of the two na- tional dialects; and the barbarians were am- bitious of conversing in Latin, the military idiom, even of the eastern empire/ But they disdained the language, and the sciences, of the Greeks ; and the vain sophist, or grave philoso- pher, who had enjoyed the flattering applause of the schools, was mortified to find, that his ro bust servant was a captive of more value and importance than himself. The mechanic arts were encouraged and esteemed, as they tended to satisfy the wants of the Huns. An architect, in the service of Onegesius, one of the favourites of Attila, was employed to construct a bath ; but fthis work was a rare example of private luxury ; and the trades of the smith, the carpen- ter, the armourer, were much more adapted to supply a wandering people with the useful in- struments of peace and war. But the merit of the physician was received with universal fa- vour and respect; the barbarians, who despised death, might be apprehensive of disease; and the haughty conqueror trembled in the presence of a captive, to whom he ascribed, perhaps, an imaginary power, of prolonging, or preserving
' The Germans, who exterminated Varus and his legions, had been particularly offended with the Roman laws and lawyers. One of the barbarians, after the effectual precautions of cutting out the tonguf of an advocate, and sewing up his mouth, observed, with mueh satisfaction, that the viper could no longer hiss. Florus, ir, 12.
Priscus, p. 69. It should seem that the Huns preferred the Gothic and Latin languages to their own ; which was probably harsh and barren idiom.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 59
his life.* The Huns might be provoked to in- CHAP.
XXX 1 V.
suit the misery of their slaves, over whom they ,, „„„
exercised a despotic command;11 but their man- ners were not susceptible of a refined system of oppression ; and the efforts of courage and dili- gence were often recompensed by the gift of freedom. The historian Priscus, whose em- bassy is a source of curious instruction, was accosted, in the camp of Attila, by a stranger, who saluted him in the Greek language, but whose dress and figure displayed the appear- ance of a wealthy Scythian. In the siege of Viminiacum, he had lost, according to his own account, his fortune and liberty : he became the slave of Onegesius; but his faithful services, against the Romans and the Acatzires, had gra- dually raised him to the rank of the native Huns; to whom he was attached by the domes- tic pledges of a new wife and several children. The spoils of war had restored and improved his private property; he was admitted to the table of his former lord ; and the apostate Greek blessed the hour of his captivity, since it had been the introduction to an happy and inde-
8 Philip de Comines, in his admirable picture of the last moments of Lewis XI. (Memoires, 1. vi, c. 12), represents the insolence of his physician, who, in five months, extorted 54,000 crowns, and a rich bishopric, from the stern avaricious tyrant.
h Priscus (p. 61) extols the equity of the Roman laws, which pro- tected the life of a slave. Ocridere solent (says Tacitus of the Ger- mans) non disciplini et severitate, sed impetu et ira, ut inimicutn, nisi quod impune. De Moribus Germ. c. 25. The Heruli, who were the subjects of Attila, claimed, and exercised, the power of life and death over their slaves. See a remarkable instance in the se- cond book of Agathias.
60 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, pendent state; which he held by the honour-
„ ^ able tenure of military service. This reflection
naturally produced a dispute on the advantages, and defects, of the Roman government, which was severely arraigned by the apostate, and de- fended by Priscus in a prolix and feeble decla- mation. The freedman of Onegesius exposed, in true and lively colours, the vices of a declin- ing empire, of which he had so long been the victim; the cruel absurdity of the Roman princes, unable to protect their subjects against the public enemy, unwilling to trust them with arms for their own defence; the intolerable weight of taxes, rendered still more oppressive by the intricate or arbitrary modes of collection ; the obscurity of numerous and contradictory laws; the tedious and expensive forms of judi- cial proceedings ; the partial administration of justice; and the universal corruption, which increased the influence of the rich, and aggra- vated the misfortunes of the poor. A sentiment of patriotic sympathy was at length revived in the breast of the fortunate exile; and he la- mented, with a flood of tears, the guilt or weak- ness of those magistrates, who had perverted the wisest and most salutary institutions.'
The timid, or selfish, policy of the western Romans had abandoned the eastern empire to the Huns.k The loss of armies, and the want of
1 See the whole conversation in Priscus.. pp. 59-02.
" Nova iterum Orienti assurgit ruiua quum nulla ab Orciden
taliboR ferren tin- auxilia. Prosper-Tyro composed his Chronicle iu the \\ett • aud his observation implies a censure.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
discipline, or virtue, were not supplied by the CHAP. personal character of the monarch. Theodo- ______ ^.^
sius might still affect the style, as well as the Treaty of
title, of Invincible Auustus ; but he was re- n At-
duced to solicit the clemency of Attila, who im- periously dictated these harsh and humiliating empire» conditions of peace. I. The emperor of the East resigned, by an express or tacit . conven- tion, an extensive and important territory, which stretched along the southern banks of the Da- nube, from Singidunum or Belgrade, as far as Nova3, in the diocese of Thrace. The breadth was defined by the vague computation of fifteen days journey; but, from the proposal of Attila, to remove the situation of the national market, it soon appeared, that he comprehended the ruined city of Naissus within the limits of his dominions. II. The king of the Huns required, and obtained, that his tribute or subsidy should be augmented from seven hundred pounds of gold to the annual sum of two thousand one hundred; and he stipulated the immediate pay- ment of six thousand pounds of gold to defray the expences, or to expiate the guilt, of the war. One might imagine, that such a demand, which scarcely equalled the measure of private wealth, would have been readily discharged by the opu- lent empire of the East; and the public distress affords a remarkable proof of the impoverished, or at least of the disorderly, state of the finances. A large proportion of the taxes, extorted from the people, was detained and intercepted in their passage, through the foulest channels, to
62 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, the treasury of Constantinople. The revenue
*v VIV •
was dissipated by Theodosius, and his favour- ites, in wasteful and profuse luxury; which was disguised by the names of imperial magni- ficence, or Christian charity. The immediate supplies had been exhausted by the unforeseen necessity of military preparations. A personal contribution, rigorously, but capriciously, im- posed on the members of the senatorial! order, was the only expedient that could disarm, with- out loss of time, the impatient avarice of Attila : and the poverty of the nobles compelled them to adopt the scandalous resource of exposing to public auction the jewels of their wives, and the hereditary ornaments of their palaces.1 III. The king of the Huns appears to have establish- ed, as a principle of national jurisprudence, that he could never lose the property, which he had once acquired, in the persons who had yielded either a voluntary, or reluctant, submission to his authority. From this principle he conclud- ed, and the conclusions of Attila were irrevoca- ble laws, that the Huns, who had been taken prisoners in war, should be released without de- lay, and without ransom; that every Roman captive, who had presumed to escape, should purchase his right to freedom at the price of twelve pieces of gold; and that all the barba- rians, who had deserted the standard of Attila,
1 According to the description, or rather invective, of Chrysostom, an auction of Byzantine luxury must have been very productive. Every wealthy house possessed a semicircular table of massy silver, • uch as two men could scarcely lift, a vase of solid gold of the weight of forty pounds, cups, dishes of the same metal, 4cc,
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, 63
should be restored, without any promise, or sti- pulation, of pardon. In the execution of this cruel and ignominious treaty, the imperial offi- cers were forced to massacre several loyal and noble deserters, who refused to devote them- selves to certain death; and the Romans for- feited all reasonable claims to the friendship of any Scythian people, by this public confession, that they were destitute either of faijh, or power, to protect the suppliants, who had embraced the throne of Theodosius.m
The firmness of a single town, so obscure, spirit of that, except on this occasion, it has never been mentioned by any historian or geographer, ex^ jposed the disgrace of the emperor and empire. Azimus, or Azimuntium, a small city of Thrace on the Illyrian borders," had been distinguished by the martial spirit of its youth, the skill and reputation of the leaders whom they had chosen, and their daring exploits against the innumer- able host of the barbarians. Instead of tamely expecting their approach, the Azimuntines at-
m The articles of the treaty, expressed without much order or pre- cision, may be found in Prisons, (pp. 34, 35, 36, 37-53, &c.) Count MarcelHnus dispenses some comfort, by observing, 1st, That Attilu himself solicited the peace and presents, which he had formerly re- fused ; and, 2dty, That, about the same time, the ambassadors of India presented a fine large tame tiger to the emperor Theodosius.
n Priscus, pp. 35, 36. Among the hundred and eighty-two forts, or castles, of Thrace, enumerated by Procopius, (de Edificiis, 1. ir, c. xi, torn, ii, p. 92, edit. Paris), there is one of the name of £.«'- nwntou, whose position is doubtfully marked, in the neighbourhood of Anchialus, and the Euxine Sea. The name and walls of Azimun- tium might subsist till the reign of Justinian; but the race of itt brave defenders had been carefully extirpated by the jealousy of the Human prince*.
ft- -;*•••»* !•>;•»: r-;- 'W'l n? f i* -M •$••">'
64 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, tacked, in frequent and successful sallies, the
Y Tf "V T V
^ troops of the Huns, who gradually declined
the dangerous neighbourhood; rescued from their hands the spoil and the captives, and re- cruited their domestic force by the voluntary association of fugitives and deserters. After the conclusion of the treaty, Attila still menaced the empire with implacable war, unless the Azimuntines were persuaded, or compelled, to comply with the conditions which their sove- reign had accepted. The ministers of Theodo- sius confessed with shame, and with truth, that they no -longer possessed any authority over a society of men, who so bravely asserted their natural independence ; and the king of the Huns condescended to negotiate an equal exchange with the citizens of Azimus. They demanded the restitution of some shepherds, who, with their cattle, had been accidentally surprised. A strict, though fruitless, inquiry was allowed : but the Huns were obliged to swear, that they did not detain any prisoners belonging to the city, before they could recover two surviving countrymen, whom the Azimuntines had re- served as pledges for the safety of their lost companions. Attila, on his side, was satisfied, and deceived, by their solemn asseveration, that the rest of the captives had been put to the sword; and that it was their constant practice, immediately to dismiss the Romans and the deserters, who had obtained the se- curity of the public faith. This prudent and officious dissimulation may be condemned, or excused, by the casuists, as they incline to the
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. G'*»
risid decree of St. Aaffustin, or to the milder CHAP.
•v v v i y
sentiment of St. Jeroni and St. Chrysostom: but r „,/
every soldier, every statesman, must acknow- ledge, that, if the race of the Azimuntines had been encouraged and multiplied, the barbarians would have ceased to trample on the majesty of the empire.0
It would have been strange indeed, if Theo- Embassies dosius had purchased, by the loss of honour, a w™io l" secure and solid tranquillity; or if his tameness ^Jon,sJa'ltU had not invited the repetition of injuries. The Byzantine court was insulted by five or six suc- cessive embassies ;p and the ministers of Attila were uniformly instructed to press the tardy or imperfect execution of the last treaty; to pro- duce the names of fugitives and deserters, who were still protected by the empire; and to de- clare with seeming moderation, that unless their sovereign obtained complete and immediate sa- tisfaction, it would be impossible for him, were it even his wish, to check the resentment of his warlike tribes. Besides the motives of pride and interest, which might prompt the king of the Huns to continue this train of negociation, he
• The peevish dispute of St. Jerom and St. Augustin, who laboured, by different expedients, to reconcile the seeming quarrel of the Iwo apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, cepends on the solution of an impor- tant question, (Middleton's Works, vol. ii, p. 5-lOj, which has been frequently agitated by catholic and protestant divines, and even by law- yers and philosophers of every age.
p Montesquieu (Considerations sur la Grandeur, &c. c. xix) has deli- neated, with a bold and easy pencil, some of the most striking cir- cumstances of the pride of A ttila, and the disgrace of the Romans. He deserves the praise of having read the Fragments of Priscus, which have been too much disregarded.
VOL. vr. ' P
6C THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, was influenced by the less honourable view of +„+—„'* enriching his favourites at the expence of his enemies. The imperial treasury was exhausted, to procure the friendly offices of the ambassa- dors, and their principal attendants, whose fa- vourable report might conduce to the mainte- nance of peace. The barbarian monarch was flattered by the liberal reception of his ministers; he computed with pleasure the value and splen- dour of their gifts, rigorously exacted the per formance of every promise, which would contri- bute to their private emolument, and treated as an important business of state, the marriage of his secretary Constantius.q That Gallic adven- turer, who was recommended by JEtius to the king of the Huns had engaged his service to the ministers of Constantinople, for the stipulated reward of a wealthy and noble wife; and the daughter of Count Saturninus was chosen to discharge the obligations of her country. The reluctance of the victim, some domestic troubles, and the unjust confiscation of her fortune, cooled the ardour of her interested lover ; but he still de- manded, in the name of Attila, an equivalent alliance; and after many ambiguous delays and excuses, the Byzantine court was compelled to sacrifice to this insolent stranger the widow of Armatius, whose birth, opulence and beauty,
* See Priscus, p 69, 71, 72, &c. I would fein believe tbat this adventurer was afterwards crucified by the order of Attila, on a suspi- cion of treasonable practices ; but Priscus (p. 57) has too plainly dis- tinguished tico pcrsous of the name of Constantius, who from the fimiiar evenls of their lives, might have been easily confounded.
OP THE ROMAN EMPIBE. 67
placed her in the most illustrious rank of the CHAP.
XXXIV
Roman matrons. For these importunate and * \
oppressive embassies, Attila claimed a suitable return: he weighed, with suspicious pride, the character and station of the imperial envoys; but he condescended to promise, that he would ad- vance as far as Sardica, to receive any ministers who had been invested with the consular dignity. The council of Theodosius eluded this proposal, by representing the desolate and ruined condition of Sardica; and even ventured to insinuate, that every officer of the army or household was quali- fied to treat with the most powerful princes of Scythia. Maximin,1 a respectable courtier, whose abilities had been long exercised in civil and mi- litary employments, accepted with reluctance the troublesome, and, perhaps, dangerous com- mission, of reconciling the angry spirit of the king of the Huns. His friend, the historian Priscus,5 embraced the opportunity of observing the barbarian hero in the peaceful and domestic scenes of life ; but the secret of the embassy, a
T In the Persiau treaty concluded in the year 422, the wise and eloquent Maxamin had been the assessor of Ardaburius, (Socrates, 1. viit c. 20). When Marciaii ascended the throne, the office of great cham- berlain was bestowed on Maximin, who is ranked, in a public edict, among the four principal ministers of state, (Novell, ad Calc. Cod. Theod. p. 31), He executed a civil and military commission in the eastern provinces ; and his death was lamented by the savages of ^Ethi- opia, whose incursions he had repressed. See Priscus, p. 40, 41.
s Priscus was a native of Panium in Thrace, and deserved, by his eloquence, an honourable place among the sophists of the age. His Byzantine history, which related to his own times, was comprised in seven books. See Fabricus, Bibliot. Grxc. torn, vi, p. 235, 236. Notwithstanding the charitable judgment of the cities, I suspect that Pmcus was a pagan
68 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, fatal and guilty secret, was intrusted only to ^fxl^ the interpreter Vigilus. The two last ambassa- dors of the Huns, Orestes, a noble subject of the Pannonian province, and Edecon, a valiant chieftain of the tribe of the Scyrri, returned at the same time from Constantinople to the royal camp. Their obscure names were afterwards illustrated by the extraordinary fortune and the contrast of their sons; the two servants of At- tila became the fathers of the last Roman empe- ror of the West, and of the first barbarian king of Italy.
The em. The ambassadors, who were followed by a MaMinin numerous train of men and horses, made their !?. ^."uft. ^rst na^ at Sardica, at the distance of three hun- dred and fifty miles, or thirteen days journey, from Constantinople. As the remains of Sardica were still included within the limits of the em- pire, it was incumbent on the Romans to exercise the duties of hospitality. They provided, with the assistance of the provincials, a sufficient number of sheep and oxen ; and invited the Huns to a splendid, or, at least, a plentiful supper. But the harmony of the entertainment was soon disturbed by mutual prejudice arid indiscretion. The greatness of the emperor and the empire was warmly maintained by the ministers ; the Huns with equal ardour, asserted the superiority of their victorious monarch ; the dispute was in- flamed by the rash and unseasonable flattery of Vigilus, who passionately rejected the compa- rison of a mere mortal with the divine Theodo- sius ; and it was with extreme difficulty that
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 69
Maximin and Priecus were able to divert the CHAP.
•v v
conversation, or to soothe the angry minds, of the ^ barbarians. When they rose from table, the im- perial ambassador presented Edecon and Ores- tes with rich gifts of silk robes and Indian pearls, which they thankfully accepted. Yet Orestes could not forbear insinuating, that he had not always been treated with such respect and liberality ; and the offensive distinction which vas implied between his civil office and the hereditary rank of his colleague, seems to have made Edecon a doubtful friend, and Ores- tes an irreconcilable enemy. After this entertain- ment, they travelled about one hundred miles fiom Sardica to Naissus. That flourishing city, which had given birth to the great Constantine, was levelled with the ground ; the inhabitants were destroyed or dispersed; and the appear- ance of some sick persons, who were still per- mitted to exist among the ruins of the churches, served only to increase the horror of the prospect. The surface of the country was covered with the bones of the slain; and the ambassadors, who directed their course to the north-west, were obliged to pass the hills of modern Servia, before they descended into the flat and marshy grounds, which are terminated by the Danube. The Huns were masters of the great river; their na- vigation was performed in large canoes, hol- lowed out of the trunk of a single tree ; the mi- nisters of Theodosius were safely landed on the opposite bank ; and their barbarian associates immediately hastened to the camp of Attila,
70 THE DEcLINE AND FALL
CHAP, which was equally prepared for the amusements ,*!L of hunting, or of war. iNo sooner had Maximin advanced about two miles from the Danube, than he began to experience thefastidiousinso- lence of the conqueror. He was sternly forbid to pitch his tents in a pleasant valley, lest he should infringe the distant awe that was due to the royal mansion. The ministers of Attila pressed him to communicate the business and the instructions, which he reserved for the ear of their sovereign. When Maximin temperately ur- ged the contrary practice of nations, he was still more confounded to find, that the resolutions of the Sacred Consistory, those secrets (says Pris- cus) which should not be revealed to the gods themselves, had been treacherously disclosed to the public enemy. On his refusal to comply with such ignominious terms, the imperial envoy was commanded instantly to depart; the order was recalled; it was again repeated; and the Huns renewed their ineffectual attempts to subdue the patient firmness of Maximin. At length, by the intercession of Scotta, the brother of Onegesius, whose friendship had been purchased by a liberal gift, he was admitted to the royal presence ; but, instead of obtaining a decisive answer, he was compelled to undertake a remote journey to- wards the north, that Attila might enjoy the proud satisfaction of receiving, in the same camp, the ambassadors of the eastern and western em- pires. His journey was regulated by the guides, who obliged him to halt, to hasten his march, or to deviate from the common road, as it best suit- ed the convenience of the king. The Romans
OF THE ROWAN EMPIRE. 71
who traversed the plains of Hungary, suppose CHAP.
that they passed several navigable rivers, either J^J^
in canoes or portable boats ; but there is reason to suspect, that the winding stream of the Teyss, or Tibiscus, might present itself in different places, under different names. From the conti- guous villages they received a plentiful and re- gular supply of provisions; mead instead of wine, millet in the place of bread, and a certain liquor named camus, which, according to the report of Priscus, was distilled from barley.* Such fare might appear coarse and indelicate to men who had tasted the luxury of Constantinople : but, in their accidental distress, they were relieved by the gentleness and hospitality of the same bar- barians, so terrible and so merciless in war. The ambassadors had encamped on the edge of a large morass. A violent tempest of wind and rain, of thunder and lightning, overturned their tents, immersed their baggage and furniture in the water, and scattered their retinue, who wandered in the darkness of the night, uncertain of their road, and apprehensive of some unknown dan- ger, till they awakened by their cries the inha- bitants of a neighbouring village, the property of the widow ofBleda. A bright illumination, and.
' The Huns themselves stilt continued to despise the labour* of agriculture ; they abused the privilege of a victorious nation :, and the Goths, their industrious subjects who cultivated the earth, dreaded their neighbourhood, like that of so many ravenous wolves, (Priscus p. 45). In the same manner the Sarts and Tadgics provide for their own subsistence, and for that of the Usbec Tartars, their lazy and rapacious sovereigns. See Genealogical History jpf the Tartar*, p. 423, 455, &c.
72 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, in a few moments, a comfortable fire of reeds* was kindled by their officious benevolence; the wants, and even the desires, of the Romans were liberally satisfied ; and they seem to have been embarrassed by the singular politeness of Ble- da's widow, who added to her other favours the gift, or at least the loan, of a sufficient number of beautiful and obsequious damsels. The sun- shine of the succeeding day was dedicated to re- pose ; to collect and dry the baggage, and to the refreshment of the men and horses ; but, in the evening, before they pursued their journey, the ambassadors expressed their gratitude to the bounteous lady of the village, by a very accept- able present of silver cups, red fleeces, dried fruits, and Indian pepper. Soon after this ad venture, they rejoined the march of Attila, from whom they had been separated about six days; and slowly proceeded to the capital of an em- pire, which did not contain, in the space of se- veral thousand miles, a single city. The royal As far as we may ascertain the vague and ob- scure geography of Priscus, this capital appears to have been seated between the Danube, the Teyss, and the Carpathian hills, in the plains of Upper Hungary, and most probably in the neighbourhood of Jazberin, Agria, or Tokay."
u It is evident, that Priscus passed the Danube and the Teyss, and that he did not reach the foot of the Carpathian hills. Agria, Tokay, and Jazberin, are situated in the plains circumscribed by ifais defini- tion. M. de Buat (Histoire des Peoples, &c. torn, vii, p. 461) ha* chosen Tokay ; Otrokosci, (p. 183, apud Mascou, ix, 23), a learned Hungarian, has preferred Jazberin, a place about thirty-six m'1"" »'»j|« ward of Buda and the Danube.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 73
In its origin it could be no more than an acci- CHAP.
XXXIV
dental camp, which, by the long and frequent ^ J
residence of Attila, had insensibly swelled into a huge village, for the reception of his court, of the troops who followed his person, and of the va- rious multitude of idle or industrious slaves and retainers." The baths, constructed by Onege- sius, were the only edifice of stone ; the materials had been transported from Pannonia; and since the adjacent country was destitute even of large timber, it may be presumed, that the meaner ha- bitations of the royal village consisted of straw, of mud, or of canvas. The wooden houses of the more illustrious Huns, were built and adorned with rude magnificence, according to the rank, the fortune, or the taste of the proprietors. They seem to have been disturbed with some degree of order and symmetry: and each spot became more honourable, as it approached the person of the sovereign. The palace of Attila, which sur- passed all other houses in his dominions, was built entirely of wood, and covered an ample space of ground. The outward inclosure was a lofty wall, or pallisade, of smooth square timber, intersected with high towers, but intended rather for ornament than defence. This wall, which
" The royal village of Attila may be compared to the city of Ka- racorum, the residence of the successors of Zingis ; which, though it appears to have been a more stable habitation, did not equal the •ize or splendour of the town and Abbey of St. Deriys, in the 13th century, (See Rubruquis, in the Histoire Generale des Voyages, torn. vil, p. 286). The camp of Aurengzehe, as it is so agreeably described by Beruier, (torn, ii, p. 217-235), blended the manners of Stythim with the magnificence and luxury of Hiadost *fl.
74 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, seems to have encircled the declivity of a hill, ^ comprehend a great variety of wooden edifices, adapted to the uses of royalty. A separate house was assigned to each of the numerous wives of Attila; and, instead of the rigid and illiberal confinement imposed by Asiatic jealously, they politely admitted the Roman ambassadors to their presence, their table, and even to the free- dom of an innocent embrace. When Maximin offered his presents to Cerca, the principal queen, he admired the singular architecture of her man- sion, the height of the round columns, the size and beauty of the wood, which was curiously shaped, or turned, or polished, or carved; and his attentive eye was able to discover some taste in the ornaments, and some regularity in the pro- portions. After passing through the guards who watched before the gate, the ambassadors were introduced into the private apartment of Cerca. The wife of Attila received their visit sitting, or rather lying, on a soft couch; the floor was co- vered with a carpet; the domestics formed a cir- cle round the queen ; and her damsels, seated on the ground, were employed in working the varie- gated embroidery which adorned the dress of the barbaric warriors. The Huns were ambitious of displaying those riches which were the fruit and evidence of their victories : the trappings of their horses, their swords, and even their shoes, were studded with gold and precious stones; and and their tables were profusely spread with plates, and goblets, and vases of gold and silver, which had been fashioned by the labour of Gre-
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 75
cian artists. The monarch alone assumed the su- CHAP. perior pride of still adhering to the simplicity of ,, of his Scythian ancestors/ The dress of Attila, his arms, and the furniture of his horse, were plain, without ornament, andof asingle colour. The royal table was served in wooden cups and platters; flesh was his only food; and the con- queror of the North never tasted the luxury of bread.
When Attila first gave audience to the Ro- The nian ambassadors on the banks of the Danube, his tent was encompassed with a formidable guard. The monarch himself was seated in a wooden chair. His stern countenance, angry gestures, and impatient tone, astonished the firm- ness of Maximin ; but Vigilius had more reason to tremble, since he distinctly understood the menace, that if Attila did not respect the law of nations, he would nail the deceitful interpreter to a cross, and leave his body to the vultures. The barbarian condescended, by producing an accurate list, to expose the bold falsehood of Vigilius, who had affirmed that no more than seventeen deserters could be found. But he arrogantly declared, that he apprehended only the disgrace of contending with his fugitive slaves; since he despised their impotent efforts to defend the provinces which Theodosius had
y When the Moguls displayed the spoils of Asia, in the diet of Toncat, the throne of Zingis was still covered with the original black felt carpet, on which he had been seated, wbcu he was raised to the command of his warlike countrymen. See Vie de Gengiscan, !. ir, c. 9
7(3 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, intrusted to their arms: "For. what fortress," (added Attila), " what city in the wide extent of " the Roman empire, can hope to exist, secure " and impregnable, if it is our pleasure that it " should be crazed from the earth?" He dis- missed, however, the interpreter, who returned to Constantinople with his peremptory demand of more complete restitution, and a more splendid embassy. His anger gradually subsided, and his domestic satisfaction, in a marriage which he celebrated on the road with the daughter of Es- lam, might perhaps contribute to molify the na- tive, fierceness of his temper. The entrance of Attila into the royal village, was marked by a very singular ceremony. A numerous troop of women came out to meet their hero, and their king. They marched before him, distributed into long and regular files ; the intervals between the files were filled by white veils of thin linen, which the women on either side bore aloft in their hands, and which formed a canopy for a chorus of young virgins, who chanted hymns and songs in the Scythian language. The wife of his favourite Onegesius, with a train of female attendants, saluted Attila at the door of her own house, on his way to the palace ; and offered, according to the custom of the country, her re- spectful homage, by entreating him to taste the wine and meat, which she had prepared for his reception. As soon as the monarch had graci- ously accepted her hospitable gift, his domestics lifted a small silver table to a convenient height, as he sat on horseback ; and Attila, when he
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 77
had touched the sroblet with his lips, again sa- CHAP.
""" » XXXIV
luted the wife of Onegesius, and continued his ^ ;
march. During his residence at the seat of em- pire, his hours were not wasted in the recluse idle- ness of a seraglio; and the king of the Huns could maintain his superior dignity, without conceal- ing his person from the public view. He fre- quently assembled his council, and gave audi- ence to the ambassadors of the nations ; and his people might appeal to the supreme tribunal, which he held at stated times, and, according to the eastern custom, before the principal gate of his wooden palace. The Romans, both of the East and of the West, were twice invited to the banquets, where Attila feasted with the princes and nobles ot Scythia. Maximin and his col- leagues were stopped on the threshold, till they had made a devout libation to the health and prosperity of the king of the Huns ; and were con- ducted, after this ceremony, to their respective seats in a spacious hall. The royal table and couch, covered with carpets and fine linen, was raised by several steps in the midst of the hall ; and a son, an uncle, or perhaps a favourite king, were admitted to share the simple and homely repast of Attila. Two lines of small tables, each of which contained three or four guests, were ranged in order on either hand ; the right was esteemed the most honourable, but the Romans ingenuously confess, that they were placed on the left; and that Beric, an unknown chieftain, most probably of the Gothic race, preceded the representatives of TheodosiuS and Valentinian. The barbarian
78 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, monarch received from his cup-bearer a goblet l*l filled with wine, and courteously drank to the health of the most distinguished guest; who rose from his seat, and expressed, in the same man- ner, his loyal and respectful vows. This cere- mony was successively performed for all, or at least for the illustrious persons of the assembly: and a considerable time must have been con- sumed, since it was thrice repeated, as each course of service was placed on the table. But the wine still remained after the meat had been removed; and the Huns continued to indulge their intemperance long after the sober and de- cent ambassadors of the two empires had with- drawn themselves from the nocturnal banquet. Yet before they retired, they enjoyed a singular opportunity of observing the manners of the na- tion in their convivial amusements. Two Scy- thians stood before the couch of Attila, and re- cited the verses which they had composed, to celebrate his valour and his victories. A pro- found silence prevailed in the hall; and the at- tention of the guests was captivated by the vocal harmony, which revived and perpetuated the memory of their own exploits; a martial ardour flashed from the eyes of the warriors, who were impatient for battle; and the tears of the old men expressed their generous despair, that they could no longer partake the danger and glory of the field.2 This entertainment, which might be con-
1 If we may believe Plutarch, (in Demetrio, torn, v, p. 24), it wa§ the custom of the Scythians, when they indulged in the pleasures of the table, to awaken their languid couivage by the martial harmony of twanging their bow strings.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 79
«idered as a school of military virtue, was sue- CHAP. ceeded by a farce that debased the dignity of human nature. A moorish and a Scythian buf- foon successively excited the mirth of the rude spectators, by their deformed figure, ridiculous dress, antic gestures, absurd speeches, and the strange unintelligible confusion of the Latin, the Gothic, and the Hunnic languages ; and the hall resounded with loud and licentious peals of laughter. In the midst of this intemperate riot, Attila alone, without a change of countenance, maintained his stedfast and inflexible gravity; which was never relaxed, except on the entrance of Irnac, the youngest of his sons : he embraced the boy with a smile of paternal tenderness, gently pinched him by the cheek, and betrayed a partial affection, which was justified by the assurance of his prophets, that Irnac would be the future support of his family and empire. Two days afterwards, the ambassadors received a second invitation; and they had reason to praise the politeness, as well as the hospitality, of Attila. The king of the Huns held a long and familiar conversation with Maximin; but his civility was interrupted by rude expressions, and haughty reproaches ; and he was provoked, by a motive of interest, to support with unbecoming zeal, the private claims of his secretary Constan- tius. " The emperor (said Attila) has long " promised him a rich wife: Constantius must " not be disappointed ; nor should a Roman em- " peror deserve the name of liar." On the third
80 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, day, the ambassadors were dismissed; the free-
V V V TV
J dom of several captives was granted, for a mode- rate ransom, to their pressing entreaties ; and, besides the royal presents, they were permitted to accept from each of the Scythian nobles, the honourable and useful gift of a horse. Maximin returned, by the same road, to Constantinople; and though he was involved in an accidental dis- pute with Beric, the new ambassador of Attila, he flattered himself that he had contributed^ by the laborious journey, to confirm the peace and alliance of the two nations/
Conspiracy But the Roman ambassador was ignorant of
"nans61 "" tne treacherous design, which had been concealed
against the under the mask of the public faith. The surprise
Attiia. and satisfaction of Edecon, when he contemplated
the splendour of Constantinople, had encouraged
the interpreter Vigilius to procure for him a
secret interview with the eunuch Chrysaphius,*
who governed the emperor and the empire. After
some previous conversation, and a mutual oath
of secrecy, the eunuch, who had not, from his
* The curious narrative, of this embassy winch required few ob- servations, and was not succeptible of any collateral evidence, may be found in Prisons, p, 49-70. But 1 have not confined myself to the same order ; and I had previously extracted the historical circum- stances, which were less immediately connected with the journey, and business, of the Roman ambassadors.
b M. de Tillemont has veiy properly given tl;e succession of cham- berlains, who reigned in the name of Tluodosius. Chrysaphius was the last, and, according to the unanimous evidence of history, the worst of these favourites, (See Hist, des Empereurs, torn, vi, p. 117- 119. Mem. Eccles. torn, xv, p. 438). His partiality for his godfather, the heresiarch Eutyches, engaged him to persecute the orthodox party.
81
own feelings or experience, imbibed any exalted notions of ministerial virtue, ventured to pro- pose the death of Attila, as an important service, by which Edecon might deserve a liberal share of the wealth and luxury which he admired. The ambassador of the Huns listened to the tempting offer; and professed, with apparent zeal, his ability, as well as readiness, to execute the bloody deed : the design was communica- ted to the master of the offices, and the devout Theodosius consented to the assassination of his invincible enemy. But this perfidious conspi- racy was defeated by the dissimulation, or the repentance, of Edecon ; and, though he might exaggerate his inward abhorrence for the trea- son, which he seemed to approve, he dexterous- ly assumed the merit of an early and voluntary confession. If we now review the embassy of Maximin, and the behaviour of Attila, we must applaud the barbarian, who respected the laws of hospitality, and generously entertained and dismissed the minister of a prince who had con- spired against his life. But the rashness of Vi- gilius will appear still more extraordinary, since he returned, conscious of his guilt and danger, to the royal camp; accompanied by his son, and carrying with him a weighty purse of gold, which the favourite eunuch had furnished, to satisfy the demands of Edecon, and to corrupt the fidelity of the guards. The interpreter was instantly seized, and dragged before the tribunal of Attila, where he asserted his innocence with specious firmness, till the threat of inflicting m>
VOL. VI. G
82 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, slant death on his son, extorted from him a sin-
XXXiV.
^ '„ cere discovery of the criminal transaction. Un-
der the name of ransom or confiscation, the ra- pacious king of the Huns accepted two hundred pounds of gold for the life of a traitor, whom he disdained to punish. He pointed his just in- dignation against a nobler object. His ambas- forgives sadors Eslaw and Orestes were immediately peror. despatched to Constantinople, with a peremp- tory instruction, which it was much safer for them to execute than to disobey. They boldly entered the imperial presence, with the fatal purse hanging down from the neck of Orestes ; who interrogated the eunuch Chrysaphius, as he stood beside the throne, whether he recognised the evidence of his guilt. But the office of re- proof was reserved for the superior dignity of his colleague Eslaw, who gravely addressed the emperor of the East in the following words.— " Theodosius is the son of an illustrious and " respectable parent ; Attila likewise is de- " scended from a noble race ; and he has sup- " ported, by his actions, the dignity which he " inherited from his father Mundzuk. But ** Theodosius has forfeited his paternal honours, " and, by consenting to pay tribute, has degrad- " ed himself to the condition of a slave. It is " therefore just, that he should reverence the " man whom fortune and merit have placed " above him; instead of attempting, like a " wicked slave, clandestinely to conspire against 41 his master." The son of Arcadius, who was accustomed only to the voice of flattery, heard
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 88
with astonishment the severe language of truth ; CHAP.
XXXIV
he blushed and trembled; nor did he presume ,
directly to refuse the head of Chrysaphius, which Eslaw and Orestes were instructed to demand. A solemn embassy, armed with full powers and magnificent gifts, was hastily sent to deprecate the wrath of Attila; and his pride was gratified by the choice of Nomius and Ana- tolius, two ministers of consular or patrician rank, of whom the one was great treasurer, and the other was master-general of the armies of the East. He condescended to meet these ambas- sadors on the banks of the river Drenco ; and though he at first affected a stern and haughty demeanour, his anger was insensibly molified by their eloquence and liberality. He condescend- ed to pardon the emperor, the eunuch, and the interpreter; bound himself by an oath to ob- serve the conditions of peace; released a great number of captives; abandoned the fugitives and deserters to their fate ; and resigned a large territory to the south of the Danube, which he had already exhausted of its wealth and inhabi- tants. But this treaty was purchased at an ex- pence which might have supported a vigorous and successful war; and the subjects of Theo- dosius were compelled to redeem the safety of a worthless favourite by oppressive taxes, which they would more cheerfully have paid for his destruction.6
c This secret conspiracy, and its important consequences, may be traced in the fragments of Priscus, pp. 37, 38, 39, 54, 70, 71, 73. The chronology of that historian is uot fixed by any pr««ise date;
tat
84 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. The emperor Theoclosius did not Ions sur-
XXXIV
„ 'f vive the most humiliating circumstance of an in-
Theodo- glorious life. As he was riding, or hunting, in Younger the neighbourhood of Constantinople, he was *D. 450, thrown from his horse into the river Lycus : the Spine of the back was injured by the fall; and he expired some days afterwards, in the fiftieth year of his age, and the forty-third of his reign.d His sister Pulcheria, whose authority had been controuled b^tnlrTcivil and ecclesiastical affairs by the pernicious influence of the eunuchs, was unanimously proclaimed empress of the East ; and the Romans, for the first time, submitted to a female reign. No sooner had Pulcheria ascended the throne, than she indulged her own and the public resentment, by an act of popular . justice. Without any legal trial, the eunuch Chrysaphius was executed before the gates of the city; and the immense riches which had been accumulated by the rapacious favourite, served only to hasten and to j ustify his punish- ment.' Amidst the general acclamations of the clergy and people, the empress did not forget the prejudice and disadvantage to which her
bat the series of negotiations between Attila and the eastern empire, must be included between the three or four years which are termi- nated A. D. 450, by the death of Theodosius.
d Theodoras the Reader, (see Vales. Hist. Eccles. torn, iii, p 563), •nd the Paschal Chronicle, mention tire fall, without specifying the injury : but the consequence was so likely to happen, and so un- likely to be invented, that we may safely give credit to Nicephorus Callistns, a Greek of the fourteenth century.
• Pulcheriae natn (says Count Marcellinus) sua cum avaritia in- teremptus est. She abandoned the eunuch to the pious revenge of • SOH, whose futher had suffered at his instigation.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 85
sex was exposed ; and she wisely resolved to
prevent their murmurs by the choice of a col-
league, who would always respect the superior and is sue.
rank and virgin chastity of his wife. She gave
her hand to Marcian, a senator, about sixty
years of age, ancfthe nominal husband of Pul-
cheria was solemnly invested with the imperial
purple. The zeal which he displayed for the
orthodox creed, as it was established by the
council of Chalcedon, would alone have in-
spired the grateful eloquence of the catholics.
But the behaviour of Marcian in a private life,
and afterwards on the throne, may support a
more rational belief, that he was qualified to re-
store and invigorate an empire, which had been
almost dissolved by the successive weakness of
two hereditary monarchs. He was born in
Thrace, and educated to the profession of arms ;
but Marcian' s youth had been severely exer-
cised by poverty and misfortune, since his only
resource, when he first arrived at Constantino-
ple, consisted in two hundred pieces of gold,
which he had borrowed of a friend. He passed
nineteen years in the domestic and military ser-
vice of Aspar, and his son Ardaburius; follow-
ed those powerful generals to the Persian and
African wars ; and obtained, by their influence,
the honourable rank of tribune and senator.
His mild disposition, and useful talents, with-
out alarming the jealousy, recommended Mar-
cian to the esteem and favour of his patrons : he
had seen, perhaps he had felt, the abuses of a
venal and oppressive administration; and his
86 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, own example gave weight and energy to the laws, which he promulgated for the reformation of manners/
f Procopius de Bell. Vandal. I. i, c 4. Evagrius, 1. ii, c. 1. Theo- phaues, p 90, 91. Novell, ad Calcem Cod. Theod. torn, vi, p. 30. The praises which St. Leu and the catholics have bestowed on Mar cian. are diligently transcribed by Barouiua, as an encouragement ft* future princes.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 8?
CHAP. XXXV.
Invasion of Gaul by Attila — He is repulsed by JEtius and the Visigoths — Attila invades and evacuates Italy — The deaths of Attila, JEtius, and Valentinian III.
IT was the opinion of Marcian, that war should CHAP. be avoided, as long as it is possible to preserve xxxv a secure and honourable peace ; but it was like- Attila wise his opinion, that peace cannot be honour- Jhr*'aten»
/ . -» both em-
able or secure, if the sovereign betrays a pusil- pires, and
lanimous aversion to war. This temperate cou- !Tinvad« rage dictated his reply to the demands of At- J^j}' 460< tila, who insolently pressed the payment of the annual tribute. The emperor signified to the barbarians, that they must no longer insult the majesty of Rome by the mention of a tribute ; that he was disposed to reward, with becoming liberality, the faithful friendship of his allies ; but that, if they presumed to violate the public peace, they should feel that he possessed troops, and arms, and resolution, to repel their attacks. The same language, even in the camp of the Huns, was used by his ambassador Apollonius, whose bold refusal to deliver the presents, till he had been admitted to a personal interview, displayed a sense of dignity, and a contempt of danger, which Attila was not prepared to expect
88 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, from the degenerate Romans.' He threatened
v~v v y
f'^ to chastise the rash successor of Theodosius ; but he hesitated whether he should first direct his invincible arms against the eastern or the western empire. While mankind awaited his decision with awful suspense, he sent an equal defiance to the courts of Ravenna aud Constan- tinople ; and his ministers saluted the two em- perors with the same haughty declaration. " At- " tila, my lord, and thy lord, commands thee to " provide a palace for his immediate reception.'* But as the barbarian despised, or affected to despise, the Romans of the East, whom he had so often vanquished, he soon declared his reso- lution of suspending the easy conquest, till he had achieved a more glorious and important en- terprise. In the memorable invasions of Gaul and Italy, the Huns were naturally attracted by the wealth and fertility of those provinces ; but the particular motives and provocations of Atti- la, can only be explained by the state of the wes- tern empire under the reign of Valentinian, or, to speak more correctly under the administration of^tius.'
Character After the death of his rival Boniface, JEtius nistrati™n~ had prudently retired to the tents of the Huns :
of jttius.
1 See Priscus, p. 39, 72.
b The Alexandrian, or .'Paschal Chronicle, which introduces thi» haughty message during the lifetime of Theodosius. may have anti- cipated the date ; but the dull annalist was incapable of inventing the original and genuine style of Attila.
' The second book of the Histoire Critique de I'Establissement de la Monarchic Francoiie, torn, i, p. 189-424, throws great light on the state of Gaul, when it was invaded by Attila ; but the ingenioui author, the Abb4 Dnbos, too often bewilder* himself in system aid..
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 89
and he was indebted to their alliance for his safe- CHAP.
XXXV
ty and his restoration. Instead of the suppliant
language of a guilty exile, he solicited his pardon A. D. 143- at the head of sixty thousand barbarians ; and the empress Placidia confessed, by a feeble re- sistance, that the condescension, which might have been ascribed to clemency, was the effect of weakness or fear. She delivered herself, her son Valentinian, and the western empire, into the hands of an insolent subject ; nor could Placidia protect the son-in-law of Boniface, the virtuous and faithful Sebastian,d from the implacable per- secution, which urged him from one kingdom to another, till he miserably perished in the service of the Vandals. The fortunate JEtius, who was immediately promoted to the rank of patrician, and thrice invested with the honours of the con- sulship, assumed, with the title of master of the cavalry and infantry, the whole military power of the state ; and he is sometimes styled, by con- temporary writers, the Duke, or General of the Romans of the West. His prudence, rather than his virtue, engaged him to leave the grandson of Theodosius in the possession of the purple, and Valentinian was permitted to enjoy the peace and
* Victor Vitensis (de Persecut. Vandal. 1. i, c, 6, p. 8. edit. RuU nart) calls him, acer consilio et slrenuus in bello: but his courage when he became unfortunate, was censured as desperate rashness ; and Sebastian deserved, or obtained, the epithet of preeceps. (Sidon. Apollinar. Carmen, ix. 181). His adventures at Constantinople, in Sicily, Gaul, Spaiuy and Africa, are faintly marked in the Chroni- cles of Marcellinus and Idatius. In his distress, he was always fol- lowed by a numerous train ; since he could ravage the Hellespont and Propontis, and seize the city of Barcelona.
fK) THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, luxury of Italy, while the patrician appeared in
^ the glorious light of a hero and a patriot, who
supported near twenty years the ruins of the western empire. The Gothic historian ingenu- ously confesses, that jJEtius was born for the salvation of the Roman republic ;' and the fol- lowing portrait, though it is drawn in the fair- est colours, must be allowed to contain a much larger proportion of truth than of flattery. " His " mother was a wealthy and noble Italian, and " his father Gaudentius, who held a distinguish- " ed rank in the province of Scythia, gradually " rose from the station of a military domestic, to *' the dignity of master of the cavalry. Their " son, who was inrolled almost in his infancy in " the guards, was given as a hostage, first to " Alaric, and afterwards to the Huns ; and he " succesively obtained the civil and military ho- " nours of the palace, for which he was equally " qualified by superior merit. The graceful fi- " gure of j^Etius was not above the middle sta- " ture ; but his manly limbs were admirably " formed for strength, beauty, and agility ; and " he excelled in the martial exercises of manag- " ing a horse, drawing the bow, and darting the " javelin. He could patiently endure the want " of food or of sleep ; and his mind and body " were alike capable of the most laborious ef- " forts. He possessed the genuine courage, that '* can despise not only dangers but injuries ; and
1 Rei publics Romaiisf singulariter natus, qui inperbiam Suevorum, *"rancorumque barbariem immensis ccedibus serrirc imperio Romanc coegisset. Jornandes de Rebus Getieis, c. 34, p. 660.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
" it was impossible either to corrupt or deceive, CHAP.
" or intimidate, the firm integrity of his soul.'* ^
The barbarians, who had seated themselves in the western provinces, were insensibly taught to respect the faith and valour of the patrician ^Etius. He soothed their passions, consulted their prejudices, balanced their interests, and checked their ambition. A seasonable treaty, which he concluded with Genseric, protected Italy from the depredations of the Vandals ; the independent Britons implored and acknowledg- ed his salutary aid ; the imperial authority was restored and maintained in Gaul and Spain ; and he compelled the Franks and the Suevi, whom he had vanquished in the field, to be- come the useful confederates of the republic.
From a principle of interest, as well as ffrati- H'8 c°n-
TTI • • i i • 11 11- nection
tude, .ZLtius assiduously cultivated the alliance with the of the Huns. While he resided in their tents as *" a hostage, or an exile, he had familiarly convers- ed with Attila himself, the nephew of his bene- factor ; and the two famous antagonists appear to have been connected by a personal and mili- tary friendship, which they afterwards confirm- ed by mutual gifts, frequent embassies, and the education of Carpillo, the son of -ZEtius, in the camp of Attila, By the specious professions of
f This portrait is drawn by Renatus Profuturus Frigeridus, a con- temporary historian, known only by some extracts, vhich are pre- served by Gregory of TOUTS, (1. ii. c. 8, in torn. ii. p. 163). It wu probably the duty, or at least the interest, of Renatus to magnify the virtues of Mtius ; but he would have shewn more dexterity, if tie had not insisted on bis patient, forgiving disposition.
92 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, gratitude and voluntary attachment, the patri-
, '„ cian might disguise his apprehensions of the
Scythian conqueror, who pressed the two em- pires with his innumerable armies. His de- mands were obeyed or eluded. When he claim- ed the spoils of a vanquished city, some vases of gold, which had been fraudulently embezzled ; the civil and military governors of Noricumwere immediately despatched to satisfy his com- plaints :g and it is evident, from their conversa- tion with Maximin and Priscus, in the royal village, that the valour and Prudence of JEtius had not saved the western Romans from the common ignominy of tribute. Yet his dexterous policy prolonged the advantages of a salutary peace; and a numerous army of Huns and Alani, whom he had attached to his person, was employed in the defence of Gaul. Two colonies of these barbarians were judiciously fixed in the territories of Valens and Orleans :h and their active cavalry secured the important
8 The Embassy consisted of Count Romulus ; of Promotus, presi- dent of Noricum ; and of Romanus, the military duke. They were accompanied by Tatullus, an illustrious citizen of Petovio, in the same province, and father of Orestes, who had married the daughter of Count Romulus. See Priscus, p. 57, 65. Cassiodorius (Variar i, 4.) mentions another embassy which was executed by his father and Carpillo, the son of /Etius : and as Attila was no more, he could safely boast of their manly intrepid behaviour in his presence.
& Deserta Valentine urhis rura Alanis partienda traduntar. Pros- per. Tyronis Chron. in Historiens de France, torn. i. p. 639. A few lines afterwards, Prosper observes, that lands in the ulterior Gaul were assigned to the Alani. Without admitting the correction of Dubos, (torn. i. p. 300), the reasonable supposition of two colonies or garrisons of Alani, will confirm hie arguments, and remove bi» objections.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 93
passages of the Rhone and of the Loire. These CHAP.
savage allies were not indeed less formidable to .„„„
the subjects than to the enemies of Rome. Their original settlement was enforced with the licen- tious violence of conquest ; and the province through which they marched, was exposed to all the calamities of an hostile invasion.' Strangers to the emperor or the republic, the Alani of Gaul were devoted to the ambition of ^Etius ; and -though he might suspect, that, in a contest with Attila himself, they would revolt to the standard of their national king, the patrician laboured to restrain, rather than to excite, their zeal and resentment against the Goths, the Burgundians, and the Franks.
The kingdom established by the Visigoths in Tbe.gvjni" the southern provinces of Gaul, had gradually Gaui under acquired strength and maturity ; and the conduct 0fTheod'o- of those ambitious barbarians, either in peace or J[9^5'«D' war, engaged the perpetual vigilance of JEtius. After the death of Wallia, the Gothic sceptre devolved to Theodoric, the son of the great
1 See Prosper. Tyro. p. 639. Sidonius (Panegyr. Avit. 246) com- plains, in the name of Auvergne, his native country.
Litorius Scythicos equites tune forte subacto Celsus Aremorico, Genticum rapiebat in agmen Per terras, Arverne, tuas, qui proxima qvurque Discursu, flammis, ferro, feritate, rapinis, Delebant ; pacis falleutes no men inane.
Another poet, Paulinus of Perigord, confirms the complaint: Nan socium vix ferre queas, qui durior hoste.
See Dubos, torn. i. p. 880
A. D.
430.
?4 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. Alaric ;k and his prosperous reign, of more than thirty years, over a turbulent people, may be allowed to prove, that his prudence was sup- ported by uncommon vigour, both of mind and body. Impatient of his narrow limits, Theodoric aspired to the possession of Aries, the wealthy seat of government and commerce; but the city was saved by the timely approach of JEtius ; and the Gothic king, who had raised the seige with some loss and disgrace, was persuaded, for an adequate subsidy, to divert the martial valour of his subjects in a Spanish war. Yet Theodoric still watched, and eagerly seized, the favourable 435. moment of renewing his hostile attempts. The Goths besieged Narbonne, while the Belgic pro- vinces were invaded by the Burgundians ; an the public safety was threatened on every side by the apparent union of the enemies of Rome. On every side the activity of ^Etius, and his Scy- thian cavalry, opposed a firm and successful re- sistance. Twenty thousand Burgundians were slain in battle ; and the remains of the nation humbly accepted a dependent seat in the moun-
k Theodoric II. the son of Theodoric, I, declares to Aritus hit resolution of repairing, or expiating, the faults which his grandfather had committed.
Qnae noster pcccavit avus, queen fuscat id unum, Quod te, Roma, capit.
Sidon. Panegyric. Avit. 505.
This character, applicable only to the great Alaric, establishes the genealogy of the Gothic kings, which has hitherto been unnoticed.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 9«*
tains of Savoy.1 The walls of Narbonne had CHAP.
. XXXV.
been shaken by the battering engines, and the „„ \
inhabitants had endured the last extremities of famine, when Count Litorius, approaching in si- lence, and directing each horseman to carry be- hind him two sacks of flour, cut his Avay through the intrenchments of the beseigers. The seige was immediately raised ; and the more decisive victory, which is ascribed to the personal con- duct of JEtius himself, was marked with the blood of eight thousand Goths. But in the ab- sence of the patrician, who was hastily summon- ed to Italy by some public or private interest, Count Litorius succeeded to the command ; and his presumption soon discovered, that far diffe- rent talents are required to lead a wing of ca- valry, or to direct the operations of an important war. At the head of an army of Huns, he rash- ly advanced to the gates of Thoulouse, full of careless contempt for an enemy, whom his mis- fortunes had rendered prudent, and his situa- tion made desperate. The predictions of the augers had inspired Litorius with the profane confidence, that he should enter the Gothic ca- pital in triumph ; and the trust which he repos- ed in his pagan allies, encouraged him to reject the fair conditions of peace, which were repeat-
1 The name of SapaudUi, the origin of Savoy, is first mentioned by Ammianus Marcellinus ; and two military posts are ascertained, by the Notitia, within the limits of that province ; a cohort was sta- tioned at Grenoble in Dauphine ; and Ebredunum, or Iverdun, shel- tered a fleet of small vessels, which commanded the lake of Nuef- chatel. See Valesins, Notit. Galliarem p. 503. D'Allville, Notice de 1'Ancienne Gaule, p. 284, 579.
00 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, edly proposed by the bishops in the name of Theodoric. The king of the Goths exhibited in his distress the edifying contrast of Christian piety and moderation : nor did he lay aside his sackcloth and ashes till he was prepared to arm for the combat. His soldiers, animated with martial and religious enthusiasm, assaulted the camp of Li tori us. The conflict was obstinate; the slaughter was mutual. The Roman general, after a total defeat, which could be imputed only to his unskilful rashness, was actually led through the streets of Thoulouse, not in his own, but in a hostile triumph; and the misery which he expe- rienced, in a long and ignominious captivity, excited the compassion of the barbarians then- selves.1" Such a loss, in a country whose spiri and finances were long since exhausted, could not easily be repaired ; and the Goths, assuming, in their turn, the sentiments of ambition and re- venge, would have planted their victorous stand- ards on the banks of the Rhone, if the presence of jE this had not restored strength and discipline to the Romans." The two armies expected the
m Salvian has attempted to explain the moral government of the Deity ; a task which may be readily performed by supposing, that the calamities of the wicked are, judgments, and those of the right- 'X>us, trials,
n 'Capto terrarum damna patebant
Litorio, in Rhodanum proprios proilucere fines, Theudoridae fixum ; nee erat pugnare necesse, Sed migrare Getis ; rabidam trux asperat iram Victor; quod scusit Scythicum sub mcenibus hostem Inputat, et nihil est gravius, si forsifan unquam
Vincere contingit, trr pido.
Panegyr. Arit. 300, fcc
Sidoniu*
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
signal of a decisive action ; but the generals, who were conscious of each other's force, and doubt- ful of their own superiority, prudently sheathed their swords in the field of battle; and their re- conciliation was permanent and sincere. Theo- doric, king of the Visigoths, appears to have de- served the love of his subjects, the confidence of his allies, and the esteem of mankind. His throne was surrounded by six valiant sons, who were educated with equal care in the exercises of the barbarian camp, and in those of the Gallic schools : from the study of the Roman jurispru- dence, they acquired the theory, at least, of law and justice; and the harmonious sense of Virgil contributed to soften the asperity of their native manners.0 The two daughters of the Gothic king were given in marriage to the eldest sons of the kings of the Suevi and of the Vandals, who reigned in Spain and Africa; but these illustrious alliances were pregnant with guilt and discord. The queen of the Suevi bewailed the death of an husband, inhumanly massacred by. her bro- ther. The princess of the Vandals was the vic- tim of a jealous tyrant, whom she called her father. The cruel Genseric suspected, that his
Sidoniws theft pioceeds, according to the duty of a panegyrist, to trans- fer the whole merit from ./Etius, to his minister Avitus.
0 Theodoric II. revered, in the person of Avitus, the character of his preceptor.
Mihi Romula dudum
Per te jttra placent : parvumque ediscere jussit Ad t na verba pater, docili qno prisca Muronis Carmine mollvret Scythicos mini pagina mores.
Sidon. Panegyr. Avit. 405, &C.
VOL. VI. H
8 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, son's wife had conspired to poison him ; the sup-
l posed crime was punished by the amputation of her nose and ears; and the unhappy daughter of Theodoric was ignominiously returned to the court of Toulouse in that deformed and muti- lated condition. This horrid act, which must seem incredible to a civilized age, drew tears from every spectator ; but Theodoric was urged, by the feelings of a parent and a king to revenge such irreparable injuries. The imperial minis- ters, who always cherished the discord of the barbarians, would have supplied the Goths with arms, and ships, and treasures, for the African war; and the cruelty of Genseric might have been fatal to himself, if the artful Vandal had not armed, in his cause, the formidable power of the Huns. His rich gifts and pressing solicitations inflamed the ambition of Attila: and the designs of JEtius and Theodoric were prevented by the invasion of Gaul.p
The The Franks, whose monarchy was still con-
Gaul, un° fined to the neighbourhood of the Lower Rhine, Me/dTin- na<^ wisely established the right of hereditary suc- gian kings. cession in the nobl e family of the Merovingians.4
f Our authorities for the reign of Theodoric 1, are Jornandes de Rebus (ii'ticis, c. 34, 36 and the Chronicles of Idatius, and the two Prospers, inserted in the Historians of France, torn, i, p. 612-640. To these we may add Kalvian de Gubernatione Dei, 1. vii, p. 243, 244, 245, and the Panegyric of Avitus, by Sulonius.
q Reges Crinitoa se creavisse de prima, et ut ita dicam nobiliori tuoriira femilia, (Greg. Turou, 1. ii, c. 9, p. 166, of the second volume of the Historians of France). Gregory himself does not
mention
OP THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 90
These princes were elevated on a buckler, the CHAP
symbol of military command ;r and the royal f j
fashion of long hair was the ensign of their birth and dignity. Their flaxen locks, which they combed and dressed with singular care, hung down in flowing ringlets on their back and shoul- ders; while the rest of their nation were obliged, either by law or custom, to shave the hinder part of their head ; to comb their hair over the fore- head, and to content themselves with the orna- ment of two small whiskers.5 The lofty stature of the Franks, and their blue eyes, denoted a Germanic origin ; their close apparel, accurately expressed the figure of their limbs; a weighty sword was suspended from a broad belt: their bodies were protected by a large shield: and these warlike barbarians were trained, from their ear-
mention the Merovingian name, which may be traced, however, to the beginning of the seventh century, as the distinctive appellation of the royal family, and even of the French monarchy. An inge- nious critic has deduced the Merovingians from the great Maro- boduus ; and he has clearly proved, that the prince, who gave his name to the first race, was more ancient than the father of Childe- ric. See the Memoires de 1'Academie des Inscriptions, torn, xx, p. 62-90; torn, xxx, p. 557-587.
f This German custom which may be traced, from Tacitus to Gregory of Tours, was at length adopted by the emperors of Constantinople. From a MS. of the tenth century, Montfancon has delineated the representation of a similar ceremony, which the ignorance of the age had applied to king David. See Monuments de la Monarchic Frau- coise, torn, i, Discourse Preliminaire.
s Caesaries prolixa .... crinium flagellis per terga dimissi, Sec. See the preface to the third volume of the Historians of France, and the Al>be Le Boeuf, (Dissertat. torn, iii, p. 47-79). This peculiar fashion of the Merovingians has been remarked by natives and stran- gers; by Priscus, (torn, i, p. COS); by Agathias, (torn, ii, p. 49), and by Gregory of Tours, 1. iii, 18; vi, 24; riii, 10; torn, it, p. 196, 278, 316.
100 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, liest youth, to run, to leap, to swim; to dart the ^javelin, or battle-axe, with unerring aim; to advance, without hesitation, against a superior enemy; and to maintain, either in life or death, the invincible reputation of their ancestors.1 Clodion, the first of their long-haired kings, whose name and actions are mentioned in authen- tic history, held his residence at Dispargum," a village, or fortress, whose place may be assigned between Louvain and Brussels. From the report of his spies, the king of the Franks was informed, that the defenceless state of the second Belgic must yield, on the slightest attack, to the valour of his subjects. He boldly penetrated through the thickets and morasses of the Carbonarian fo- rest,* occupied Tourney and Cambray, the only cities which existed in the fifth century, and ex- tended his conquests as far as the river Somme, over a desolate country, whose cultivation and populousness are the effects of more recent in- dustry/ While Clodion lay encamped in the
I See an original picture of the figure, dress, arms, and temper of the ancient Franks in Sidonius Appollinaris, (Panegyr. Majorian. 238-254) j and such pictures, though coarsely drawn, have a real and intrinsic value. Father Daniel (Hist, de la Milice Francoise, tonv ;. p. 2-7) has illustrated the description
II Dubois, Hist. Critique, &c. tom. i, p. 271, 272. Some geogra- phers bave placed Dispargum on the German side of the Rhine. See a note of the Benedictine Editors to the Historians of France, tom. ii, p. 166.
x The Carbonarian wood, was that part of the great forest of the Ardeunes, which lay between the Escaut, or Scheld, and the Meuse. Vales. Notit. Gall. p. 126.
y Gregor. Turon. 1. ii, c. 9, in torn, ii, p. 166, 167. Fredegar Epitom. c. 9, p. 395. Gesta Reg. Francor. c. 5, in tom. ii, p. 544. Vit. Si. Remig. ad Htncmar, tom. iii, p. 373.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.1 101
plains of Artois,2 and celebrated, with vain and CHAP.
XXXV
ostentatious security, the marriage, perhaps, of ',„'„
his son, the nuptial feast was interrupted by the unexpected and unwelcome presence of j3Etius, who had passed the Somme at the head of his light cavalry. The tables which had been spread under the shelter of a hill, along the banks of a pleasant stream, were rudely overturned ; the Franks were oppressed before they could recover their arms, or their ranks ; and their unavailing valour was fatal only to themselves. The loaded waggons, which had followed their march af- forded a rich booty ; and the virgin bride, with her female attendants, submitted to the new lovers, who were imposed on them by the chance of war. This advantage, which had been ob- tained by the skill and activity of ./Etius, might reflect some disgrace on the military prudence of Clodion ; but the king of the Franks soon re- gained his strength and reputation, and still maintained the possession of his Gallic kingdom from the Rhine to the Somme.* Under his
' Fraucus qu& Cloio patentcs
Atrebatum terras perverserat.-
Pancgyr. Majorian. 212. The precise spot was a town, or village, called Vicus Helena ; and both the name and the place are discovered hy modern geographer* at Lens. See Vales. Notit. Gall. p. 246. Longuerue, Description de la France, toin. ii, p. 88.
* See a vague account of the action in Sidonius, Panegyr. Majorian. 212-230. The French cities, impatient lo establish their monarchy in Gaul, have drawn a strong argument from the silence of Sidonius, who dares not insinuate, that the vanquished Franks were compelled to repass the Rhine. Dubois, torn, i, p. 322.
102 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, reign, and most probably from the enterprising \f spirit of his subjects, the three capitals, Mentz, Treves, and Cologne, experienced the effects of hostile cruelty and avarice. The distress of Cologne was prolonged by the perpetual domi- nion of the same barbarians, who evacuated the ruins of Treves; and Treves, which, in the space of forty years, had been four times besieged and pillaged, was disposed to lose the memory of her afflictions in the vain amusements of the Circus.b The death of Clodion, after a reign of twenty years, exposed his kingdom to the discord and ambition of his two sons. Meroveus, the young- er,0 was persuaded to implore the protection of Rome ; he was received at the imperial court, as the ally of Valentinian, and the adopted son of the patrician ^Etius ; and dismissed, to his native country, with splendid gifts, and the strongest assurances of friendship and support. During his absence, his elder brother had solicited, with equal ardour, the formidable aid of Attila ; and the king of the Huns embraced an alliance,
b Salvian (de Gubernat. Dei, 1. vi) has expressed, in vague and declamatory language, the misfortunes of these three cities, which are distinctly ascertained by the learned Mascou, Hist, of the Ancient Germans, ix, 21.
c Prisons, in relating the contest, does not name the two brothers j the second of whom he had seen at Rome, a beardless youth, with long flowing hair, (Historians of France, torn, i, p. 607, 608). The Benedictine Editors are inclined to believe, that they were the sons of some unknown king of the Franks, who reigned on the banks of the Necker; but the arguments of M. de Foncemagne (Mem. de 1'Academie, torn, riii, p. 464) seem to prore, that the succession of Clodion was disputed by his two sons, and that the younger WM Meroveus, the father of Childeric
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 103
which facilitated the passage of the Rhine, and CHAP.
\. V "V V
justified, by a specious and honourable pretence, ^'
the invasion of Gaul/
When Attila declared his resolution of sup- The ad- porting the cause of his allies, the Vandals and l?^™* the Franks, at the same time, and almost in the Princes»
Honoris.
spirit of romantic chivalry, the savage monarch professed himself the lover and the champion of the princess Honoria. The sister of Valenti- nian was educated in the palace of Ravenna; and as her marriage might be productive of some danger to the state, she was raised, by the title of Augusta* above the hopes of the most presumptuous subject. But the fair Honoria had no sooner attained the sixteenth year of her age, than she detested the importunate greatness which must for ever exclude her from the com- forts of honourable love: in the midst of vain and unsatisfactory pomp, Honoria sighed, yielded to the impulse of nature, and threw herself into the arms of her chamberlain Eugenius. Her guilt and shame (such is the absurd language of im- periousman) were soon betrayed by the ap- pearances of pregnancy ; but the disgrace of the royal family was published to the world by the
d Under the Merovingian race, the throne was hereditary ; but all the sons of the deceased monarch were equally entitled to their share of his treasures and territories. See the Dissertations of M. de Foncemagne, in the sixth and eighth volumes of the Memoires de 1' Academic.
' A medal is still extant, which exhibits the pleasing countenance of Honoria, with the title of Augusta ; and on the reverse, the improper legend of Solus Reipubliar round the monagram of Christ. See Du» cange, Famil. Byzantin. p. 67, 73.
104 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, imprudence of the empress Placidia; who dis-
X \. \. V
\f missed her daughter, after a strict and shameful confinement, to a remote exile at Constantinople. The unhappy princess passed twelve or fourteen years in the irksome society of the sisters of Theodosius, and their chosen virgins ; to whose crown Honoria could no longer aspire, and whose monastic assiduity of prayer, fasting, and vigils, she reluctantly imitated. Her impatience of long and hopeless celibacy, urged her to em- brace a strange and desperate resolution. The name of Attila was familiar and formidable at Constantinople; and his frequent embassies en- tertained a perpetual intercourse between his camp and the imperial palace. In the pursuit of love, or rather of revenge, the daughter o* Placidia sacrificed evey duty and every preju dice ; and offered to deliver her person into the arms of a barbarian, of whose language she was ignorant, whose figure was scarcely human, and whose religion and manners she abhorred. By the ministry of a faithful eunuch, she transmitted to Attila a ring, the pledge of her affection ; and earnestly conjured him to claim her as a lawful spouse, to whom he had been secretly betrothed. These indecent advances were received, how- ever, with coldness and disdain ; and the king of the Huns continued tomultiply the number of his wives, till his love was awakened by the more forcible passions of ambition and avarice. The invasion of Gaul was preceded, and justified, by a formal demand of the princess Honoria,
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 105
with a just and equal share of the imperial pa- CHAP.
trimony. His predecessors, the ancient Tan- ^ ^/^
jous, had often addressed, in the same hostile and peremptory manner, the daughters of China; and the pretensions of Attila were not less of- fensive to the majesty of Rome. A firm, but temperate, refusal was communicated to his am- bassadors. The right of female succession, though it might derive a specious argument from the recent examples of Placidia and Pulcheria, was strenuously denied; and the indissoluble engagements of Honoria were opposed to the claims of her Scythian lover/ On the discovery of her connexion with the king of the Huns, the guilty princess had been sent away, as an object f horror, from Constantinople to Italy; her life was spared ; but the ceremony of her marriage was performed with some obscure and nominal husband, before she was immured in a perpetual prison, to bewail those crimes and misfortunes, which Honoria might have escaped, had she not I been born the daughter of an emperor.8
A native of Gaul, and a contemporary, the learned and eloquent Sidonius, who was after-
f See Priscus, 39, 40. It might be fairly alledged, that if female* could succeed to the throne, Valeutinian himself, who had married the daughter and heiress of the younger Theodosius, would have asserted her right to the eastern empire.
E The adventures of Honoria are imperfectly related by Jor. nandes, de Successione Regn. c. 97, and de Reb. Get. c. 42, p. 674 ; and in the Chronicles of Prosper and Marcellinus ; but they cannot be made consistent, or probable, unless we separate, by an interval of time and place, her intrigue with Eiigcnius, and her invitation i»f Attila.
106 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, wards bishop of Clermont, had made a promise \f to one of his friends, that he would compose a
Anna in- regular history of the war of Attila. If the nio- Gudi!T, and desty of Sidonius had not discouraged him from oriciuM tne Prosecution of this interesting work,* the A. D. 451. historian would have related, with the simplicity of truth, those memorable events, to which the poet, in vague and doubful metaphors, has con- cisely alluded.1 The kings and nations of Ger- many and Scythia, from the Volga perhaps to the Danube, obeyed the warlike summons of Attila. From the royal village, in the plains of Hungary, his standard moved toward the West; and, after a march of seven or eight hundred miles, he reached the conflux of the Rhine and the Necker; where he was joined by the Franks, who adhered to his ally, the elder of the sons of Clodion. A troop of light barbarians, who roamed in quest of plunder, might choose the winter for the convenience of passing the river
h Exegeras mihi, ut promitterem tibi, Attilse helium stylo me
posteris intimaturnm coeperam scribere, sed operis aiepti
fasce perspecto, taeduit inchoasse. Sidon. Apoll. 1. viii. epist. 15, p. 246.
' __ Subito cum rupta tumultu
Barbaries lotas in te transfuderat Arctos, Gallia. Pugnacem Regum comitante Gelono Gepida trux sequitur ; Scyrum Burgundio cogit : Chunns, Bellonotus, Neurus, Basterna, Toringus Bructerus, ulvosa vel quern Nicer abluit unda Prof umpit Francus. Cecidit cito iccta bipenni Ht-rcynia in liutres, et Rheuum texuit alno. Et jam terrificis diffuderat Attiia turmis
In campos se Belga taos
Psnegyr. Avit. 319, fce.
€F THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 107
on the ice: but the innumerable cavalry of the CHAP
*\ V \ V
Huns required such plenty of forage and pro- ^
visions, as could be procured only in a milder season ; the Hercynian forest supplied materials for a bridge of boats; and the hostile myriads were poured, with resistless violence, into the Belgic provinces.1" The consternation of Gaul was universal: and the various fortunes of its cities have been adorned by tradition with mar- tyrdoms and miracles.1 Troyes was saved by the merits of St. Lupus ; St. Servatius was re- moved from the world, that he might not behold the ruin of Tongres; and the prayers of St. Ge- nevieve diverted the march of Attila from the neighbourhood of Paris. But as the greatest wart of the Gallic cities were alike destitute of saints and soldiers, they were beseiged and stormed by the Huns: who practised, in the
k The most authentic and circumstantial account of this war, it contained in Jornandes, (de Reb. Geticis, c. 3G-41, p. 602-672), who has sometimes abridged, and sometimes transcribed, the larger history of Cassiodorius. Jornandes, a quotation which it would be super- fluous to repeat, may be corrected and illustrated by Gregory of Tours, 1. 2, c. 5, 6, 7, and the Chronicles of Idatius, Isidore, and the two Prospers. All the ancient testimonies are collected and inserted in the Historians of France ; but the reader should be cautioned against a supposed extract from the Chronicle of Idatius, (among the fragments of Fredegarius, torn, ii, p. 462), which often contradicts the genuine text of the Gallician bishop.
1 The ancient legendaries deserve some regard, as they are obligea to connect their fables with the real history of their own times. See the lives of S . Lupus, St. Anianus, the bishops of Metz, Ste Gene- vieve, &c. in the Historians of France, torn, i, p. 644, 645, 649 ; torn. iii, p. 369.
108 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, example of Me.tz.m their customary maxims of
•"V v "V V
^ war. They involved in a promiscuous massacre, the priests who served at the altar, and the infants, who, in the hour of danger, had been providently baptized by the bishop; the flou- rishing city was delivered to the flames, and a solitary chapel of St Stephen marked the place where it formerly stood. From the Rhine and the Moselle, Attila advanced into the heart of Gaul ; crossed the Seine at Auxerre ; and, after a
(long and laborious march, fixed his camp under the walls of Orleans. He was desirous of secur- ing his conquests by the possession of an advan- tageous post, which commanded the passage of the Loire; and he depended on the secret invi- tation of Sangiban, king of the Alani, who had promised to betray the city, and to revolt from the service of the empire. But his treacherous conspiracy was detected and disappointed: Or- leans had been strengthened with recent fortifi- cations ; and the assaults of the Huns were vigor- ously repelled by the faithful valour of the sol- diers, or citizens, who defended the place. The pastoral diligence of Anianus, bishop of primi-
m The scepticism of the Count de Buat (Hist, des Peuplei, torn vii, p. 539, 540) cannot be reconciled with any principles of reason or criticism. Is not Gregory of Tours precise and positive in hi* ac- count of the destruction of Metz? At the distance of no more than an hundred years, could he be ignorant, could the people be igno- rant, of the fate of a city, the actual residence of his sovereigns, the kings of Austrasia ? The learned Count, who seems to have under- taken the apology of Attila, apd the barbarians, appeal* to the false Idatius, parcena civitatibus Germanise ct Galliie, and forgets, that the true Idatius had explicitly affirmed, plurimae civitates effracta, a<noBg which he enumerates Melz.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 100
tive sanctitt and consummate prudence, ex- CHAP
• ^f x \. v hausted every art of religious policy to support^ '.„„'„„
their courage, till the arrival of the expected succours. After an obstinate seige, the walls were shaken by the battering rams ; the Huns had already occupied the suburbs ; and the peo- ple, who were incapable of bearing arms, lay prostrate in prayer. Anianus, who anxiously counted the days and hours, despatched a trusty messenger to observe, from the rampart, the face of the distant country. He returned twice, without any intelligence, that could inspire hope or comfort; but, in his third report, he mentioned a small cloud, which he had faintly descried at the extremity of the horizon. "It is the aid " of God" exclaimed the bishop, in a tone of pious confidence; and the whole multitude re- peated after him, — "It is the aid of God." The remote object, on which every eye was fixed, be- came each moment larger, and more distinct ; the Roman and Gothic banners were gradually per- ceived; and a favourable wind blowing aside the dust, discovered, in deep array, the impatient squadrons of .ZEtius and Theodoric, who pressed forwards to the relief of Orleans.
The facility with which Attila had pene- Alliance trated into the heart of Gaul, may be ascribed UfaJ^JlJ to his insiduous policy, as well as to the terror Visig°thi- of his arms. His public declarations were skil- fully mitigated by his private assurances; he al- ternately soothed and threatened the Romans and the Goths; and the courts of Ravenna and Thoulouse, mutually suspicious of each other's
110 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, intentions, beheld with supine indifference, the \t approach of their common enemy. JEtius was the sole guardian of the public safety; but his wisest measures were embarassed by a faction, which, since the death of Placidia, infested the imperial palace: the youth of Italy trembled at the sound of the trumpet; and the barbarians, who, from fear or affection, were inclined to the cause of Attila, awaited, with doubtful and venal faith, the event of the war. The patrician passed the Alps at the head of some troops, whose strength and numbers scarcely deserved the name of an army." But on his arrival at Aries, or Lyons, he was confounded by the intelligence, that the Visigoths, refusing to embrace the de- fence of Gaul, had determined to expect, within their own territories, the formidable invader, whom they professed to despise. The senator Avitus, who, after the honourable exercise of the pretorian prefecture, had retired to his estate in Auvergne, was persuaded to accept the im- portant embassy, which he executed with ability and success. He represented to Theodoric, that an ambitious conqueror, who aspired to the dominion of the earth, could be resisted only by the firm and unanimous alliance of the powers whom he had laboured to oppress. The lively eloquence of Avitus inflamed the
Vix liquerat Alpes
/Etius, tenue, et rarum sine milite ducens Robur, in auxiliis Geticum male credulus agmen ncassum propriis prapsumcns a'lfore castris.
Panegyr. Avit. 328,
OF TH E ROMAN UMPIRE. , 111
Gothic warriors, by the description of the in- CHAP. juries which their ancestors had suffered from ^ the Huns; whose implacable fury still pursued them from the Danube to the foot of the Pyre- nees. He strenuously urged, that it was the duty of every Christian to save, from sacrilegious vio- lation, the churches of God, and the relics of the saints : that it was the interest of every barba- rian, who had acquired a settlement in Gaul, to defend the fields and vineyards, which were cul- tivated for his use, against the desolation of the Scythian shepherds. Theodoric yielded to the evidence of truth ; adopted the measure at once the most prudent and the most honourable ; and declared, that as the faithful ally of ^Etius and the Romans, he was ready to expose his life and kingdom for the common safety of Gaul.0 The Visigoths, who, at that time, were in the mature vigour of their fame and power, obeyed with alacrity the signal of war; prepared their arms and horses, and assembled under the standard of their aged king, who was resolved, with his two eldest sons, Torismond and Theodoric, to , command in person his numerous and valiant people. The example of the Goths determined several tribes or nations, that seemed to fluctuate between the Huns and the Romans. The inde-
0 The policy of Attila, of JEtius, and of the Visigoth, is imper- fectly described in the Panegyric of Avitus, and the thirty-sixth chap- ter of Joruandes. The poet and the historian were both biassed by personal or national prejudices. The former exalts the merit and importance of Avitus : orbis, Avite, salus &c. ! The latter is anxi- ous to show the Goths in the most favourable light. Yet their agree- ment, when they are fairly interpreted, is a proof of their veracity.
THE DECLINE AND FALL
cfiAP. fatigable diligence of the patrician gradually xxxv' collected the troops of Gaul and Germany, who
had formerly acknowledged themselves the sub- jects, or soldiers, of the republic, but who now claimed the rewards of voluntary service, and the rank of independent allies ; the Laeti, the Armoricans, the Breones, the Saxons, the Bur- gundians the Sarmatian^or Alani, the Ripurians, and the Franks who followed Meroveus as their lawful prince. Such was the various army, which, under the conduct of ^Etius and Theo-
(doric, advanced, by rapid marches, to relieve Orleans, and to give battle to the innumerable host of Attila.p
ti«s to On their approach, the king of the Huns im of "cham* mediately raised the siege, and sounded a retreat, to recai tne foremost of his troops from the pil- lage of a city which they had already entered.*1 The valour of Attila was always guided by his prudence; and as he foresaw the fatal conse- quences of a defeat in the heart of Gaul, he re- passed the Seine, and expected the enemy in the plains of Chalons, whose smooth and level sur
V
P The review of the army of .Etius is made by Jornandes, c. 36, p. 664, edit. Grot. torn, ii, p. 23, of the Historians of France, with the notes of the Benedictine editor. The Lteti were a promiscuous race of barbarians, born or naturalized in Gaul ; and the Riparii, or Ripuarii, derived their name from the posts on the three rivers, the Rhine, the Meuse, and the Moselle; the Armoricans possessed the independent cities between the Seine and tlie Loire. A colony of Saxons had been planted in the diocess of Bayeux ; the Uurgundiau* •were settled in Savoy ; and the Breones were a warlike tribe of Rhae- lians, to the east of the lake of Constance.
i Aurelianensis urbis obsidio, oppugnatio, irruptio, uec direptio I v. . Sidon. Apolliu. 1. viii, epist. 15, p 246. The preservation o Orleans might be easily turned into a miracle, obtained, and fore told, by the lioly bishop
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 1J3
face was adapted to the operations of bis Scy- CHAP.
•v V"V \7
thian cavalry. But in this tumultuary retreat, ^
the vanguard of the Romans, arid their allies, continually pressed, and sometimes engaged, the troops whom Attila had posted in the rear; the hostile columns, in the darkness of the night, and the perplexity of the roads, might encounter each other without design; and the bloody con- flict of the Franks and Gepidae, in which fifteen thousand r barbarians were slain, was a prelude to a more general and decisive action. The Ca- talaunian fields5 spread themselves round Cha- lons, and extend, according to the, vague mea- surement of Jornandes, to the leng^ji of one hun- Ired and fifty, and the breadth of one hundred, miles, over the whole province, which is entitled to the appellation of a champaign country,4 This spacious plain was distinguished, however by some inequalities of ground; and the impor- tance of an height, which commanded the camp of Attila, was understood and disputed, by the two generals. The young and valiant Toris- mond first occupied the summit; the Goths rushed with irresistible weight on the Huns, who
r The common editions read XCM ; but there is some authority of manuscripts (and almost any authority is sufficient) for the more reasonable number of XVM.
s Chalons, or Duro-Catalaunum, afterwards Catalavni, had formertj made a part of the territory of Rheims, from whence it- is distant only twenty-seven miles. See Vales. Notit. Gall. p. 136. D'Anville, Notice de I'Ancienue Gaule, p. 212, 279.
1 The name of Bampania, or Campagne, is frequently mentioned by Gregory of Tours ; and that great province, of which Rheims wat the capital obeyed the command of a duke. Vales. Notiti p. 120- 123
VOL. VI. I
1]4 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, laboured to ascend from the opposite side; and \f the possession of this advantageous post inspired both the troops and their leaders with a fair assurance of victory. The anxiety of Attila prompted him to consult his priests and harus- pices. It was reported that after scrutinizing the entrails of victims, and scraping their bones, they revealed, in mysterious language, his own defeat, with the death of his principal adversary; and that the barbarian, by accepting the equiva- lent, expressed his involuntary esteem for the superior merit of ^iEtius. But the unusual de- spondency, which seemed to prevail among the Huns, engaged Attila to use the expedient, so familiar to the generals of antiquity, of animating his troops by a military oration; and his lan- guage was that of a king, who had often fought and conquered at their head.u He pressed them to consider their past glory, their actual danger, and their future hopes. The same fortune, which opened the deserts and morasses of Scy- thia to their unarmed valour, which had laid so many warlike nations prostrate at their feet, had reserved the joys of this memorable field for the consummation of their victories. The cau- tious steps of their enemies, thrir strict alliance, and their advantageous posts, he artfully re- presented as the effects, not of prudence, but
" I am sensible that these military orations are usually composed by the historian ; yet the old Ostrogoths, who had served under Attila, might repeat his discourse to Cassiodorius: the ideas, and even the expressions, have an original Scythian cast ; and I doubt, whether an Italian of the sixth century would have thought of the c<'i-tamiui« gaudia,'
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 115
of fear. The Visigoths alone were the strength CHAP. and nerves of the opposite army ; and the Huns might securely trample on the degenerate Ro- mans, whose close and compact order betrayed their apprehensions, and who were equally inca- pable of supporting the dangers, or the fatigues, of a day of battle. The doctrine of predestina- tion, so favourable to martial virtue, was care- fully inculcated by the king of the Huns ; who assured his subjects, that the warriors, protected by Heaven, were safe and invulnerable amidst the darts of the enemy ; but that the unerring Fates would strike their victims in the bosom of inglorious peace. " I myself," continued Attila, " will throw the first javelin, and the wretch " who refuses to imitate the example of his so- " vereign, is devoted to inevitable death." The spirit of the barbarians was rekindled by the presence, the voice, and the example, of their intrepid leader; and Attila yielding to their im- patience immediately formed his order of battle. At the head of his brave and faithful Huns, he occupied in person the centre of the line. The nations subject to his empire, the Rugians, the Heruli, the Thuringians, the Franks, the Bur- gundians, were extended, on either hand, over the ample space of the Catalaunian fields; the right wing was commanded by Ardaric, king of the Gepida3 ; and the three valiant brothers, who reigned over the Ostrogoths, were posted on the left, to oppose the kindred tribes of the Visi- goths. The disposition of the allies was regu- lated by a different principle. Sangiban, the
^ ^^^•••••.•^•^•^••H*^
116 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP.} faithless king of the Alani, was placed in the
*xxv . centre; where hi* motions might be strictly »*»»*<«^i " ^ •
\ watched, and his treachery might be instantly punished. ^Etius assumed t!ie command of the left, and Theodoric of the right, wing; while To- rismond still continued to occupy the heights which appear to have stretched on the flank, and perhaps the rear of the Scythian army. The nations from the Volga to the Atlantic were assembled on the plain of Chalons; but many of these nations bad been divided by faction, or conquest, or emigration; and the appearance of similar arms and ensigns, whidhthreatened each other, presented the image of a civil war. Battle of r^ne discipline and tactics of the Greeks and Romans form an interesting part of their na- tional manners. The attentive study of the mi- litary operation of Xenophon, or Caesar, or Fre- deric, when they are described by the same ge- nius which conceived and executed them, may tend to improve (if such improvement can be wished) the art of destroying the human species. But the battle of Chalons can only excite our curiosity by the magnitude of the object; since it was decided by the blind impetuosity of bar- barians, and has been related by partial writers, whose civil or ecclesiastical profession secluded them from the knowledge of military affairs. Cassiodorius, however had familiarly conversed with many Gothic warriors, who served in that memorable engagement; "a conflict," as they informed him, " fierce, various, obstinate, and " bloody; such as could not be paralleled, either
.
(
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 117
in the present or in past ages." The number of CHAP.
the slain amounted to one hundred and sixty- ^ ^^
two thousand, or, according to another account, three hundred thousand persons ;x and these in- credible exaggerations suppose a real and effec- tive loss, sufficient to justify the historian's re- mark, that whole generations may be swept away, by the madness of kings, in the space of a smgle hour. After the mutual and repeated discharge of missile weapons, in which the ar- chers of Scythia might signalize their superior dexterity, the cavalry and the infantry of the two armies were furiously mingled in closer combat. The Huns, who fought under the eyes of their king, pierced through the feeble and joubtful centre 7)f^tTTe~ affiel;" Fep'Sratetk their wings from each other, and wheeling, with a rapid effort, to the left, directed their whole force against the Visigoths. As Theodoric rode along the ranks, to animate his tfoTTpsTlie received a mortal stroke from the javelin of Andages, a noble Ostrogoth, and immediately fell from his horse. The wounded king was oppressed in the general disorder, and trampled under the feet of his own cavalry; and this important death served to explain the ambiguous pro- phecy of the haruspices. Attila already ex-
" The expression of Jornandes, or rather of Cassiodorius, are ex- tremely strong. Bellum atrox, multiplex, immane, pertinax, cui timili nulla usquam uarrat antiquitas : ubi talia gesta reteruntur, ut uihil esset quod in vita sud couspicere potuisset egregius, qui hujus miraculi privaretur aspertu. Dubos (Hist. Critique, torn, i, p. 392, 393) attempts to reconcile the 162,000 of Jornandes with the 300,000 Tdatius and Isidore, by supposing that the larger number in- cluded the total destruction of the war, the effects of disease, th« •laughter of the unarmed people, &c.
118 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, ulted in the confidence of the victory, when the ^ valiant Torismond descended from the hills, and verified the remainder of the prediction. The Visigoths, who had been thrown into confusion by the flight, or defection of the Alani, gra dually restored their order of battle : and the ! Huns were undoubtedly vanquished, since At- j tila was compelled to retreat. He had exposed his person with the rashness of a private soldier; but the intrepid troops of the centre had pushed forwards beyond the rest of the line; their attack was faintly supported; their flanks were un- guarded; and the conquerors of Scythia and Germany were saved by the approach of the night from a total defeat. They retired within the circle of waggons that fortified their camp,* and the dismounted squadrons prepared them- selves for a defence to which neither their arms, nor their temper, were adapted. The event was doubtful ; but Attila had secured a last and ho- nourable resource. The saddles and rich fur- niture of the cavalry were collected by his order, into a funeral pile; and the magnanimous bar- barian had resolved, if his intrenchments should be forced, to rush headlong into the flames, and to deprive his enemies of the glory which they might have acquired, by the death or captivity of Attila/
» The Count de Buat, (Hist, des Peuples, &c. torn, rii, p. 554- 573), stiJl depending on the false, and again rejecting the true, Ida- tios, has divided the defeat of Attila into two great battles; the former near Orleans, the latter in Champagne ; in the one Theodora was slain ; in the other he was revenged.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 119
But his enemies had passed the night m equal CHAP.
*v v v y
disorder and anxiety. The inconsiderate cou- ^^
rage of Torismond was tempted to urge the pur- Retreat of suit, till he unexpectedly found himself, with a few followers, in the midst of the Scythian wag- gons. In the confusion of a nocturnal combat, he was thrown from his horse; and the Gothic prince must have perished like his father, if his youthful strength, and the intrepid zeal of his companions, had not rescued him from this dan- gerous situation. In the same manner, but on the left of the line, JEtius himself, separated from his allies, ignorant of their victory, and anxious for their fate, encountered and escaped the hostile troops, that were scattered over the plains of Chalons ; and at length reached the camp of the Goths, which he could only fortify with a slight rampart of shields, till the dawn of day. The imperial general was soon satisfied of the defeat of Attila, who still remained inactive within his intrenchments ; and when he contem- plated the bloody scene, he observed, with secret satisfaction, that the loss had princi- pally fallen on the barbarians. The body of Theodoric, pierced with honourable wounds, was discovered under a heap of the slain; his subjects bewailed the death of their king and father: but their tears were mingled with songs and acclamations, and his funeral rites were performed in the face of a vanquished enemy. The Goths, clashing their arms, elevated on a buckler his eldest son Torismond, to whom they justly ascribed the glory of their success; and
120 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP the new king accepted the obligation of revenge, \f as a sacred portion of his paternal inheritance. Yet the Goths themselves were astonished by the fierce and undaunted aspect of their formi- dable antagonist; and their historian has com- pared Attila to a lion encompassed in his den, and threatening his hunters with redoubled fury. The kings and nations, who might have deserted his standard in the hour of distress, were made sensible, that the displeasure of their monarch was the most imminent and inevitable danger. All his instruments of martial music incessantly sounded a loud and animating strain of defiance; and the foremost troops who advanced to the assault, were checked, or destroyed, by showers of arrows from every side of the intrenchments It was determined, in a general council of war, to besiege the king of the Huns in his camp, to intercept his provisions, and to reduce him to the alternative of a disgraceful treaty, or an un- equal combat. But the impatience of the bar- barians soon disdained these cautious and dila- tory measures; and the mature policy of ^Etius was apprehensive, that, after the extirpation of the Huns, the republic would be oppressed by the pride and power of the Gothic nation. The patrician exerted the superior ascent of autho- rity and reason, to calm the passions, which the son of Theodoric considered as a duty; repre- sented with seeming affection, and real truth, the dangers of absence and delay ; and persuaded Torismond to disappoint, by his speedy return, the ambitious designs of hia brothers, who might occupy the throne and treasures of Thou-
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 121
louse.* After the departure of the Goths, and CHAP.
•v v v y
the separation of the allied army, Attila was sur- „;„
prised at the vast silence which reigned over the plains of Chalons : the suspicion of some hostile stratagem detained him several days within the circle of his waggons; and his retreat beyond the Rhine confessed the last victory which was achieved in the name of the western empire. Meroveus and his Franks observing a prudent distance, and magnifying the opinion o'f their strength, by the numerous fires which they kin- dled every night, continued to follow the rear of the Huns, till they reached the confines of Thuringia. The Thuringians served in the army of Attila; they traversed, both in their march and in their return, the territories of the Franks; «,nd it was perhaps in this war that they exer- cised the cruelties, which about fourscore years afterwards, were revenged by the son of Clovis. They massacred their hostages, as well as their captives : two hundred young maidens were tor- tured with exquisite and unrelenting rage ; their bodies were torn asunder by wild horses, or their bones were crushed under the weight of rolling waggons ; and their unburied limbs were abandoned on the public roads, as a prey to dogs
* Jornandes de Rebus Geticis, c. 41, p. 671. The policy of jEtius, and the behaviour of Torismond, are extremely natural ; and the patrician, according to Gregory .of Tours, (1. ii, c. 7, p. 163), dis- missed the prince of the Franks, by suggesting to him a similar ap- prehension. The false Idatius ridiculously pretends, that jEtius paid a clandestine, nocturnal visit, to the kings of the Huns and of th* Visigoths ; from each of whom he obtained a bribe of ten thousand pieces of gold, as the price of an undisturbed retreat.
Invasion of Italy bj Attila, A. D. 452
Ifi2 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, and vultures. Such were those savage ances- \f tors, whose imaginary virtues have sometimes excited the praise and envy of civilized ages !*
Neither the spirit, nor the forces, nor the reputation of Attila, were impaired by the fail- ure of the Gallic expedition. In the ensuing spring, he repeated his demand, of the princess Honoria, and her patrimonial treasures. The demand was again rejected, or eluded; and the indignant lover immediately took the field, pass- ed the Alps, invaded Italy, and beseiged Aqui- leia with an innumerable host of barbarians. Those barbarians were unskilled in the methods of conducting a regular siege, which even among the ancients, required some knowledge, or at least some practice, of the mechanic arts. But the labour of many thousand provincials and captives, whose lives were sacrificed without pity, might execute the most painful and dan- gerous work. The skill of the Roman artists might be corrupted to the destruction of their country. The walls of Aquileia were assaulted by a formidable train of battering rams, movea- ble turrets, and engines, that threw stones, darts, and fire:band the monarch of the Huns employed
* These cruelties which are passionately deplored by Theodoric, the sou of Clovis, (Gregory of Tours. 1. iii, c. 10, p. 190), suit the time and circumstances of the invasion of Attila. His residence in Thuringia was long attested by popular tradition; and he is sup- posed to have assembled a couroultai, or diet, in the territory of Esienach. See Mascou, ix, 30, who settles with nice accuracy the extent of ancient Thuringia, and derives its name from the Gothic tribe of the Thervingi.
fc Macliinis constructs, omnibusque tormentorum generibus adhi- bitis. Jornandes, c. 42, p. 673. In the thirteenth century, the Mo-
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 123
the forcible impulse of hope, fear, emulation, CHAP.
and interest, to subvert the only barrier which ^
delayed the conquest of Italy. Aojiileia was at that period one of the richest, the most popu- lous, .and the strongest of the maritime cities of the Hadriatic coast. The Gothic auxiliaries, who appear to have served under their native princes, Alaric and Antala, communicated their intrepid spirit; and the citizens still remembered the glorious and successful resistance, which their ancestors had opposed to a fierce, inexo- rable barbarian, who disgraced the majesty of the Roman purple. Three months were con- sumed without effect in the siege of Aquileia ; till the want of provisions, and the clamours of his army, compelled Attila to relinquish the en- terprize; and reluctantly to issue his orders, that the troops should strike their tents the next morning, and begin their retreat. But as he rode round the walls, pensive, angry, arid disap- pointed, he observed a stork, preparing to leave her nest, in one of the towers, and to fly with her infant family towards the country. He seized, with the ready penetration of a states- man, this trifling incident, which chance had offered to superstition ; he exclaimed, in a loud
guls battered the cities of China with large engines constructed by the Mahometans or Christians in their service, which threw stones from 150 to 300 pounds weight. In the defence of their country, the Chinese used gunpowder, and even bombs, above an hundred years before they were known in Europe ; yet even those celestial, or infernal, arms were insufficient to protect a pusillanimous nation. See Gaubil. Hist, des Mongous, p. 70, 71, 155, 1*7, &c.
124 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, and cheerful tone, that such a domestic bird,
Y V "V \r
'ff constantly attached to human society, would never have abandoned her ancient seats, unless
/those towers had been devoted to impending ruin and solitude.0 The favourable omen in- spired an assurance of victory; the siege was renewed, and prosecuted with fresh vigour; a large breach was made in the part of the wall from whence the stork had taken her flight; the Huns mounted to the assault with irresistible fu- ry; and the succeeding generation could scarcely discover the ruins of Aquileia.d After this dread- ful chastisement, Attila pursued his march ; and as he passed,the cities of Altinum, Concordia, and Pladua, were reduced into heaps of stones and ashes. The inland towns, Vicenza, Verona, and Bergamo, were exposed to the rapacious cruelty of the Huns. Milan and Pavia sub- mitted, without resistance, to the loss of their wealth; and applauded the unusual clemency, which preserved from the flames the public, as well as private buildings ; and spared the lives of the captive multitude. The popular tradi- tions of Comum, Turin, or Modena, may justly be suspected ; yet they concur with more authen- tic evidence to prove, that Attila spread his ra- vages over the rich plains of modern Lombardy ;
e The same story is told by Joruandes, and by Procopius, (de Bell. Vandal. 1. i, c. 4, p. 187, 188): nor is it easy to decide, which is the original. But the Greek historian is guilty of an inexcusable mistake, in placing the siege ofAquileia qfter the Death of jEtius.
d Joruandes, about an hundred years afterwards, affirms, that Aqui- leia was so completely ruined, ita ut vix ejus vestigia, ut appareant, reliquerint. See Jornandes de Reb. Getiois, c. 42, p. 673. Paul. Diacou. 1. ii, c. 14, p. 785. Liutprand. Hist. 1. iii, c. 2. The name wf Aquileia was sometimes applied to Forum Julii, (Cividad dell Friuli), the more recent capita! of the Venetian province.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 126
which are divided by the Po, and bounded by CHAP. the Alps and Appennine," When he took pos- ^ session of the royal palace of Milan, he was sur- ' prised, and offended at the sight of a picture which represented the Caesars seated on their throne, and the princes of Scythia prostrate at their feet. The revenge which Attila inflicted on this monument of Roman vanity, was harm- less and ingenious. He commanded a painter to reverse the figures, and the attitudes; and the emperors were delineated on the same canvas, approaching in a suppliant posture, to empty their bags of tributary gold before the throne of the Scythian monarch/ The spectators must have confessed the truth and propriety of the alteration; and were perhaps tempted to apply, on this singular occasion, the well-known fable of the dispute between the lion and the man.* It is a saying worthy of the ferocious pride of AttilaTfhat the grass never grew on the spot where his horse had trod. Yet the savage de-Venice stroyer undesignedly laid the foundations X)f a republic, which revived, in the feudal state of
e In describing this war of Attila, a war so famous but so imper- fectly known, I have taken for my guides two learned Italians, who who considered the subject with some peculiar advantages ; Sigonius, de Imperio Occidental], I. xiii, in his works torn, i, p. 495-502 and Muratori Annali d'ltalia, torn, iv, p. 229-236, 8vo edition.
' This article may be found under two different articles duiJioXaw and itofux©*) of the m iscellaneous compilation of Suida«.
Leo respondit, humana hoc pictum inanii ;
Videres hominem deject um, si pingere
Leoncs scirent.
Appendix ad Pbaedrum, Fab. x*v.
The lion m Phaedrus very foolishly appeals from pictures to the am- phitheatre : ami I am glad to observe, that the native taste of La Fontaine (1. iii fable x.) has omitted this most lame and imootent conclusion.
126 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. Europe, the art and spirit of commercia* indus- LV* try. The celebrated name of Venice, or Venetia,* was formerly diffused over a "large and fertile province of Italy, from the confines of Pannonia to the river Addua,and from the Po to the Rhae- tian and Julian Alps. Before the irruption of the barbarians, fifty Venetian cities flourished in peace and prosperity: Aquileia was placed in the most conspicuous station: but the ancient dignity of Padua was supported by agriculture and manufactures ; and the property of five hun- dred citizens, who were entitled to the eques- trian rank, must have amounted at the strictest computation, to one million seven hundred thou- sand pounds. Many families of Aquileia, Pa- dua, and the adjacent towns, who fled from the sword of the Huns, found a safe, though obscure, retreat in the neighbouring islands.1 At the ex- tremity of the gulf, where the Hadriatic feebly imitates the tides of the ocean, near an hundred small islands are separated by shallow water from the continent, and protected from the waves by several long slips of land, which admit the entrance of vessels through some secret and
h Paul the Deacon (de Gestis Langobard. 1. ii, c. 14, p. 784) describe! the provinces of Italy about the end of the eighth century. Venetiei nun solarn in paucis insulis quas mine Venetias dicimus, constat ; seu «j»is terminus a Pannoniae finibus usque Adduam ilurium protdatur. The history of that province till the age of Charlemagne forms Hie first and most interesting part of the Venora lllustrata, p. 1-388), in which the marqui Scipio MafTei has shewn himself equally capable of enlarged views and minute disquisitions.
1 This emigration is not attested by any contemporary evidence ,• but the fact is proved by the event, and the circumstances might be preserved by tradition. The citizens of Aquileia retired to the isle ofGradus, those of Padua to Rivus Allus, or Rialto, where the city of Venici WM afterwards built, &c.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 127
narrow channels.11 Till the middle of the fifth CHAP.
v V V V
century, these remote and sequestered spots re- Mt mained without cultivation, with few inhabi- tants, and almost without a name. But the manners of the Venetian fugitives, their arts and their government, were gradually formed by their new situation ; and one of the epistles of Cassiodorius,1 which describes their condition about seventy years afterwards, may be consi- dered as the primitive monument of the republic. The minister of Theodoric compares them, in his quaint declamatory style, to water-fowl, who had fixed their nests on the bosom of the waves; and though he allows that the Venetian pro- vinces had formerly contained many noble fami- lies, he insinuates that they were now reduced by misfortune to the same level of humble po- verty. Fish was the common and almost the universal, food of every rank : their only treasure consisted in the plenty of salt, which they ex- tracted from the sea: and the exchange of that commodity, so essential to human life, was sub- stituted in the neighbouring markets to the cur- rency of gold and silver. A people whose ha- bitations might be doubtfully assigned to the
k The topography and antiquities of the Venetian islands, from Gradns to Clodia, or Cbioggia, are accurately stated in the . Disserta- tio Chrorographicade Italia Medii JEvi, p. 151-155.
1 Cassiodor. Variar. 1. 12, epist. 24. IMaft'ei (Verona Illustrate, part i, p. 240-254) has translated and explained this curious letter, in the spirit of a learned antiquarian and a faithful subject, who con- sidered Venice as the only legitimate offspring of the Roman republic He fixes the date of the epistle, and consequently the prefecture, of Cassiodorius, A. D. 523; and the marquis's authority has the more weight, as he had prepared an edition of his works, and actually pub- lished a dissertation on the true orthography of his name. See Ofscr- vaxioni Letteraire, torn, ii, p. 290-339
128 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, earth or water, soon became alike familiar with the two elements ; and the demands of avarice succeeded to those of necessity. The islanders, who, from Grado to Chiozza, were intimately connected with each other, penetrated into the heart of Italy, by the secure, though laborious, navigation of the rivers and inland canals. Their vessels, which were continually increasing in size and number, visited all the harbours of the gulf; and the marriage, which Venice annually celebrates with the Hadriatic, was contracted in her early infancy. The epistle of Cassiodo- rius, the pretorian prefect, is addressed to the maritime tribunes; and he exhorts them, in a mild tone of authority, to animate the zeal of their countrymen for the public service, whicK required their assistance to transport the maga- zines of wine and oil from the province of Istria to the royal city of Ravenna. The ambiguous office of these magistrates is explained by the tra- dition, that in the twelve principal islands, twelve tribunes, or judges, were created by an annual and popular election. The existence of the Ve- netian republic under the Gothic kingdom of Italy, is attested by the same authentic record, which annihilates their lofty claim of original and perpetual independence."1
The Italians, who had long since renounced the exercise of arms, were surprised, after forty
m See, in the second volume of Atnelot de la Houssaie Histoirc du Gouvernement de Venise, a translation of the famous Squittinio. This book, which has been exalted far above it merits, is stained in every line with the disingenuous malevolence of party • but the priu- cipal evidence, genuine and apochryphal, is brought together, and the reader will easily choose the fair medium.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
years peace, by the approach of a formidable CHAP
barbarian, whom they abhorred, as the enemy fff \
of their religion, as well as of their republic. Amidst the general consternation, ./Etius alone was incapable of fear; but it was impossible that he should achieve, alone, and unassisted, any military exploits worthy of his former renown. The barbarians who had defended Gaul, refused to march to the relief or Italy; and the su cours promised by the eastern emperor were distant and doubtful. Since jiEtius, at the head of his domestic troops, still maintained the field, and harrassed or retarded the march of Attiia, he never shewed himself more truly great, than at the time when his conduct was blamed by an ( ignorant and ungrateful people." If the mind of Valentinian had been susceptible of any ge- nerous sentiments, he would have chosen such a general for his example and his guide. But the timid grandson of Theodosius, instead of sharing the dangers, escaped from the sound of war; and his hasty retreat from Ravenna to Rome, from an impregnable fortress to an open capital, betrayed his secret intention of aban- doning Italy, as soon as the danger should ap- proach his imperial person. This shameful ab- dication was suspended, however, by the spirit of doubt and delay, which commonly aHKeres to pusillanimous counsels, and sometimes corrects
" Sirmond (Not. ad Sidon. Apollin. p. 19) has published a curium passage from the Chronicle of Prosper. Attiia redintegratis viribus, quas in Gallia amiserat, Italiam ingredi per Pannonias intendit; nihil duce nostro jEtio secuadum prioris belli opera prospiciente, &c. He reproaches jEtius with neglecting to guard the Alps, arid with • i!es:i;:i to abandon Ilaly ; but this rash censure may at least be coun- terbalanced by t lie favourable testimonies of Idatius and Isidore
VOL. vi.
K
130 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, their pernicious tendency. The western empe- ^*3l, rorp^rOriEe senate and the people of Rome, embraced the more salutary resolution of depre- cating, by a solemn and suppliant embassy, the wrath of Attila. This important commission was accepted by Avienus, who, from his birth and riches, his consular dignity, the numerous train of his clients, and his personal abilities, held the first rank in the Roman senate. The specious and artful character of Avienus,0 was admirably qualified to conduct a negotiation either of pub- lic or private interest; his colleague Trigetius had exercised the pretorian prefecture of Italy ; and Leo, bishop of Rome, consented to expose his life for the safety of his flock. The genius of Leop was exercised and displayed in the pub- lic misfortunes; and he has deserved the appel- lation of Great, by the successful zeal with which he laboured to establish his opinions and I his authority, under the venerable names of or- I thodox faith and ecclesiastical discipline. The Roman ambassadors were introduced to the tent of Attila, as he lay encamped at the place where the slow-winding Mincius is lost in the foam- ing waves of the lake Benachus,q and trampled,
0 See the original portraits of Avieuus, and hit rival Baiiliut, deli- neated and contrasted in the epistles (i. 9, p. 22) of Sidoniui. He had studied the characters of the two chiefs of the senate ; but he attached himself to Basilius, as the more solid and disinterested friend.
f The character and principles of Leo may be traced in one hun- dred and forty-one original epistles, which illustrate the ecclesiastical history of his long and busy pontificate, from A. D. 440 to 461. Se* Dupin Bibliotheque Ecclesiastique, torn, iii, part ii, p. 120-165.
< tardis ingens ubi flexibus errat
Mincius, et tenera prsetexit aruniliiie ripas
Auoe lacus tantos, te Lari maxirae, teque Fluctibus et fi-cmilu assurgens Benact marina.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 131
•with his Scythian cavalry, the farms of Catullus CHAP and Virgil/ The barbarian monarch listened with favourable, and even respectful, attention ; and the deliverance of Italy was purchased by the immense ransom, or dowry, of the princess Honoria. The state of his army might facilitate the treaty, and hasten his retreat. Their mar- tial spirit was relaxed by the wealth and indo- lence of a warm climate. The shepherds of the North, whose ordinary food consisted of milk and raw flesh, indulged themselves too freely in the use of bread, of wine, and of meat pre- pared and seasoned by the arts of cookery ; and the progress of disease revenged in some mea- sure the injuries of the Italians.1 When Attila declared his resolution of carrying his victorious arms to the gates of Rome, he was admonished by his friends, as well as by his enemies, that Ala- ric had not long survived the conquest of the eternal city. His mind, superior to real danger, was assaulted by imaginary terrors; nor could he escape the influence of superstition, which
The Marquis Maffei (Verona Illustrata, part i, p. 95, 129, 221 ; part ii, p. 2, 6) has illustrated with taste and learning this interesting topography. He places the interview of Attila and St. Lea near Ariolica, or Adelica, now Peschiera, at the conflux of the lake and river; ascertains the villa of Catulus, in the delightful penninsulaof Sarmio, and discovers the Andes of Virgil, in the village of Bandes, precisely situate qua se subducere colles insipiunt, where the Vero- nese hills imperceptibly slope down into the plain of Mantua.
s Si statim infesto agmine urbem pctiissent, grande discritnen esset : sed iu Venetia quo fere tractu Italia mollissima est, ipsa soli coelique dementia robur elanguit. Adhoc panis usu carnisque coctae, ft dul- cedine vini mitigates, &c. This passage of Floras (iii, 3) is still more applicable to the Huns than to the Cimbri, and it may serve as a commentary on the celestial plague, with which Idatius and Isidore have afflicted the troopc of Attila.
132 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, had so often been subservient to his desiens.*
Y "¥ Y V
The pressing eloquence of Leo, his majestic aspect, and sacerdotal robes, excited the vene- ration of Attila for the spiritual father of the Christians. The apparition of the two apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, who menaced the bar- barian with instant death, if he rejected the prayer of their successor, is one of the noblest legends of ecclesiatical tradition. The safety of Rome might deserve the interposition of celes- tial beings; and some indulgence is due lo a fable, which has been represented by the pencil of Raphael, and chissel of Algardi.u The death Before the king of the Huns evacuated Italy, A. D. 453. he threatened to return more dreadful, and more implacable, if his bride the princess Honoria, were not delivered to his ambassadors within the term stipulated by the treaty. Yet, in the mean- while, Attila relieved his tender anxiety, by add- Iing a beautiful maid, whose name was Ildico, to the list of his innumerable wives.1 Their mar-
( The historian Priscus had positively mentioned the effect which this example produced on the mind of Attila. Jornandes c. 42, p. 67*.
u The picture of Raphael is in the Vatican ; the basso (or perhaps the alto) relievo of Algardi, on one of the altars of St. Peter, (see Dubos, Reflections sur la Poesie et sur la Peinture, torn, i, p. 519, 520). Barouius (Annal. Eccles. A. D. 452, N°. 57, 58) bravely sus- tains the truth of the apparition ; which is rejected, however, by the most learned and pious catholics.
* Attila, ut Priscus historicus refert, extinctionis snz tempore, puellam Ildico nomine, decoram valde, sibi matrimonium post inmi- marabiles uxores . . . socians. Jornandes, c. 49, p. 683, 684, He
I afterwards ados, (c. 50, p. 686), Filii Attilae, quorum per liceutiam libidiuis poene populus fuit. Polygamy has been established among the Tartars of every age. The rank of plebeian wives is regulated only by their personal charms ; and the faded matron prepares, with- out
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 133
was celebrated with barbaric pomp and CHAP.
"Y "V "Y V
festivity, at his wooden palace beyond the Da- ^
nube ; and the monarch, oppressed with wine and sleep, retired, at a late hour, from the ban- quet to the nuptial bed. His attendants con- tinued to respect his pleasures, or his repose, the greatest part of the ensuing day, till the unusual silence alarmed their fears and suspicions: and, after attempting to awaken Attila by loud and repeated cries, they at length broke into the royal apartment. They found the trembling bride sitting by the bedside, hiding her face with her veil, and lamenting her own danger, as well as the death of the king, who had expired during the night.y An artery had suddenly burst; and as Attila lay in a supine posture, he was suffo- cated by a torrent of blood, which, instead of finding a passage through the nostrils, regurgi- tated into the lungs and stomach. His body was solemnly exposed in the midst of the plain, under a silken pavillion, and the chosen squa- drons of the Huns, wheeling round in measured evolutions, chanted a funeral song to the me- mory of a hero, glorious in his life, invincible in his death,vthe father of his people, the scourge
out a murmur, the bed which is destined for her blooming rival. But in royal families, the daughters of khans communicate to their sous a prior right of inheritance. See Genealogical History, p. 406, 407, 408.
y The report of her guilt reached Constantinople, where it obtained a very different name; and Marcellinus observes, that the tyrant of Einope was slain in the night by the hand, and the knife of a wo- man. Corneille, who has adapted the genuine account to his tragedy, describes the irruption of blood in forty bombast lines, and Attila «- claims, with ridiculous fury,
S'il ne veut s'arreter (his blood),
(Dit-ilj on me payera ce qui m'en va couter.
134 THE DECLINE
CHAP, of his enemies and the terror of the world. Ac-
\ \ \ V ^SjJ^fcJ^^^jtfJff***^^*1^*1* >'l H IP*-.JU*>'*J~" Ml '•• "~
„ cording to their national custom, the barbarians
cut off a part of their hair, gashed their faces with unseemly wounds, and bewailed their vali- ant leader as he deserved, not with the tears of women, but with the blood of warriors. The remains of Attila were inclosed within three cof- fins, of gold, of silver, and of iron, and privately (buried in the night: the spoils of nations were thrown into his grave: the captives who had opened the ground were inhumanly massacred ; and the same Huns, who had indulged such ex- cessive grief, feasted, with dissolute and intem- perate mirth, about the recent sepulchre of their king. It was reported at Constantinople, that on the fortunate night in which he expired, Mar- cian beheld in a dream the bow of Attila broken asunder; and the report may be allowed to prove, how seldom the image of that formidable barbarian was absent from the mind of a Ro- man emperor.1
The revolution which subverted the empire of
empire. tne jjuns> established the fame of Attila, whose genius alone had sustained the huge and dis- jointed fabric. After his death the boldest chief- tains aspired to the rank of kings ; the most pow- erful kings refused to acknowledge a superior ; and the numerous sons, whom so many various mothers bore to the deceased monarch, divided and disputed, like a private inheritance, the so- vereign command of the nations of Germany and
* Th« curious circumstances of the death and funeral of Attila, are related by Jornandei, (c. 49, p. 683, 684, 685), and were probably transcribed from Prweui.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 135
Scythia. The bold Ardaricfelt and represented CHAP the disgrace of this servile partition: and his sub- ]~~*fm'^ jects, the warlike Gepidae, with the Ostrogoths, under the conduct of three valiant brothers, en- couraged their allies to vindicate the rights of freedom and royalty. In a bloody and decisive conflict on the banks of the river Netad, in Pan- noriia, the lance of the Gepidse, the sword of the Goths, the arrows of the Huns, the Suevi in- fantry, the light arms of the Heruli, and the heavy weapons of the Alani, encountered or sup- ported each other; and the victory of Ardaric was accompanied with the slaughter of thirty thousand of his enemies. Ellac, the eldest son of Attila, lost his life and crown in the memo- rable battle of Netad ; his early valour had raised him to the throne of the Acatzires, a Scythian people, whom he subdued; and his father, who loved the superior merit, would have envied the death, of Ellac.* His brother Dengisich, with an army of Huns, still formidable in their flight and ruin, maintained his ground above fifteen years on the banks of the Danube. The palace of Attila, with the old country of Dacia, from the Carpathian hills to the Euxine, became the seat of a new power, which was erected by Ar- daric, king of the Gepidae. The Pannonian conquests, from Vienna to Sirmium, were occu-
* See Jornandes, de Rebus Geticis, c. 60, p. 685, 686, 687, 688. His distinction of the national arms is curious and important. Nam ibi admirandum reor fuisse spectaculum, ubi cernere erat cunctis, pugnaiitem Gothum ense furentem. Gepidam in vulncre auorum cuncta tela frangentem, Suevum pede, Hunnum sagitta praesumere, Alanum gravi, Herulum levi, armatura, aciem instruere. I am not precisely informed of the situation of the river N«Ud.
136 THE ECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, pied by the Ostrogoths; and the settlements of \f the tribe, who had so bravely asserted their na- tive freedom, were irregularly distributed, ac- cording to the measure of their respective strength. Surrounded and oppressed by the multitude of his father's slaves, the kingdom of Dengisich was confined to the circle of his wag- gons , his desperate courage urged him to invade the eastern empire; he fell in battle; and his head, ignominiously exposed in the Hippodrome, exhibited a grateful spectacle to the people of Constantinople. Attila had fondly or supersti- tiously believed, that Irnac, the youngest of his sons, was destined to perpetuate the glories of his race. The character of that prince, who at- tempted to moderate the rashness of his brother Dengisich, was more suitable to the declining condition of the Huns; and Irnac, with his sub- ject iiordes, retired into the heart of Lesser Scy- thia. They were soon overwhelmed by a tor- rent of new barbarians, who followed the same road which their own ancestors had formerly discovered. The Geougen, or Avares, whose residence is assigned by the Greek writers to the shores of the ocean, impelled the adjacent tribes; till at length the Igours of the North, issuing from the cold Siberian regions, which produce the most valuable furs, spread them- selves over the desert, as far as the Boristhenes and Caspian gates ; and finally extinguished the empire of the Huns.b
Such an event might contribute to the safety
* Two modern historians hare thrown much new light on the ruin and diviiioM of the empire of Attila. M de Buat. by his laborious
und
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 137
of the eastern empire, under the reign of a CHAP prince, who conciliated the friendship, without ***^ forfeiting the esteem, of the barbarians. But vaientini- the emperor of the West, the feeble and dissolute J^™^ Valentinian, who had reached Tns^thirty-liffli patrician yrar without attaining the age of reason or coil- A. D. 454$ rage, abused his apparent security to undermine tlieTfoundations of his own throne, by the mur- der of the patrician j^Etius. From theTrisHnct of a base and jealous mind, he hated the man who was universally celebrated as the terror of the barbarians, and the support of the republic; and his new favourite, the eunuch Heraclms, awakened the emperor from the supine lethargy, which might be disguised, during the life of Placidia," by the excuse of filial piety k The fame of ^Etius, his wealth and dignity, the nu- merous and martial train of barbarian followers, his powerful dependents, who filled the civil offices of the state, and the hopes of his son Gauderitius, who was already contracted to Eu- doxia, the emperor's daughter, had raised him above the rank of a subject. The ambitious de- signs, of which he was secretly accused, excited the fears, as well as the resentment, of Valenti-
and minute diligence, torn, viii, p. 3-31, 68-94); and M. de Guignes, by his extraordinary knowledge of the Chinese language and writers. See Hist, dcs Huns, torn, ii, p. 315-319.
c Placidia died at Rome, November 27, A. D. 450. She was buried at Ravenna, where her sepulchre, and even her corpse, seated in a chair of cypress wood, were preserved for ages. The empress received mauy complaints from the orthodox clergy ; and St. Peter Chrysolo- gus assured her, that her zeal for the Trinity had been recompensed by an august trinity of children. See Tillemont, Hist, des £mp. torn, vi, p. 240.
138 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. nian. -ZEtius himself, supported by the consci- .^ ousness of his merit, his services, and perhaps his innocence, seems to have maintained a haughty and indiscreet behaviour. The patri- cian offended his sovereign by an hostile decla- ration; he aggravated the offence, by compelling him to ratify, with a solemn oath, a treaty of re- conciliation and alliance; he proclaimed his sus- picions, he neglected his safety : and from a vain confidence that the enemy, whom he despised, was incapable even of a manly crime, he rashly ventured his person in the palace of Rome. Whilst he urged, perhaps with intemperate ve- hemence, the marriage of his son ; Valentinian, I drawing his sword, the first sword he had ever » drawn, plunged it in the breast of a general who had saved his empire: his courtiers and eunuchs ambitiously struggled to imitate their master ; and ./Etius, pierced with an hundred wounds, fell dead in the royal presence. Boethius, the pretorian prefect, was killed at the same mo- ment; and before the event could be divulged, the principal friends of the patrician were sum- moned to the palace, and separately murdered. The horrid deed, palliated by the specious names of justice and necessity, was immediately com- municated by the emperor to his soldiers, his subjects and his allies. The nations, who were strangers or enemies to ^Etius, generously de- plored the unworthy fate of a hero ; the barba- rians who had been attached to his service, dis- sembled their grief and resentment; and the public contempt, which had been so long enter- tained for Valentinian, was at once converted
OF THE ROMAN EMPIKIl 139
into deep and universal abhorrence. Such sen- CHAP.
XXXV
timents seldom pervade the walls of a palace; '„
yet the emperor was confounded by the honest reply of a Roman, whose approbation he had not f disdained to solicit. " I am ignorant, Sir, of
" your motives or
" that ou have acted like a man who cuts off
. HMfMMMMMMI . , , . tpmuftlg
his nglithand with his left.
s to have attracted
The luxury of Rome seems to have attracted and ravi»u
the long and frequent visits of Valentinian ; who was consequently more despised at Rome, than in any other part of his dominions. A republican spirit was insensibly revived in the senate, as their authority, and even their supplies, became necessary for the support of his feeble govern- ment. The stately demeanour of an hereditary monarch offended their pride; and the pleasures of Valentinian were injuries to the peace and honour of noble families. The birth of the em- press Eudoxia was equal to his own, and her charms and tender affection deserved those testimonies of love, which her inconstant hus- band dissipated in vague and unlawful amours. Petronius Maximus, a wealthy senator of the Anician family, who had been twice consul, was possessed of a chaste and beautiful wife: her obstinate resistance served only to irritate the desires of Valentinian ; and he resolved to ac- complish them either by stratagem or force. Deep gaming was one of the vices of the court:
d Aetium Placidius mnrtavit semivir amens, is the expression of Sidonius, (Panegyr. Avit. 359). The poet knew the world, and was not inclined to flatter a minister who had injured or disgraced Avitm and Majorian, the successive heroes of his song.
140 THl DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, the emperor, who, by chance or contrivance, had
J, gained from Maximus a considerable sum, un-
courteously exacted his ring as a security for the debt; and sent it by a trusty messenger to his wife, with an order, in her husband's name, that she should immediately attend the em- press Eudoxia. The unsuspecting wife of Max- imus was conveyed in her litter to the im- perial palace; the emissaries of her impatient lover conducted her to a remote and silent bed-chamber ; and Yalentinian violated, without remorse, the laws of hospitality. Her tears, when she returned home ; her deep affliction ; and her bitter reproaches against her husband, whom she considered as the accomplice of his own shame, excited Maximus to a just revenge ; the desire of revenge was stimulated by ambi- tion ; and he might reasonably aspire, by the free suffrage of the Roman senate, to the throne of a detested and despicable rival. Valentinian, who supposed that every human breast was devoid, like his own, of friendship and gratitude, had imprudently admitted among his guards several domestics and followers of ^Etius. Two of these, of barbarian race, were persuaded to execute a sacred and honourable duty, by punishing with death the assassin of their patron : and their in- trepid courage did not long expect a favourable moment. Whilst Valentinian amused himself in the field of Mars with the spectacle of some mi- litary sports, they suddenly rushed upon him with drawn weapons, despatched the guilty He- raclius and stabbed the emperor to the heart, without the least onuosition from his numerous
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 141
train, who seemed to rejoice in the tyrant's death. Such was the fate of Valentinian III,' thejast Roman emperor of the family of Theodosius. Death of He faithfully imitated the hereditary weakness of his cousin and his two uncles, without inhe- riting the gentleness, the purity, the innocence, which alleviate, in their characters the want of spirit and Ability. Valentinian was less excus- able, since he had passions, without virtues : even his religion was questionable ; and though he never deviated into the paths of heresy, he scandalized the pious Christians by his attach- ment to the profane arts of magic and divination.
As early as the time of Cicero and Varro, it symPtom» was the opinion of the Roman augers, that the and rum. twelve vultures, which Romulus had seen, repre- sented the twelve centuries, assigned for the fatal period of his city/ This prophecy, disregarded, perhaps, in the season of health and prosperity, inspired the people with gloomy apprehensions, when the twelfth century, clouded with disgrace and misfortune, was almost elapsed ;g and even posterity must acknowledge with some surprise,
• With regard to the cause and circumstances of the deaths of jEtius and Valentinian, our information is dark and imperfect. Pro- copious (de Bell. Vandal. 1. i, c, 4, p. 186, 187, 188) is a fabulous writer for the events which precede his own memory. His narra- tive must therefore he supplied and corrected by five or six Chroni- cles, none of which were composed in Rome or Italy ; and which can only express, in broken sentences, the popular rumours, as they were conveyed to Gau , Spain, Africa, Constantinople, or Alexandria.
f This interpretation of Vettius, a celebrated auger, was quoted by Varro, in the xviiith book of his Antiquities. Censorinus, de Die Natili. c. 17, p. 90, 91, edit. Havercamp.
8 According to Varro, the twelfth century would expire A. n. 447, but the uncertainty of the true era of Rome might allow some lati- tude of anticipation or delay. '.The poets of the age, Claudian, (de
1 42 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, that the arbitrary interpretation of an accidental
V V V \T * •
^ or fabulous circumstance, has been seriously verified in the downfall of the western empire. But its fall was announced by a clearer omen than the flight of vultures : the Roman govern- ment appeared every day less formidable to its enelnies, more odious and oppressive to its sub- jects.11 The taxes were multiplied with the public distress ; economy was neglected in proportion as it became necessary ; and the injustice of the rich shifted the unequal burden from themselves to the people, whom they defrauded of the indul- gences that might sometimes have alleviated their misery. The severe inquisition, which confis- cated their goods, and tortured their persons, compelled the subjects of Valentinian to prefer the more simple tyranny of the barbarians, to fly to the woods and mountains, or to embrace the vile and abject condition of mercenary servants. They abjured and abhorred the name of Roman citizens, which had formerly excited the ambi- tion of mankind. The Armorican provinces of Gaul, and the greatest part of Spain, were thrown into a state of disorderly independence,
Bell. Gretico, 265), and Sidonius. (in Panegyr. Avit 357), may b« admitted as fair witnesses of the popular opinion. Jam rcputant annos, iutcrceptoque volatii Vulturis, incidunt properatis saecula metis.
Jam prope fata tui bissenas Vulturis alas Implebant ; scis namque tuos, scis Roma, labores.
See Dubos, Hist. Critique, torn, i, p. 340-346. 11 The fifth book of Salvian is filled with pathetic lamentations, and vehement invectives. His immoderate freedom serves to prove the weakness, as well as the corruption, of the Roman government. Hi* book was published after the lots of Africa, (A. D. 439.), and before Attila's war. (A. D. 451).
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 143
by the confederations of the Bagaudae : and the CHAP.
. . . XXXV.
imperial ministers pursued with prescriptive laws, and ineffectual arms, the rebels whom they had made.' If all the barbarian conquerors had been annihilated in the same hour, their total destruction would not have restored the empire of the West : and if Rome still survived, she survived the loss of freedom, of virtue, and
/» i ~ • " --•.--.
ofhonouj:.
' The Bagaud* of Spain, who fought pitched battles with the Roman troops, are repeatedly mentioned in the Chronicle of Idatiui. Salvian has described their distress and rebellion in very forcible lan- guage. Itaque nomen civium Romanorum .... nunc ultro repudia- tur ao fugitur nee vile tamen Bed etiam abominabile poetic habetur . ...Et bine est ut etium hi qui ad barbaros non confugiunt, bar- bari tamen esse coguntur, scilicit ut est pars magna Hispanorum, et non minima Gallorum,.. ...De Bagaudis nunc inihi sermo est, qui per malos judices et cruentos spoliati, afflieti, necati postquam jus Romanae libertatis amiserant, etiam houorein Romani nominis perdi-
derunt Vocamus rebelleg, vocamus perditos quos esse compulu
mug criminosos. De Gubernat, Dei, 1. v, p. 158, 15tt.
144 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. XXXVI.
Sack of Rome by Ge/iseric, king of the Vandals — His naval depredations — Succession of the last emperors of the West, Maxinms> Avitus, Majorian, Sevcrus, Anthemius, Olybrius, Glyce- rius, Nepos, Augustulus — Total extinction of the western empire — Reign ofOdoacer, the first barbarian king of Italy.
xx*xvi TflE loss or desolation of the provinces from the ocean to the Alps, impaired the glory arid greatness of Rome : her internal prosperity was
power of ? . . ,
tiie van- irretrievably destroyed by the separation of A!'SD. 439- Africa. The rapacious Vandals confiscated 455> the patrimonial estates of the senators, and in- tercepted the regular subsidies, which relieved the poverty, and encouraged the idleness, of the plebeians. The distress of the Romans was soon aggravated by an unexpected attack : and the province, so long cultivated for their use by industrious and obedient subjects, was armed against them by an ambitious barbarian. The Vandals and Alani, who followed the success- ful standard of Genseric, had acquired a rich and fertile territory, which stretched along the coast above ninety days journey from Tangier to Tripoli ; but their narrow limits were pres- sed and confined, on either side, by the sandy desert and the Mediterranean. The discovery and conouest of the black nations, that might
OP THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 140
dwell beneath the torrid zone, could not tempt the rational ambition of Genseric : but he cast his eyes towards the sea ; he resolved to cre- ate a naval power, and his bold resolution was executed with steady and active perseverance. The woods of mount Atlas afforded an inex-; haustible nursery of timber; his new subjects were skilled in the arts of navigation and ship- building ; he animated his daring Vandals to embrace a mode of warfare which would ren- der every maritime country accessible to their arms ; the Moors and Africans were allured by the hopes of plunder ; and, after an interval of six centuries, the fleets that issued from the port of Carthage again claimed the empire of the Mediterranean. The success of the Vanr dals, the conquests of Sicily, the sack of Paler- mo, and the secret descents on the coast of Leu- cania, awakened and alarmed the mother of Va- lentinian, and the sister of Theodosius. Alli- ances were formed ; and armaments, expensive and ineffectual, were prepared for the destruc- tion of the common enemy ; who reserved his courage to encounter those dangers which his policy could not prevent or elude. The de- signs of the Roman government were repeated- ly baffled by his artful delays, ambiguous pro- mises, and apparent concessions ; and the inter- position, of his formidable confederate the king of the Huns, recalled the emperors from the conquest of Africa to the care of their domestic safety. The revolutions of the palace, which left the western empire without a defender, and VOL. vi. L
THE DECLINE AlS'D FALL
CHAP, without a lawful prince, dispelled the appre-
,', hensions, and stimulated the avarice, of Gense-
ric. He immediately equipped a numerous fleet of Vandals and Moors, and cast anchor at the mouth of the Tiber, about three months af- ter the death of Valentinian, and the elevation of Maximus to the imperial throne. Th« cha- The private life of the senator Petronius Maxi- rei^n'of d mus»* was °ften alleged as a rare example of hu- theempe- manfelicity. His birth was noble and illustrious, mus, " since he descended from the Anician family ; his March4i7'. dignity was supported by an adequate patrimony in land and money ; and these advantages of fortune were accompanied with liberal arts and decent manners, which adorn or imitate the in- estimable gifts of genius and virtue. The luxury of his palace and table was hospitable and ele- gant. Whenever Maximus appeared in public, he was surrounded by a train of grateful and ob- sequious clients;11 and it is possible that among these clients, he might deserve and possess some real friends. His merit was rewarded by the favour of the prince and senate : he thrice exer- cised the office of pretorian prefect of Italy ; he was twice invested with the consulship, and he obtained the rank of patrician. These civil ho- nours were not incompatible with the enjoyment
" Sidonius Apolliuaris composed the thirteenth epistle of the se- cond book, to refute the paradox of his friend Serranus, who enter- tained a singular, though generous, enthusiasm for the deceased em- peror. This epistle, with some indulgence, may claim the praise of an elegant composition ; and it throws much light on the character of Maximus.
k Clientum, praevia, pedisequa, circumfusa, populositas, is the train which Sidunius himself (I i. epist. 9) assigns to another sena- tor of consular rank.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 147
of leisure and tranquillity ; his hours, according CHAP.
to the demands of pleasure or reason, were ac- XXXVI- i ' ~*r, **,**(
curately distributed by a water-clock ; and this avarice of time may be allowed to prove the sense which Maximus entertained of his own happiness. The injury which he received from the emperor Valentinian, appears to excuse the most bloody revenge. Yet a philosopher might have reflected, that, if the resistance of his wife had been sincere, her chastity was still inviolate, and that it could never be restored if she had consented to the will of the adulterer. A pa- triot would have hesitated, before he plunged himself and his country into those inevitable ca- lamities, which must follow the extinction of the royal house of Theodosius. The imprudent Maximus disregarded these salutary conside- rations : he gratified his resentment and ambi- tion ; he saw the bleeding corpse of Valentinian at his feet ; and he heard himself saluted empe- ror by the unanimous voice of the senate and people. But the day of his inauguration was the last day of his happiness. He was impri- soned (such is the lively expression of Sidonius) in the palace; and after passing a sleepless night, he sighed that he had attained the summit of his wishes, and aspired only to descend from the dangerous elevation. Oppressed by the weight of the diadem, he communicated his anxious thoughts to his friend and questor Fulgentius ; and when he looked back with unavailing re- gret on the secure pleasures of his former life, the emperor exclaimed, — " O fortunate Darno-
148 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. " cles,c thy reign began and ended with the same xxx . '» a weu known allusion, which
tius afterwards repeated as an instructive lesson for princes and subjects.
, The reign of Maxim us continued about three June 12; rnonths. His hours, of which he had lost the command, were disturbed by remorse, or guilt, . or terror, and his throne was shaken by the se- ditions of the soldiers, the people, and the con- federate barbarians. The marriage of his son Palladius with the eldest daughter of the late emperor might tend to establish the hereditary succession of his family ; but the violence which he offered to the empress Eudoxia, could proceed only from the blind impulse of lust or revenge. His own wife, the cause of these tragic events, had been seasonably removed by death ; and the widow of Valentinian was compelled to violate her decent mourning, perhaps her real grief, and to submit to the embraces of a pre- sumptuous usurper, whom she suspected as the assassin of her deceased husband. These sus- picions were soon justified by the indiscreet confession of Maximus himself; and he M.antou- ly provoked the hatred of his reluctant bride, who was still conscious that she descended from a line of emperors. From the East, however, Eudoxia could not hope to obtain any effectual
e Districtus ensis cut super impia
Cervice pendct, non Sicul>e dopes
Dulcem elaborabunt saporem :
Non nvium Citharaeque cantus
Somnum reducent. Herat. Carm. iii. 1.
Ridonius concludes his letter with the story of Damocles, which Ci- cero (Tusculian, T. 20, 21) had so inimitably told.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 149
assistance : her father and her aunt Pulcheria -£***?.
were dead ; her mother languished at Jerusalem ^
in disgrace and exile ; and the sceptre of Con- stantinople was in the hands of a stranger. She directed her eyes towards Carthage ; secretly implored the aid of the king of the Vandals ; and persuaded Genseric to improve the fair oppor- tunity of disguising his rapacious designs by the specious names of honour, justice, and compas- sion.*1 Whatever abilities Maximus might have shewn in a subordinate station, he was found incapable of administering an empire ; and though he might easily have been informed of the naval preparations which were made on the opposite shores of Africa, he expected with su- pine indifference the approach of the enemy, without adopting any measures of defence, of negociation, or of a timely retreat. When the Vandals disembarked at the mouth of the Ti- ber, the emperor was suddenlyroused from his le- thargy by the clamours of atrembling and exaspe- rated multitude. The only hope which present- ed itself to his astonished mind was that of a precipitate flight, and he exhorted the senators to imitate the example of their prince. But no sooner did Maximus appear in the streets than he was assaulted by a shower of stones : a Ro- man, or a Burgundian soldier, claimed the hon-
* Notwithstanding the evidence of Procopius, Evagrius, Idatiw, Marcellinius, &c. the teamed Muratori (Annali d'ltalia, torn. ir. p. 249)' doubts the reality of this invitation, and observes, with great truth, — " Non si puo dir quanto sia facile il popolo a sognare e spae- " ciar voci false." But his argument, from the interval of Urn* nnl place, i» extremely feeble. The figs which grew near Car- thage were produced to the senate of Rome on Ike third day.
150 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP our of the first wound: his mangled body was
XXXVI . .
I ignominiously cast into the Tiber; the Roman
people rejoiced in the punishment which they had inflicted on the author of the public calami- ties; and the domestics of Eudoxia signalized their zeal in the service of their mistress.^b bni sack of On the third day after the tumult, Genseric Jhe"?.^ boldly advanced from the port of Ostia to the d»'^ gates of the defenceless city. Instead of a sally June is- ' of the Roman youth, there issued from the gates an unarmed and venerable procession of the bishop at the head of his clergy/ The fearless spirit of Leo, his authority and eloquence, again mitigated the fierceness of a barbarian con- queror: the king of the Vandals promised to spare the unresisting multitude, to protect the buildings from fire, and to exempt the captives from torture; and although such orders were neither seriously given, nor strictly obeyed, the mediation of Leo was glorious to himself, and in some degree beneficial to his country. But Rome and its inhabitants were delivered to the licentiousness of the Vandals and Moors, whose blind passions revenged the injuries of Carthage. The pillage lasted fourteen days and nights: and all that yet remained of public or private
• - • - Infidcque tibi Burgundio ductu Extorquet trepida mactandi principis iras.
Sidon. in Panegyr. Avit. 442.
A remarkable line, which insinuates that Rome and Maximus were betrayed by their Burgundian mercenaries.
f The apparent success of Pope Leo may be justified by Prosper, and the Historia Miscellan. ; but the improbable notion of Barouias, (A. ». 4S5, N°. 13), that Genseric spared the three apostolic churches, u not countenanced even by the doubtful testimony of the Liber Pan-
OF THE ROMAN tMPIRE.
wealth of sacred or profane treasure, was dili- CHAP gently transported to the vessels of Genseric. among the spoils, the splendid relics of two tem- ples, or rather of two religions, exhibited a me- morable example of the vicissitude of human and divine things. Since the abolition of pagan- ism, the capital had been violated and aban- doned ; yet the statues of the gods and heroes were still respected, and the curious roof of gilt bronze was reserved for the rapacious hands of Genseric.1 The holy instruments of the Jewish worship,11 the gold table, and the gold candle- stick with seven branches, originally framed ac- cording to the particular instructions of God himself, and which were placed in the sanctuary of his temple, had been ostentatiously displayed to the Roman people in the triumph of Titus. They were afterwards deposited in the temple of Peace ; and at the end of fflur hundred years, the spoils of Jerusalem were transferred from Rome to Carthage, by a barbarian who derived his origin from the shores of the Baltic. These ancient monuments might attract the notice of curiosity, as well as of avarice. But the chris-
* The profusion of Catulus, the first who gilt the roof of the ca- pitol, was not universally approved, (IMin. Hist. IS'atur. xxxiii, 18); but it was far exceeded by the emperor's and the external gilding of the temple cost Domitian 12,000 talents, 2,400,0001.) The expressions of Claudian and Rutilius (luce metalli annula . . . fattigia aslris, and confunduntqne vagos deluhra micantia visuij manifestly prove that this splendid covering was not removed either by the Christian* or the Goths, (see Donalus Roma Antique, 1. ii, c. 6, p. 125). It should seem that the roof of the capitol was decorated with gilt statuei, and chariots drawn by four horses.
b The curious reader may consult the learned and accurate treatise of Hadrian Roland, de Spoliis Templi Hierosolymitani in Arc* Ti- tiano Rome conspicuis, iu 12m<>, Trajecti ad Rheuum, 1716.
152 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP tian churches, enriched and adorned hv fhe prc-
XXXVI . . . *
^ ^ vailing superstition of the times, afforded more
plentiful materials for sacrilege; and the pious liberality of Pope Leo, who melted six silver vases, the gift of Constantine, each of an hundred pounds weight, is an evidence of the damage which he attempted to repair. In the forty-five years, that had elapsed since the Gothic inva- sion, the pomp and luxury of Rome were in some measure restored ; and it was difficult either to escape, or to satisfy, the avarice of a conqueror, who possessed leisure to collect, and ships to transport, the wealth of the capital. The imperial ornaments of the palace, the mag- nificent furniture and wardrobe, the sideboards of massy plate, were accumulated with disorder- ly rapine: the gold and silver amounted to several thousand talents ; yet even the brass and copper were laboriously removed. Eudoxia herself, who advanced to meet her friend and deliverer, soon bewailed the imprudence of her own con- duct. She was rudely stripped of her jewels; and the unfortunate empress, with her two daughters, the only surviving remains of the great Theodosius, was compelled, as a captive, to fol- low the haughty Vandal ; who immediately hoist- ed sail, and returned with a prosperous navi- gation to the port oftCarthage.1 Many thousand Romans of both sexes, chosen for some useful or agreeable qualifications, reluctantly embark-
(i The vessel which transported the relics of the capital, was the only one of the whole fleet that suffered shipwreck. If a bigoted so- phist, a pagan bigot, had mentioned the accident, he might have re- joiced that this cargo of sacrilege was lost in the »ea.
j OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 153
ed on board the fleet of Genseric ; and their dis- CHAP
"\. "\. V V¥
tress was aggravated by the unfeeling barbari- ^^J,^J, ans, who, in the division of the booty, separated the wives from the husbands, and the children from their parents. The charity of Deogratis, bishop of Carthage,k was their only consolation and support. He generously sold the gold and silver plate of the church to purchase the free- dom of some, to alleviate the slavery of others, and to assist the wants and infirmities of a cap- tive multitude, whose wealth was impaired by the hardships which they had suffered in their passage from Italy to Africa. By his order, two spacious churches were converted into hos- pitals : the sick were distributed in convenient beds, and liberally supplied with food and me- dicines; and the aged prelate repeated his visits both in the day and night, with an assiduity that surpassed his strength, and a tender sym- pathy which enhanced the value of his services. Compare this scence with the field of Cannae ; and judge between Hannibal and the succes- sor of St. Cyprian.1
The deaths of jiEtius and Valentinian had re- Th« «"-. laxed the ties which held the barbarians of Gaul J^T *"" in peace and subordination. The sea-coast was tuly0 1J55' infested by the Saxons ; the Alemanni and the
* See Victor Vitensig, de Penecut. Vandal. 1. i, c. 8, p. 11, 12, edit. Ruinart. Deogratias governed the church of Carthage only three years. If he had not been privately buried, his corpse would hare b«en torn piecemeal by the mad devotion of the people.
1 The general evidence for the death of Maximus, and the sack of Rome by the Vandals, is comprised in Sidonius, (Panegyr. Avit. 441-450); Procopius, (de Bell. Vandal. 1. i, c. 4, 5, p. 188, 189, and 1. ii, c 9, p. 255); Evagrius, (I. ii, c. 7); Jornandes, (de Reb. Geticit, c. 46, p. 677), and the Chronicles of Idatius, Prosper, Marcellinus, and Theophanes, under the proper year.
154 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. Franks advanced from the Rhine to the Seine;
v v V VI
.f I and the ambition of the Goths seemed to medi- tate more extensive and permanent conquests. The emperor Maxim us relieved himself, by a ju- dicious choice, from the weight of these distant cares; he silenced the solicitations of his freinds, listened to the voice of fame, and promoted a stranger to the general command of the forces in Gaul. Avitus,m the stranger, whose merit was so nobly rewarded, descended from a weal- thy and honourable family in the diocess of Au- vergne. The convulsions of the times urged him to embrace, with the same ardour, the civil and military professions; and the indefatigable youth blended the studies of literature and ju- risprudence with the exercise of arms and hunt- ing. Thirty years of bis life were laudably spent in the public service; he alternately displayed his talents in war and negociation ; and the sol- dier of jiEtius, after executing the most impor- tant embassies, was raised to the station of pre- torian prefect of Gaul. Either the merit of Avi- tus excited envy, or his moderation was desirous of repose, since he calmly retired to an estate, which he possessed in the neighbourhood of Clermont. A copious stream, issuing from the mountain, and falling headlong in many a loud and foaming cascade, discharged its waters into a lake about two miles in length, and the villa was pleasantly seated on the margin of the lake. The baths, the porticos, the summer and winter
™ The prirate life and deration of Aritui mu»t be deduced, with becoming suspicion, from the panegyric pronounced by Sidonius ApoU linaris, hit subject, and hit son-in-law.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 155
apartments, were adapted to the purpose of lux- CHAP ury and use; and the adjacent country afforded the various prospects of woods, pastures, and meadows." In this retreat, where A vittis amused his leisure with books, rural sports, the prac- tice of husbandry, and the society of his friends," he received the imperial diploma, which consti- tuted him master-general of the cavalry and in- fantry of Gaul. He assumed the military com- mand, the barbarians suspended their fury; and whatever means he might employ, whatever concessions he might be forced to make, the peo- ple enjoyed the benefits of actual tranquillity. But the fate of Gaul depended on the Visigoths; and the Roman general, less attentive to his dig- nity than to the public interest, did not disdain to visit Thoulouse in the character of an ambas- sador. He was received with courteous hos- pitality by Theodoric, the king of the Goths; but while Avitus laid the foundations of a solid alliance with that powerful nation, he was as- tonished by the intelligence, that the emperor Maximus was slain, and that Rome had been pillaged by the Vandals. A vacant throne,
. n After the example of the younger Pliny, Sidonius (1. ii, c. 2) has laboured the florid, prolix, and obscure description of his villa, which bore the name, ( Afitacum), and had been the property of Avitus. The precise situation is not ascertained. Consult however the note* of Savaroii and Sirmond.
0 Sidonius (1. ii, epist. 9) has described the country life of the Gal- lic nobles, in a visit which he made to his friends, whose estates were in the neighbourhood of Nismes. The morn ing- hours were spent in the sphxristerium, or tennis-court; or in the library, which was fur- nished with Latin authors, profane and religious ; the former for the men, the latter for the ladies. The table was twice served, at dinner and supper, with hot meat (boiled and roasl) and wine. During the intermediate time, the company slept, took the air on horseback, and used the warm bath.
156 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP which lie might ascend without guilt or danger, tempted his ambition ;p and the Visigoths were
easily persuaded to support his claim by their irresistible suffrage. They loved the person of Avitus; they respected his virtues; and they were not insensible of the advantage, as well as August 15 honour of giving an emperor to the West. The .season was now approaching in which the an- nual assembly of the seven provinces was held at Aries ; their deliberations might perhaps be influenced by the presence of Theodoric, and his martial brothers ; but their choice would na- turally incline to the most illustrious of their countrymen. Avitus, after a decent resistance, accepted the imperial diadem from the repre- sentatives of Gaul ; and his election was ratified by the acclamations of the barbarians and pro- vincials. The formal consent of Marcian, empe- ror of the East, was solicited and obtained: but the senate, Rome, and Italy, though humbled by their recent calamities, submitted with a se- cret murmur to the presumption of the Gallic usurper.
Theodoric, to whom Avitus was indebted for
Character , 111 -TI/^II-
of Theo- the purple, had acquired the Gothic sceptre by o? the v'isi* the murder of his elder brother Torismond ; and |oth^' he justified this attrocious deed by the design •tee which his predecessor had formed of violating
* Seventy lines of panegyric, (505-575) which describes the impor (unity of Theodoric and of Gaul, struggling to overcome the modest rrluctanoe of Avitus, are blown away by three words of an honest historian, — Romaiuuu tunbisset imperium, Greg. Turon. 1. ii, c. 11, in torn, ii, p 168).
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 157
his alliance with the empire.*1 Such a crime CHAP.
~Y "V Y Vf
mi^ht not be incompatible with the virtues of a
JL +*•*+•**+ + *•*
barbarian; but the manners of Theodoric were gentle and humane: and posterity may contem- plate without terror the original picture of a Gothic king, whom Sidonius had intimately observed, in the hours of peace and of social intercourse. In an epistle, dated from the court of Thoulouse, the orator satisfies the curiosity of one of his friends, in the following description/ — " By the majesty of his appear- " ance, Theodoric could command the respect " of those who are ignorant of his merit; and " although he is born a prince, his merit " would dignify a private station. He is of " a middle stature, his body appears rather " plump than fat, and in his well-proportioned " limbs, agility is united with muscular strength.8 " If you examine his countenance, you will dis- " tinguish a .high forehead, large shaggy eye- " brows, an aquiline nose, thin lips, a regular " set of white teeth, and a fair complexion, that " blushes more frequently from modesty than " from anger. The ordinary distribution of his
q Isidore archbishop of Seville, who was himself of the blood- royal of the Goths, acknowledges, and almost justifies (Hist. Goth. p. 718), the crime which their slave Jornaudes had basely dissembled, (c. 43, p. 673).
* This elaborated description (1. i, ep. ii, p. 2-7) was dictated by some political motive. It was designed for the public eye, and had been shewn by the friends of Sidonius, before it was inserted in the collection of his epistles. The first book was published separately. See Tillemont, Memoires Eccles. torn, xvi, p. 264.
s I have suppressed, in this portrait of Theodoric, several minute circumstances, aud technical phrases, which could be tolerable, or indeed intelligible, to those only who, like the contemporaries of Sidonius, had frequented the markets where naked slaves were expo- sed to sale CDabon, Hist. Critique, torn, i, p. 404).
158 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. " time, as far as it is exposed to the public view,
,', " may be concisely represented. Before day-
" break, he repairs, with a small train, to his " domestic chapel, where the service is perform- " ed by the Arian clergy ; but those who pre- u sume to interpret his secret sentiments, corisi- " der this assiduous devotion as the effect of " habit and policy. The rest of the morning is " employed in the administration of his king- " dom. His chair is surrounded by some mili- '' tary officers of decent aspect and behaviour : " the noisy crowd of his barbarian guards occu- " pies the hall of audience ; but they are not " permitted to stand within the veils or curtains, " that conceal the council- chamber from vulgar " eyes. The ambassadors of the nations are " successively introduced : Theodoric listens " with attention, answers them with discreet " brevity, and either announces or delays, ac- " cording to the nature of their business, his " final resolution. About eight (the second " hour) he rises from his throne, and visits either " his treasury or his stables. If he chooses to " hunt, or at least to exercise himself on horse- '* back, his bow is carried by a favourite youth ; " but when the game is marked, he bends it " with his own hand, and seldom misses the " object of his aim : as a king, he disdains to *' bear arms in such ignoble warfare; but as a " soldier he would blush to accept any military " service he could not perform himself. On " common days, his dinner is not different from " the repast of a private citizen ; but every Sa- '* turday many honourable guests are invited t^
OF THE TOMAN EMPIRE. 159
" the royal table, which, on these occasions, is CHAP.
" served with the elegance of Greece, the plen- j| J^
" ty of Gaul, and the order and diligence of Ita-
" ly.1 The gold or silver plate is less remark -
" able for its weight than for the brightness and
" curious workmanship : the taste is gratified
" without the help of foreign and costly luxury;
" the size and number of the cups of wine are re-
" gulated with a strict regard to the laws of tem-
" perance ; and the respectful silence that pre-
" vails, is interrupted only by grave and instruc-
" tive conversation. After dinner, Theodoric
" sometimes indulges himself in a short slum-
" ber ; as soon as he wakes, he calls for the
" dice and tables, encourages his friends to for-
a get the royal majesty, and is delighted when
" they freely express the passions, which are ex-
" cited by the incidents of play. At this game,
" which he loves as the image of war, he alter-
" nately displays his eagerness, his skill, his
" patience, and his cheerful temper. If he loses,
" he laughs ; he is modest and silent if he wins
" Yet, notwithstanding this seeming indifference,
" his courtiers choose to solicit any favour in
" the moments of victory ; and I myself, in my
" applications to the king, have derived some
" benefit from my losses." About the ninth
" hour (three o'clock) the tide of business again
1 Videas ibi elegant iani Graream, abundantiam Gallibanum celeri- tatem Italam ; publicam pompam, pi ivatim, diligentiam, rejiam, disciplinam.
u Tune etiam ego aliquid obsecraturus felicitor yincor, et mihi ta- bula peril ut causa salretur. Sidonius of Aitvergne was not a sub- ject of Theodoric ; but he might be compelled to solicit either JOB* ticc or favour at the court of Thoiilouse.
160 THE DECLINE AND FALI
CHAP. " returns, and flows incessantly till after sunset, ~~~~,~ " when the signal of the royal supper dismisses " the weary crowd of suppliants and pleaders. " At the supper, a more familiar repast, buf- " foons and pantomimes, are sometimes intro- " duced, to divert, not to offend the company, " by their ridiculous wit : but female singers, " and the soft effeminate modes of music, are " severely banished, and such martial tunes as " animate the soul to deeds of valour are alone " grateful to the ear of Theodoric. He retires " from table ; and the nocturnal guards are im- " mediately posted at the entrance of the trea- " sury, the palace, and the private apartments." HJS expe- When the king of the Visigoths encouraged Spain. u l° Avitus to assume the purple, he offered his per- A. D. 456. son an(j jjjs forces as a faithful soldier of the republic/ The exploits of Theodoric soon con- vinced the world, that he had not degenerated from the warlike virtues of his ancestors. Af- ter the establishment of the Goths in Aquitain, and the passage of the Vandals into Africa, the Suevi, who had fixed their kingdom in Gallicia, aspired to the conquest of Spain, and threatened to extinguish the feeble remains of the Roman dominion. The provincials of Carthagena and Tarragona, afflicted by an hostile invasion, re- presented their injuries and their apprehensions. Count Fronto was despatched, in the name of the emperor Avitus, with advantageous offers of
x Theodoric himself had given a solemn and voluntary piotnise of fidelity, which was understood both in Gaul and Spain.
Romat sum, te duce, Amiens,
Pricipe te, MILES.
Sidoa. Pttiesyr. Avit. 511.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 161
peace and alliance ; and Theodoric interposed CHAP.
his weighty mediation, to declare that, unless his „„ „.„
brother-in-law, the king of the Suevi, immedi- ately retired, he should be obliged to arm in the cause of justice and of Rome. " Tell him," re- plied the haughty Rechiarius, " that I despise " his friendship and his arms ; but that I shall " soon try, whether he will dare to expect my " arrival under the walls of Thoulouse." Such a challenge urged Theodoric to prevent the bold designs of his enemy: he passed the Py- renees at the head of the Visigoths : the Franks and Burgundians served under his standard ; and though he professed himself the dutiful ser- vant of Avitus, he privately stipulated, for him- self and his successors, the absolute possession of the Spanish conquests. The two armies, or rath er the two nations, encountered each other on the banks of the river TJrbicus, about twelve miles from Astorga ; aud the decisive victory of the Goths appeared for a while to have extir- pated the name and kingdom of the Suevi. From the field of battle Theodoric advanced to Braga, their metropolis, which still retained the splen- did vestiges of its ancient commerce and digrii- ty.y His entrance was not polluted with blood, and the Goths respected the chastity of their female captives, more especially of the conse-
y Quseque sinii pelagi jactat se Bracam dives.
Auson. de Claris Urbibus, p. 245.
From the design of the king of the Suevi, it is evident that the na- vigation from the ports of Gallicia to the Mediterranean was known and practised. The ships of Bracara, or Braga, cautiously steered •long the coast, without daring to lose themselves in the Atlantic. VOL. VI. M
THE DECLINE AND FALL
xxxvi cra*ec* vir»ins : but the greatest part of the cler-
„„'„ gy and people were made slaves, and even the
churches and altars were confounded in the universal pillage. The unfortunate king of the Suevi had escaped to one of the ports of the ocean ; but the obstinacy of the winds opposed his flight; he was delivered to his implacable rival ; and Rechiarius, who neither desired nor expected mercy, received, with manly constan- cy, the death which he would probably have inflicted. After this bloody sacrifice to policy or resentment, Theodoric carried his victorious arms as far as Merida, the principal town of Lusitania, without meeting any resistance, ex- cept from the miraculous powers of St. Eula- lia ; but he was stopped in the full career oi success, and recalled from Spain, before he could provide for the security of his conquests. In his retreat towards the Pyrenees, he reveng- ed his disappointment on the country through which he passed ; and, in the sack of Pollentia and Astorga, he shewed himself a faithless ally, as well as a cruel enemy. Whilst the king of the Visigoths fought and vanquished in the name of Avitus, the reign of Avitus had expired ; and both the honour and the interest of Theodoric were deeply wounded by the disgrace of a friend, whom he had seated on the throne of the west- ern empire.*
The pressing solicitations of the senate and
* This Suevic war is the most authentic part of the Chronicle of Idatius, who, as bishop of Iria Flavia, was himself a spectator and •uffercr. Jornandes (c. 44, p. 675, 676, 677) has expatiated with pleasure on the Gothic victory.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 1 63
people, persuaded the emperor Avitus to fix his CHAP.
residence at Rome, and to accept the consulship
for the ensuing year. On the first day of Janu- Avitus is ary, his son-in-law, Sidonius Apollinaris, ce- A.'D^SC, lebrated his praises in a panegyric of six hun- Oct> I6t dred verses ; but this composition, though it was rewarded with a brass statue,' seems to contain a very moderate proportion, either of genius or of truth. The poet, if we may de- grade that sacred name, exaggerates the merit of a sovereign and a father ; and his prophecy of a long and glorious reign was soon contra- dicted by the event. Avitus, at a time when the imperial dignity was reduced to a pre-emi- nence of toil and danger, indulged himself in the pleasures of Italian luxury ; age had not extinguished his amorous inclinations ; and he is accused of insulting, with indiscreet and un- generous raillery, the husbands whose wives he had seduced or violated.1" But the Romans were not inclined, either to excuse his faults, or to acknowledge his virtues. The several parts of the empire became every day more alienated from each other ; and the stranger of Gaul was the object of popular hatred and contempt. The senate asserted their legitimate claim in the election of an emperor; and their authority, which had been originally derived from the old
* In one of the porticoes or galleries belonging to Trajan's libra- ry, among the statues of famous writers and orators. Sidon. Apoll. L ix. epist. 16, p. 284. Carm. viii, p. 350
b Luxuriose agere volens a senatoribus projectus est, is the concise expression of Gregory of Tours, (1. ii. c. xi, in torn. ii. p. 168). An oli I Chronicle (in torn. ii. p. 649) mentions an indecent jest of Av»- tus, which seems more applicable to Rome than to T reeves.
164 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, constitution, was again fortified by the actual
XXXVI.
_, .,,', weakness of a declining monarchy. Yet even
such a monarchy might have resisted the votes of an unarmed senate, if their discontent had not been supported, or perhaps inflamed, by Count Ricimer, one of the principal commanders ot the barbarian troops, who formed the military defence of Italy. The daughter of Wallia, king of the Visigoths, was the mother of Ricimer ; but he was descended, on the father's side, from the nation of the Suevi :c his pride, or patriot- ism, might be exasperated by the misfortunes of his countrymen ; and he obeyed, with reluct- ance, an emperor, in whose elevation he had not been consulted. His faithful and important . • services against the common enemy rendered him still more formidable ;d and, after destroy- ing, on the coast of Corsica, a fleet of Vandals, which consisted of sixty galleys, Ricimer re- turned in triumph with the appellation of the - Deliverer of Italy. He chose that moment to signify to Avitus, that his reign was at an end ; and the feeble emperor, at a distance from his Gothic allies, was compelled, after a short and unavailing struggle, to abdicate the purple. By the clemency, however, or the contempt, of Ri- cimer," he was permitted to descend from the
e Sidonius (Panegyr. Anthem. 302, &c.) praises the royal birth of Ricimer, the lawful heir, as he chooses to insinuate, both of the Go- thic and Suevic kingdoms.
d See the Chronicle of Idatius. Jornandes (c. xliv, p. 676) styles him, with some truth, virum egregium, et pene tune in Italia ad em- ercitum singularem.
e Parcens innocentiae Aviti, is the compassionate, but contemptu- ous, language of Victor Tunnunensis, (in Chron. apud Scaliger Eu-
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 165
throne, to the more desirable station of bishop CHAP.
of Placentia : but the resentment of the senate ^,^
was still unsatisfied ; and their inflexible seve- rity pronounced the sentence of his death. He fled towards the Alps, with the humble hope, not of arming the Visigoths in his cause, but of securing his person and treasures in the eanc- tuary of Julian, one of the tutelar saints cf Au- vergne/ Disease, or the hand of the execu- tioner, arrested him on the road ; yet his remains were decently transported to Brivas, or Bri- oude, in his native province, and he reposed at the feet of his holy patron.8 Avitus left only one daughter, the wife of Sidonius Apollinaris, who inherited the patrimony of his father-in- law ; lamenting, at the same time, the disap- pointment of his public and private expecta- tions. His resentment prompted him to join, or at least to countenance, the measufes of a re- bellious faction in Gaul ; and the poet had con- tracted some guilt, which it was- incumbent on
seb). In another place, he calls him, vir totius cimplicitatis. This commendation is more humble, but it in more solid and sincere, than the praises of Sidunius.
f He suffered, as it is supposed, in the persecution of Diocletian, (Tillemont, Mem. Ectles. torn. Y, p. 279, 696). Gregory of Tours, his peculiar votary, has dedicated to the glory of Julian the Martyr an entire book, (de Gloria Martyrum, 1. ii. in Max. Bibliot.' Patrum. torn. xi. p. 861-871), in which he relates about fifty foolish mira- cles performed by his relics.
6 Gregory of Tours, (1. ii, c. xi, p. 168) is concise, but correct, in the reign of his countryman. The words of Idatius, " caret imp*. " rio, caret et vita," seem to imply, that the death of Avitus wa§ violent ; but it must have been secret, since Avagrius, (1. ii. c. J) could suppose that he died of the Plague.
166 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, him to expiate, by a new tribute of flattery to the succeeding emperor.h
character The successor of Avitus presents the welcome of discovery of a great and heroic character, such as ?! sometimes arise in a degenerate age, to vindicate the honour of the human species. The emperor Majorianhad deserved the praises of his contem- poraries, and of posterity ; and these praises may be strongly expressed in the words of a judici- ous and disinterested historian. — " That he was " gentle to his subjects; that he was terrible to " his enemies; and that he excelled in every vir- " tue, all his predecessors who had reigned over " the Romans."1 Such a testimony may justify at least the panegyric of Sidonius ; and we may acquiesce in the assurance, that, although the obsequious orator would have flattered, with equal zeal, the most worthless of princes, the extraordinary merit of his object confined him, on this occasion, within the bounds of truth.k
h After a modest appeal to the examples of hi* brethren, Virgil and Horace, Sidonius honestly confesses the debt, and promises pay- ment.
Sic mihi diverso nuper sub Marte cadenti Jussisti placido Victor ut essem aninio. Serviat ergo tibi servati lingua poetae, Atque meae vita; laus tua sit pretium.
Sidon. A poll. carm. iv, p. 308. See Dubos, Hist. Critique, torn, i, p. 448, &c.
' The words of Proropius deserve to be transcribed ; tent yaf • Mctttgivoc £t/,«TavTa; T«? -naifoTt Pa^uatwy #E(3a«-»XiwtoTa{ virtpatfon ctpirn *«r« j and aflcrwaids, amp T* /usv tic rat vifi^ai; /ujTfio? y£yoy»f, <}>oSep«; Ji rtt 1C ru( irttefAiovf , (de Bell. Vandal. 1. i, c. 7, p. 194)} a concise but com- piehensive, definition of royal virtue.
k The Panegyric was pronounced at Lyons before the end of the year 458, while the emperor was still consul. It has more art than genius, and more labour than art. The ornaments are false or tri- vi,al; the expression is feeble and prolix; and Sidonius wants the •kill to exhibit the principal figure in a strong and distinct light The private life of Majorian occupies about two hundred lines, 107-905.
OP THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 167
Majorian derived his name from his maternal CHAP. grandfather, who, in the reign of the great Theo- , dosius,had commanded the troops of thelllyriari frontier. He gave his daughter in marriage to the father of Majorian, a respectable officer, who administered the revenues of Gaul with skill and integrity: and generously preferred the friend- ship of JEtius, to the tempting offers of an insi- duous court. His son, the future emperor, who was educated in the profession of arms, dis- played, from his early youth, intrepid courage, premature wisdom, and unbounded liberality in a scanty fortune. He followed the standard of JEtius, contributed to his success, shared, and sometimes eclipsed, his glory, and at last excited the jealousy of the patrician, or rather of his wife, who forced him to retire from the service.1 Majorian, after the death of ^Etius, was recall- ed, and promoted; and his intimate connection with Count Ricimer, was the immediate step by which he ascended the throne of the western empire. During the vacancy that succeeded the abdication of Avitus, the ambitious barba- rian, whose birth excluded him from the imperial dignity, governed Italy, with the title of Patri- cian ; resigned, to his friend, the conspicuous sta.- tion of master-general of the cavalry and infan- try; and, after an interval of some months, con- sented to the unanimous wish of the Romans, whose favour Majorian had solicited by a recent
1 She pressed his immediate death, and was scarcely satisfied with his disgrace. It should seem, that £tius, like Belisarius and Marl* borough, was governed by his wife; whose fervent piety, though it might work miracles, (Gregor. Turon. 1. ii, c. 7, p. 1C2), was not in- compatible with base and sanguinary counsels.
168 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, victory over the Alemanni.ra He was invested ]^. with the purple at Ravenna; and the epistle which he addressed to the senate, will best de- scribe his situation and sentiments. " Your elec- " tion, Conscript Fathers! and the ordinance of " the most valiant army, have made me your em- ." peror.* May the propitious Deity direct and ." prosper the counsels and events of my admi- " nistration, to your advantage, and to the pub- 4< lie welfare! For my own part, I did not as- " pire, I have submitted, to reign; nor should I ." have discharged the obligations of a citizen, if " I had refused, with base and selfish ingrati- " tude, to support the weight of those labours, " which were imposed by the republic. Assist, " therefore, the prince whom you have made; " partake the duties which you have enjoined; .'• and may our common endeavours promote the " happiness of an empire, which I have accepted " from your hands. Be assured, that, in our •' times, justice shall resume her ancient vigour, " and that virtue shall become not only innocent " but meritorious. Let none, except the authors
m The Alemanni had passed the Rhaetian Alp*, and were defeated in the Campi Canini, or Valley of Bellinzone, through which the Tesin flovis, in its descent from Mount Adula, to the Lago Mag- giore, (Cluver. Italia Antiq. turn, i, p. 100, 101). This boasted victory over nine hundred barbarians (Panegyr. Majorian, 373, &c.) betrays the extreme weakness of Italy.
n Imperatorem me factum, P. C. election is vestrae arbitrio, et for. msimi exercitus ordinatione agnoscite, (Novell. Majorian. tit. iii, p. I 34, ad Calcem Cod. Theodos). Sidonius proclaims the unanimous
voice of the empire.
Postquam ordine vobis
Ordo omnis regnnm dederat ; pleks, curia, miles,
Et collega simnl.
Tina language is ancient and constitutional ; and we may observe, that the clergy were not yet considered as a distinct order of Ike state.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE..
" themselves, be apprehensive of delations.* CHAP
- "Y Y \ VI
" which, as a subject, I have always condemned, ' " and, as a prince, will severely punish. Our " vigilance, and that of our father, the patrician " Ricimer, shall regulate all military affairs, and " provide for the safety of the Roman world, " which we have saved from foreign and domes- " tic enemies.1* You now understand the max- c< ims of my government: you may confide in " the faithful love and sincere assurances of a " prince, who has formerly been the companion " of your life and dangers; who still glories in " the name of senator, and who is anxious, that " you should never repent of the judgment which " you have pronounced in his favour." The em- peror, who, amidst the ruins of the Roman world, revived the ancient language of law and liberty, which Trajan would not have disclaim- ed, must have derived those generous sentiments from his own heart; since they were not sug- gested to his imitation by the customs of his age, or the example of his predecessors.q
The private and public actions of Majorian HU saiu- are very imperfectly known: but his laws, re- Sr».1JJ?i markable for an original cast of thought and ex- 461
0 Either dilationes, or delation*!, would afford a tolerable rending ; but there is much more sense and spirit in the latter, to which 1 have therefore given the preference.
p Ab externo hoste et a domestic* clade liberavimus : by the lat- ter, Majorian must understand the tyrany of Avitus ; whose death he consequently avowed as the meritorious act. On this occasion, Sidanius is fearful and obscure; he describes the twelve Caesars, the nations of Africa, &c. that he may escape the dangerous name of Avitus, 305-309).
1 See the whole edit or epistle of Majorian to the senate, (Novell. tit. iv, p, 34). Yet the expression, regnum nostrum, bears some taint of the age, and docs not mix kindly with the ward respublicu, which he frequently repeats.
170 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, pression, faithfully represent the character of a f 'f sovereign, who loved his people, who sympa- thised in their distress, who had studied the causes of the decline of the empire, and who was capable of applying (as far as such reformation was practicable) judicious and effectual reme- dies to the public disorders/ His regulations concerning the finances manifestly tended to re- move, or at least to mitigate, the most intolera- ble grievances. I. From the first hour of his reign, he was solicitous (I translate his own words) to relieve the weary fortunes of the pro- vincials, oppressed by the accumulated weight of indictions and superindictions/ With this view, he granted an universal amnesty, a final and absolute discharge of all arrears of tribute, of all debts, which, under any pretence, the fiscal officers might demand from the people. This wise dereliction of obsolete, vexatious and unprofitable claims, improved and purified the sources of the public revenue; and the subject, who could now look back without despair, might labour with hope and gratitude for him- self and for his country. II. In the assessment and collection of, taxes, Majorian restored the ordinary jurisdiction of the provincial magis- trates; and suppressed the extraordinary com- missions which had been introduced, in the
* See the laws of Majurian (they are only nine in number, but very long and various) at the end of the Theodosian Code, Novell. 1. iv, p. 32-37. Godefroy has not given any commentary on these additional pieces.
* Fessas provincialium varia atque mnltiplici tributomm cxactione fortunes, et extraordiinriis fiscaliuin solutionum oueribui attiitas, Ac. Novell. Majorian. tit. iv, p. 34.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 171
name of the emperor himself, or of the pretorian CHAP.
• XXXVI
prefects. The favourite servants, who obtained fiM,tf,f^ such irregular powers, were insolent in their be- haviour, and arbitrary in their demands : they affected to despise the subordinate tribunals, and they were discontented, if their fees and pro- fits did not twice exceed the sum which they condescended to pay into the treasury. One in- stance of their extortion would appear incredi- ble, were it not authenticated by the legislator himself. They exacted the whole payment in gold; but they refused the current coin of the empire, and would accept only such ancient pieces as were stamped with the names of Faus- tina or the Antonines. The subject, who was Unprovided with these curious medals, had re- course to the expedient of compounding with their rapacious demands; or if he succeeded in the research, his imposition was doubled, ac- cording to the weight and value of the money of former times.' III. "The municipal corporation, " (says the emperor), the lesser senates, (so an- " tiquity has justly styled them), deserve to be " considered as the heart of the cities, and the " sinews of the republic. And yet so low are " they now reduced, by the injustice of magis- " trates, and the venality of col lectors, that many " of their members, renouncing their dignity " and their country, have taken refuge in distant
* The learned Greaves (vol. i, p. 329, 330, 331), has found, by a diligent inquiry, that aurei of the Antonines weighed one hundred and eighteen, and those of the fifth century only sixty-eight, English grains. Majorian gives currency to all gold coin, excepting only the Gallic tolidut, from its deficiency, not in the weight, but in the standard.
172 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. " and obscure exile." He urges, and even com-
•«£ V V -«T |
^ 'f pels, their return to their respective cities; but
he removes the grievance which had forced them to desert the exercise of their municipal func- tions. They are directed under the authority of the provincial magistrates, to resume their office of levying the tribute; but, instead of being made responsible for the whole sum assessed on their district, they are only required to produce a regular account of the payments which they have actually received, and of the defaulters who are still indebted to the public. IV. But Ma- jorian was not ignorant that these corporate bodies were too much inclined to retaliate the injustice and oppression which they had suffer- ed; and he therefore revives the useful office of the defenders of cities. He exhorts the people to elect, in a full and free assembly, some man of discretion and integrity, who would dare to assert their privileges, to represent their griev- ances, to protect the poor from the tyranny of the rich, and to inform the emperor of the abuses that were committed under the sanction of his name and authority.
The ed,. The spectator, who casts a mournful view over Rome°f the rums of ancient Rome, is tempted to accuse the memory of the Goths and Vandals, for the mischief which they had neither leisure, nor power, nor perhaps inclination, to perpetrate. The tempest of war might strike some lofty turrets to the ground ; but the destruction which under- mined the foundations of those massy fabrics, was prosecuted, slowly and silently, during a period of ten centuries ; and the motives of in
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 173
terest, that afterwards operated without shame or CHAP.
XXXVI
controul, were severely checked by the taste and ^
spirit of the emperor Majorian. The decay of the city had gradually impaired the value of the public works. The circus and theatres might still excite, but they seldom gratified, the de- sires of the people ; the temples which had es- caped the zeal of the Christians, were no longer inhabited either by gods or men ; the diminish- ed crowds of the Romans were lost in, the im- mense space of their baths and porticoes ; and the stately libraries and halls of justice became uselss to an indolent generation, whose repose was seldom disturbed, either by study, or bu- , siness. The monuments of consular, or impe- •*ial, greatness were no longer revered, as the immortal glory of the capital ; they were 'only esteemed as an inexhaustible mine of materials, cheaper, and more convenient, than the distant quarry. Specious petitions were continually addressed to the easy magistrates of Rome, which stated the want of stones or bricks for some necessary service : the fairest forms of ar- chitecture were rudely defaced for the sake of some paltry, or pretended, repairs ; and the de- generate Romans, who converted the spoil to their own emolument, demolished, with sacrile- gious hands, the labours of their ancestors. Majorian, who had often sighed over the deso- lation of the city, applied a severe remedy to the growing evil." He reserved to the prince
• The whole edict (Novell. Majorian, tit. vi. p. 35J is cuiiouc. " Autiquarum sedium dissipatur speciosa eonsti uctio ; ct ut aliquid *' reparetur, tnagna diruunter. Hinc jam occasio nascitur, ut etiann
" uiiusquisqu*:
174 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, and senate the sole cognizance of the extreme
r cases which might justify the destruction of an
ancient edifice ; imposed a fine of fifty pounds of gold (two thousand pounds sterling) on eve- ry magistrate -who should presume to grant such illegal and scandalous license ; and threat- ened to chastise the criminal obedience of their subordinate officers, by a severe whipping, and the amputation of both their hands. In the last instance, the legislator might seem to forget the proportion of guilt and punishment; but his zeal arose from a generous principle, and Ma- jorian was anxious to protect the monuments of those ages, in which he would have desired and deserved to live. The emperor conceived, that it was his interest to increase the numbe of his subjects ; that it was his duty to guard the purity of the marriage-bed : but the means which he employed to accomplish these saluta- ry purposes, are of an ambiguous, and perhaps exceptionable, kind. The pious maids, who consecrated their virginity to Christ, were re- srtrained from taking the veil, till they had reached their fortieth year. Widows under that age were compelled to form a second alli- ance within the term of five years, by the forfei- ture of half their wealth to their nearest rela- tions, or to the state. Unequal marriages were condemned or annulled. The punishment of
" nnusquisque privatum aedificium construens, per gratiam judicun " .... praesumere de publicis locis necessaria, et transferee nou du- " bitet," &c. With equal zeal, but with less power, Petrarch, in the fourteenth century, repeated the same complaints, (Vie de Pet- rarque, torn. i. p. 326, 327. If I prosecute thii History, I shall not be unmindful of the decline and fall of tbe city of Rome ; an inte- resting object, to which my plan was originally confined.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. J75
confiscation and exile was deemed so inadequate CHAP.
XXXVI
to the guilt of adultery, that, if the criminal re- '„
turned to Italy, he might, by the express decla- ration of Majorian, be slain with impunity.*
While the emperor Majorian assiduously la- Ma boured to restore the happiness and virtue of the fo' Romans, he encountered the arms ot Genseric, Af from his character and situation, their most for- midable enemy. A fleet of Vandals and Moors landed at the mouth of the Liris, or Garigliano : but the imperial troops surprised and attacked the disorderly barbarians, who were encumbered with the spoils of Campania; they were cha- sed with slaughter to their ships, and their leader, the king's brother-in-law, was found in the number of the slain.7 Such vigilance might announce the character of the new reign ; but the strictest vigilance, and the most numerous forces, were insufficient to protect the long-ex- tended coast of Italy from the depredations of a naval war. The public opinion had imposed a nobler and more arduous task on the genius of Majorian. Rome expected from him alone the restitution of Africa ; and the design which he formed, of attacking the Vandals in their new settlements, was the result of bold and judicious policy. If the intrepid emperor could have in- fused his own spirit into the youth of Italy ; if he could have revived in the field of Mars, the
x The emperor chides the lenity of Rogatian, consular of Tusca- ny, in a style of acrimonius reproof, which sounds almost like perso- nal resentment, (Novell, tit. ix. p. 47). The law of Majoriau, which punished obstinate widows, was soon afterwards repealed by his successor Sererus, (Novell. Sever, tit. i, p. 37).
i Sidon Panegyr. Majorian, 885-440.
1 76 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAR manly exercises in which he had always sur-
/. f'ef passed his equals : he might have marched
against Genseric at the head of a Roman army. Such a reformation of national manners might be embraced by the rising generation ; but it is the misfortune of those princes who laboriously sustain a declining monarchy, that, to obtain some immediate advantage, or to avert some impending danger, they are forced to counte- nance, and even to multiply, the most pernicious abuses. Majorian, like the weakest of his pre- decessors, was reduced to the disgraceful ex- pedient of substituting barbarian auxiliaries in the place of his unwarlike subjects : and his superior abilities could only be displayed in the vigour and dexterity with which he wielded a dangerous instrument, so apt to recoil on the hand that used it. Besides the confederates, who were already engaged in the service of the em- pire, the fame of his liberality and valour attract- ed the nations of the Danube, the Borysthenes, and perhaps of the Tanais. Many thousands of the bravest subjects of Attila, the Gepidae, the Ostrogoths, the Rugians, the Burgundians, the Suevi, the Alani, assembled in the plains of Liguria ; and their formidable strength was ba- lanced by their mutual animosities/ They passed the Alps in a severe winter. The em- peror led the way on foot, and in complete ar- mour ; sounding with his long staff the depth
x The review of the army, and passage of the Alps, contain the most tolerable passages of the Panegyric, (479-550). M. de Bual (Hist, dff Peuples, &c. torn, viii, p. 49-55) is a more satisfactory commentator, than either Savorou or Sirmond.
Or THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 177
of the ice, or snow, and encouraging the Scy- CHAP. thians, who complained of the extreme cold, by J ___ „„„ the cheerful assurance, that they should be sa- tisfied with the heat of Africa. The citizens of Lyons had presumed to shut their gates : they soon implored, and experienced, the clemency, of Majorian. He vanquished Theodoric in the field ; and admitted to his friendship and alli- ance, a king whom he had found not unworthy of his arms. The beneficial though precarious, reunion of the greatest part of Gaul and Spain, was the effect of persuasion, as well as offeree;* and the independent Bagaudae, who had escap- ed, or resisted the oppression of former reigns, were disposed to confide in the virtues of Ma- jorian. His camp was filled with barbarian al- lies ; his throne was supported by the zeal of an affectionate people ; but the emperor had foreseen, that it was impossible, without a ma- ritime power, to achieve the conquest of Africa. In the first Punic war, the republic had exerted such incredible diligence, that, within sixty days after the first stroke of the axe had been given in the forest, a fleet of one hundred and sixty galleys proudly rode at anchor in the sea.k Under circumstances much less favourable,
* TO. fjttv owXsif, T« 5= Xoysif, is the just and forcible distinction of Priscus, (Excerpt. Legat. p. 42), in a short fragment, which throws much light on the history of Majorian. Jornandes has suppressed the defeat and alliance of the Visigoths, which were solemnly pro- claimed in Gallicia ; and are marked in the Chronicle of Idatius.
b Floras, 1. ii, c. 2. He amuses himself with the poetical fancy, that the trees had been transformed into ships : and indeed the whole transaction, as it is related ia the first book of Polyb'nn, de- viates too much from the probable course of human erenU.
VOL. VI. N
178 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. Majorian equalled the spirit and persever- ~~~~~ ance of the ancient Romans. The woods of the Appennine were felled ; the arsenals and manufactures of Ravenna and Misenum were re- stored ; Italy and Gaul vied with each other in liberal contributions to the public service and the imperial navy of three hundred large gal- leys, with an adequate proportion of transports and smaller vessels, was collected in the secure and capacious harbour of Carthagena in Spain.0 The intrepid countenance of Majorian animated his troops with a confidence of victory ; and if we might credit the historian Procopius, his courage sometimes hurried him beyond the bounds of prudence. Anxious to explore, with his own eyes, the state of the Vandals, he ven- tured, after disguising the colour of his hair, to visit Carthage, in the character of his own ambassador : and Genseric was afterwards mortified by the discovery, that he had enter- tained and dismissed the emperor of the Ro- mans. Such an anecdote may be rejected as an improbable fiction ; but it is a fiction which would not have been imagined, unless in the life of a hero.d
Without the help of a personal interview,
c Interea dnplici texis duni littore classem Inferno superoque mari, cedit omnis aequor
Sylva tibi, &c.
Sidon. Panegyr. Majorian. 441-461.
The number of ships, which Priscus fixes at 300, is magnified by an indefinite comparison with the fleets of Agamemnon, Xerxes, and Augustus.
" Procopius de Bell. Vandal. 1. i, c. 8, p. 194. When Genseric conducted his unknown guest into the arsenal of Carthage the arms clashed of their o-.vn accord. Majorian had tinged his yellow locki with a lilack colour.
OP THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 179
Genseric was sufficiently acquainted with the CHAP.
genius and designs of his adversary. He prac „„ ,'„
tised his customary arts of fraud and delay : but The loss of he practised them without success. His applica- tions for peace became each hour more submis- sive, and perhaps more sincere ; but the inflex- ible Majorian had adopted the ancient maxim, that Rome could not be safe, as long as Car- thage existed in a hostile state. The king of the Vandals distrusted the valour of his native subjects, who were enervated by the luxury of the South ;e he suspected the fidelity of the vanquished people, who abhorred him as an Arian tyrant ; and the desperate measure, which he executed, of reducing Mauritaniainto a de- sert/ could not defeat the operations of the Ro- man emperor, who was at liberty to land his troops on any part of the African coast. But Genseric was saved from impending and inevit- able ruin, by the treachery of some powerful subjects ; envious, or apprehensive, of their master's success. Guided by hieir secret in- telligence, he surprised the unguarded fleet in the bay of Carthagena : many of the ships were sunk, or taken, or burnt ; and the preparations
" 'Spoliique potitus
Immensis, robur luxu jam perdidit omne, Quo valuit dum pauper erat.
Panegyr. Majorian. 830
He afterwards applies to Genseric, unjustly as it should seem, the vices of his subjects.
f He burnt the villages, and poisoned the spring, (Prisms, p. 42.) Dubos (Hist. Critique, torn, i, p. 475) observes that the magazine* which the Moors buried in the earth, might escape his destructive search. Two or three hundred pits are sometimes duj m the same place ; and each pit contains at least four hundred bushels of corn. Shaw's Travels, p. 139.
180 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, of three years were destroyed in a single day.' xxxvi. tnjg event? the behaviour of the two anta-
gonists shewed them superior to their fortune. The Vandal, instead of being elated by this ac- cidental victory, immediately renewed his soli- citations for peace. The emperor of the West, who was capable of forming great designs, and of supporting heavy disappointments, consented to a treaty, or rather to a suspension of arms ; in the full assurance that, before he could re- store his navy, he should be supplied with pro- vocations to justify a second war. Majorian returned to Italy, to prosecute his labours for the public happiness ; and as he was conscious of his own integrity, he might long remain ig- norant of the dark conspiracy which threatened his throne and his life. The recent misfortune of Carthagena sullied the glory which had daz- zled the eyes of the multitude : almost every description of civil and military officers were exasperated against the Reformer, since they all derived some advantage from the abuses which he endeavoured to suppress ; and the patrician Ricimer impelled the inconstant pas- sions of the barbarians against a prince whom he esteemed and hated. The virtues of Majo- rian could not protect him from the impetuous sedition, which broke out in the camp near Tor- tona, at the foot of the Alps. He was compel- led to abdicate the imperial purple : five days after his abdication, it was reported that he
E Idatiuc, who was safe in Gallacia from the power of Ricimer, boldly and honestly declares, Vandali per protlitores admoniti, &.r. He dissembles, however, the name of the traitir.
O* THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 181
died of a dysentery ;u and the humble tomb, CHAP.
• . XXXVI
which covered his remains, was consecrated by
the respect and gratitude of succeeding genera- His death, tions.1 The private character of Majorian in- August 7!' spired love and respect. Malicious calumny and satire excited his indignation, or, if he him- self were the object, his contempt: but he pro- tected the freedom of wit, and in the hours which the emperor gave to the familiar society of his friends he could indulge his taste for pleasantry, without degrading the majesty of his rank.k
It was not perhaps without some regret, that Jj!01™6^. Ricimer sacrificed his friend to the interest of der the his ambition ; but he resolved, in a second Scvcrus, choice, to a avoid the imprudent preference of su- ^Q7°' 461> perior virtue and merit. At his command the ob- sequious senate of Rome bestowed the imperial ti- tle on Libius Severus, who ascended the throne of the West, without emerging from the obscurity of a private condition. History has scarcely deigned
h Procop. de Bell. Vandal. 1. i, c. 8, p. 194. The testimony of Idatius is fair and impartial. — " Major! ami in de Galliis Roman re- " deuntem, et Romano imperio vel nomini res necessaris ordinan- " tern ; Richimer livore percitus, et invidorum consilio f'ultus, fraude tl interficit circumventtim." Some read Suevorum, and I am unwil- ling to efface either of the words, as they express the different ac- complices who united in the conspiracy against Majorian.
' See the Epigrams of Eunodius, N°. cxxxv, inter Sirmond Qpera, torn, i, p. 1903. It is flat and obscure : but Eunodius was made bishop of Pavia fifty years after the death of Majorian, and his praise deserves credit and regard.
k Sidonius gives a tedious account (1. i, epist. xi. p. 25-31) of a' supper at Aries, to which he was invited by Majoriaji, a short time before his death. He had no intention of praising a deceased empe- ror ; but a casual disinterested remark,*—" Subrisit Augustus ; ut " erat, auctoritate servata, cum se communion i dedisset, joci ple- " nu«," outweighs the six hundred lines of bis venal panegyric.
182 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, to notice his birth, his elevation, his character, or „, ^.', his death. Severus expired, as soon as his life he- came inconvenient to his patron;1 and it would be useless to discriminate his nominal reign in the vacant interval of six years, between the death of Majorian, and the elevation of Anthe- mius. During that period, the government was in the hands of Ricimer alone; and although the modest barbarian disclaimed the name of king,he ace umulated treasures,formed a separate army, negociated private alliances, and ruled Italy with the same independent and despotic authority which was afterwards exercised by Odoacer and Theodoric. But his dominions were bounded by the Alps; and two Roman generals, Marcellinus and ^Egidius, maintained their allegiance to the republic, by rejecting, with disdain, the phantom which he styled an Revolt of emperor . Marcellinus still adhered to the old religion; and the devout pagans, who secretly disobeyed the laws of the church and state, ap- plauded his profound skill in the science of di- vination. But he possessed the more valuable qualifications of learning, virtue, and courage;™ the study of the Latin literature had improved his taste; and his military talents had recom- mended him to the esteem and confidence of the
1 Sidonius (Panegyr. Anthem. 317) dismisses him to heaven. Auxerat Augustus naturae lege Severus
Divorum numerum.
And an old list of the emperors, composed about the time of Justi- nian, praises his piety, and fixes his residence at Home, (Sirmoud Mot. ad Sidon. p. Ill, 112).
™ Tillemont, who is always scandalized by the virtues of infidels, attributes this advantageous portrait of Marcellinus (which Suidas has preserved) to the partial zeal of some pagan historian, (Hist, ds* Empercure torn, vi, p. 330).
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 183
great .ZEtius, in whose ruin he was involved. CHAP.
if •%»• v \r w
By a timely flight, Marcellinus escaped the rage ^ of Valentinian, and boldly asserted his liberty amidst the convulsions of the western empire. His voluntary, or reluctant, submission, to the authority of Majorian, was rewarded by the go- vernment of Sicily, and the command of an army, stationed in that island to oppose, or to attack, the Vandals; but his barbarian merce- naries, after the emperor's death, were tempted to revolt by the artful liberality of Ricimer. At the head of a band of faithful followers, the in- trepid Marcellinus occupied the province of Dalmatia, assumed the title of Patrician of the West, secured the love of his subjects by a mild and equitable reign, built a fleet, which ctaimed the dominion of the Hadriatic, and alternately alarmed the coasts of Italy and of Africa" ^Egidius, the master-general of Gaul, who ^?did°'s iB equalled, or at least who imitated, the heroes Oaul- of ancient Rome,0 proclaimed his immortal re- sentment against the assassins of his beloved master. A brave and numerous army was at- tached to his standard; and though he was pre- vented by the arts of Ricimer, and the arms of the Visigoths, from marching to the gates of Rome, he maintained his independent sove- reignty beyond the Alps, and rendered the name
• Procopius de Bell. Vandal. 1. i, c. 6, p. 191. In various circum- stances of the life of Marcellinus, it is not easy to reconcile the Creek historian with the Latin Chronicles of the times.
0 I must apply to jEgidius the praises which Sidoniut (Panegyr. Majorian. 553) bestows on a nameless master-general who commanded the rear-guard of Majorian. Idatious, from public report, commends bis Christian piety ; and Priicus mentions (p. 42) hii military virtue*.
184 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, of ./Egidius respectable both in peace and war. 'f The Franks, who piad punished with exile the
youthful follies of Childeric, elected the Roman general for their king; his vanity, rather than his ambition, was gratified by that singular ho- nour; and when the nation, at the end of four years, repented of the injury which they had offered to the Merovingian family, he patiently acquiesced in the restoration of the lawful prince. The authority of .ZEgidius ended only with his life; and the suspicions of poison and secret vio- lence, which derived some countenance from the character of Ricimer, were eagerly entertained by the passionate credulity of the Gauls.p Naval war The kingdom of Italy, a name to which the of thevan- Western empire was gradually reduced, was A. D. SGI- afflicted under the reign of Ricimer, by the incessant depredations of the Vandal pirates.q
f Greg. Turon. 1. ii, p. 12, in torn, ii, p. 168. The Pere Daniel, whose ideas were superficial and modern, has stated some objection! against the story of Childeric, (Hist, de France, torn, i, Preface His- torique, p. Ixxviii, &c.): but they have been fairly satisfied by Dubos, (Hist. Critique, torn, i, p. 460-510) ; and by two authors who dis- puted the prize of the Academy of Soissons, (p. 131-177, 310-339). With regard to the term of Childeric's exile, it is necessary either to prolong the life of ^Egidius beyond the date assigned by the Chro. nicle of Idatius ; or to correct the text of Gregory by reading quarto anno, instead of octavo.
i The naval war of Genseric is described by Priscus, (Excerpta Legation, p. 42) ; Procopius, (de Bell. Vandal. 1. i, c. 5, p. 189, 190, and c. 22, p. 228)-, Victor Vitensis, (de Persecut. Vandal. 1. i, c. 17, and Ruinart, p. 467-481), and in the three panegyrics of Sidoniut, whose chronological order is absurdly transposed in the editions both •f Savaron and Sirmond. (Avit. Carm. vii, 441-451. Majorian, Carm. v, 327-350, 385-440. Anthem. Carm. ii. 348-386). In one passage tne poet seems inspired by his subject, and expresses a strong kka,".by a lively image;
Hinc Vandalus hostis
ITrget i et in nostrum numerosa clawe quotamia Militat excidium ; conversoqne ordine Fati Toiridn Caucateot infert mi hi Byrsa furtrti.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 185
In the spring of each year they equipped a for- CHAP. midable navy in the port of Carthage ; and Gen- seric himself, though in a very advanced age, still commanded in person the most important expeditions. His designs were concealed with impenetrable secrecy, till the moment that he hoisted sail. When he was asked by his pilot, what course he should steer; " Leave the deter- " mination to the winds, (replied the barbarian, " with pious arrogance); they will transport us " to the guilty coast, whose inhabitants have " provoked the divine justice." But if Genseric himself designed to issue more precise orders, he judged the most wealthy to be the most criminal. The Vandals repeatedly visited the coasts of Spain, Liguria, Tuscany, Campania, Lucania, Bruttium, Apulia, Calabria, Venetia, Dalmatia, Epirus, Greece, and Sicily : they were tempted to subdue the island of Sardinia, so advantage- ously placed in the centre of the Mediteranean ; and their arms spread desolation, or terror, from the columns of Hercules to the mouth of the Nile. As they were more ambitious of spoil than glory, they seldom attacked any fortified cities, or engaged any regular troops in the open field. But the celerity of their motions enabled them, almost at the same time, to threaten and to attack the most distant objects, which at- tracted their desires; and as they always em- barked a sufficient number of horses, they had no sooner landed, than they swept the dismayed country with a body of light cavalry. Yet, not-
186 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, withstanding the example of their king, the na- ,J tive Vandals and Alani insensibly declined this
toilsome and perilous warfare; the hardy gene- ration of the first conquerors was almost extin- guished, and their sons, who were born in Africa, enjoyed the delicious baths and gardens which had been acquired by the valour of their fathers. Their place was readily supplied by a various multitude of Moors and Romans, of cap- tives and outlaws ; and those desperate wretches, who had already violated the laws of their country, were the most eager to promote the atrocious acts which disgrace the victories of Genseric. In the treatment of his unhappy pri- soners, he sometimes consulted his avarice, and sometimes indulged his cruelty; and the mas- sacre of five hundred noble citizens of Zant, or Zacynthus, whose mangled bodies he cast into the Ionian sea, was imputed by the public in- dignation, to his latest posterity.
Such crimes could not be excused by any pro- vocations; but the war, which the king of the Vandals prosecuted against the Roman empire, was justified by a specious and reasonable motive empire, The widow of Valentinian, Eudoxia, whom he &c. ' had led captive from Rome to Carthage, was the sole heiress of the Theodosian house ; her elder daughter, Eudocia became the reluctant wife of Hunneric, his eldest son ; and the stern fa- ther, asserting a legal claim, which could not easily be refuted or satisfied, demanded a just proportion of the imperial patrimony. An ade- quate, or at least a valuable, compensation
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 187
was offered by the eastern emperor, to purchase CHAP.
•v v -v «r»
a necessary peace. Eudoxia, and her younger „
daughter, Placidia, were honourably restored, and the fury of the Vandals was confined to the limits of the western empire. The Italians, destitute of a naval force, which alone was ca- pable of protecting their coasts, implored the aid of the more fortunate nations of the East ; who had formerly acknowledged, in peace and war, the supremacy of Rome. But the perpe- tual division of the two empires had alienated their interest and their inclinations ; the faith of a recent treaty was alleged ; and the western Romans, instead of arms and ships, could only obtain the assistance of a cold and ineffectual mediation. The haughty Ricimer, who had long struggled with the difficulties of his situa- tion, was at length reduced to address the throne of Constantinople, in the humble lan- guage of a subject ; and Italy submitted, as the price and security of the alliance, to accept a master from the choice of the emperor of the East/ It is not the purpose of the present chapter, or even of the present volume to conti- nue the distinct series of the Byzantine history ;
r The poet himself is compelled to acknowledge the distress ef Ricimer. —
Praeterea invictus Ricimer, quern publica fata
Respiciunt, proprio solas vix Mai-te repellit
Piratura per rura ragum
Italy addresses her complaint to the Tiber, and Rome at (he soli- citation of the river god, transports herself to Constantinople, re- nounces her ancient claims, and implores the friendship of Aurora, the goddess of the East. This fabulous machinery, which the ge- nius of Claud ian had used and abused, is the constant and misera- ble resource of the mute of Si don ins.
1 88 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, but a concise view of the reign and character /. ____ „„ of the emperor Leo, may explain the last ef- forts that were attempted to save the falling empire of the West* of Since the death of the younger Theodosius,
i- the domestic repose of Constantinople had never 474- been interrupted by war or faction. Pulcheria had bestowed her hand, and the sceptre of the East, on the modest virtue of Marcian ; he gratefully reverenced her august rank and vir- gin chastity; and, after her death, he gave his people the example of the religious worship, that was due to the memory of the imperial saint.1 Attentive to the prosperity of his own dominions, Marcian seemed to behold, with in- difference, the misfortunes of Rome : and the obstinate refusal of a brave and active prince to draw his sword against the Vandals, was as- cribed to a secret promise, which had formerly been exacted from him when he was a captive in the power of Genseric " The death of Mar- cian, after a reign of seven years, would have exposed the East to the danger of a popular election ; if the superior weight of a single fa- mily had not been able to incline the balance in favour of the candidate whose interest they
* The original authors of the reign* of Marcian, Leo, and Zeno, are reduced to *ome imperfect fragments, whose deficiencies must be supplied from the more recent compilations of Theophanes, Zonarai, and Cedrenns.
1 St. Pulcheria died A. D. 453, four years before her nominal bus- band ; and her festival is celebrated on the 10th of September by Ihe modern Greeks : she bequeathed an immense patrimony to pious, or at least to ecclesiastical u«es. See Tillemout, Memoires Eccles. torn, xv, p. 181-184.
u S«e Procopiui de Bell. Vandal. 1. i, c. 4, p. 186.
OP THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 189
supported. The patrician Aspar might have CHAP.
placed the diadem on his own head, if he would „„",
have subscribed the Nicene creed.1 During three generations, the armies of the East were successively commanded by his father, by him- self, and by his son Ardaburius : his barbarian guards formed a military force that overawed the palace and the capital ; and the liberal dis- tribution of his immense treasures, rendered Aspar as popular, as he was powerful. He re- commended the obscure name of Leo of Thrace, a military tribune, and the principal steward of his household. His nomination was unani- mously ratified by the senate ; and the servant of Aspar received the imperial crown from the hands of the patriarch or bishop, who was per- mitted to express, by this unusual ceremony, the suffrage of the Deity.7 This emperor, the first of the name of Leo, has been distinguished by the title of the Great ; from a succession of princes, who gradually fixed, in the opinion of the Greeks, a very humble standard of heroic, or at least of royal perfection. Yet the tempe- rate firmness with which Leo resisted the op- pression of his benefactor, shewed that he was conscious of his duty and of his prerogative. Aspar was astonished to find that his influence could no longer appoint a prefect of Constantino-
x From this disability of Aspcr to ascend the throne, it may be inferred that the stain of heresy was perpetual and indelible, while that of barbarism disappeared in the second generation.
i Theophaues. p. 95. This appears to be the first origin of a ce- remony, which all the Christian princes of the world have since adopted ,• and from which the clergy have deduced the most formi- dable consequences.
1 90 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, pie: he presumed to reproach his sovereign ', with a breach of promise : arid, insolently sha- king his purple,—" It is not proper, (said he), " that the man who is invested with this gar- " ment, should be guilty of lying." " Nor is it " proper, (replied Leo), that a prince should be " compelled to resign his own judgment, and " the public interest, to the will of a subject."' After this extraordinary scene, it was impossible that the reconciliation of the emperor and the patrician could be sincere ; or, at least, that it could be solid and permanent. An army of Isaurians* was secretly levied and introduced into Constantinople ; and while Leo undermined the authority, and prepared the disgrace of the family of Aspar, his mild and cautious beha- viour restrained them from any rash and despe- rate attempts, which might have been fatal to themselves, or to their enemies. The measures of peace and war were affected by this internal revolution. As long as Aspar degraded the majesty of the throne, the secret correspondence of religion and interest engaged him to favour the cause of Genseric. When Leo had deli- vered himself from that ignominious servitude, he listened to the complaints of the Italian ; resolved to extirpate the tyranny of the Van- dals ; and declared his alliance with his col-
z Cedrenus, (p. 345. 346), who was conversant with the writeri of better days, has prererved the remarkable words of Aspar, Boo-tXw TOW auTiiv TIJV aXt?jyiJa mffi&CAijjUuvay a %£i $ta<l-ev}tr§at.
1 The power of the Isauriaus agitated the eastern empire in the two succeeding rcigus of Zeno, and Anastasius ; but it ended in the destruction of those barbarians, who maintained their fierce indepcu* dence about two hundred and thirty years.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, 191
league, Anthemius, whom he solemnly invested CHAP. with the diadem and purple of the West. „ ________ \
The virtues of Anthemius have perhaps been magnified, since the imperial descent, which he "or of could only deduce from the usurper Procopius, Wen! 457. has been swelled into a line of emperors.b But 472« the merit of his immediate parents, their honours, and their riches, rendered Anthemius one of the most illustrious subjects of the East. His fa- ther Procopius obtained, after his Persian em- bassy, the rank of general and patrician ; and the name of Anthemius was derived from his maternal grandfather, the celebrated prefect, who protected, with so much ability and suc- cess, the infant reign of Theodosius. The grandson of the prefect was raised above the condition of a private subject, by his marriage with Euphemia, the daughter of the emperor Marcian. The splendid alliance, which might supercede the necessity of merit hastened the promotion of Anthemius to the successive dig- nities of count, of master- general, of consul, and of patrician ; and his merit or fortune claimed the honours of a victory, which was obtained on the banks of the Danube, over the Huns. W! lout indulging an extravagant ambition, the son-in-law of Marcian might hope to be his successor ; but Anthemius supported the dis- appointment with courage and patience ; and
Tali tu civis ab urbe
Procopio, genitore micas ; cui prison propago
Augustis venit a proavis
The poet (Sidon. Pamegyr. Anthem. 67-300) then proceeds to relate the pi-irate life and fortunes of the future emperor, with which he must have been very imperfectly acquainted.
192 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, his subsequent elevation was universally ato*
XXXVI •
^^ 'f proved by the public, who esteemed him wor- thy to reign, till he ascended the throne.6 The emperor of the West marched from Constanti- nople, attended by several counts of high distinc- tion, and a body of guards, almost equal to the A D 467- strength and numbers of a regular army : he en- Aprii 12. tered Rome in triumph, and the choice of Leo was confirmed by the senate, the people, and the barbarian confederates of Italy/ The so- lemn inauguration of Anthemius was followed by the nuptials of his daughter and the patri- cian Ricimer ; a fortunate event, which was considered as the firmest security of the union and happiness of the state. The wealth of two empires was ostentatiously displayed ; and many senators completed their ruin by an ex- pensive effort to disguise their poverty. AH serious business was suspended during this fes- tival ; the courts of justice were shut ; the streets of Rome, the theatres, the places of pub- lic and private resort, resounded with hymen- eal songs and dances ; and the royal bride, clothed in silken robes, with a crow n on her head, was conducted to the palace of Ricimer, who had changed his military dress for the habit of a consul and a senator. On this memorable occasion, Sidonius whose early ambition had
( Sidonius discovers, with tolerable ingenuity, that this disap- pointment added new lustre to the virtues of Antbemius. (210, &c.). who declined one sceptre, and reluctantly accepted another, (22,
&c.)-
* The poet again celebrates the unnanimity of all orders of the
state, (15-22) .- and the Chronicle of Idatius mentions the force* which attended his march.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 193
been so fatally blasted, appeared as the orator CHAP.
of Auvergne, among the provincial deputies
who addressed the throne with congratulations
or complaints.' The calends of January were f • D 468»
January 1.
now approaching, and the venal poet, who had loved Avitus, and esteemed Majorian, was persuaded, by his friends, to celebrate, in he- roic verse, the merit, the felicity, the second consulship, and the future triumphs of the em- peror Anthemius. Sidonius pronounced with assurance and success, a panegyric which is still extant ; and whatever might be the imper- fections, either of the subject or of the compo- sition, the welcome flatterer was immediately rewarded with the prefecture of Rome ; a dig- nity which placed him among the illustrious personages of the empire, till he wisely prefer- red the more respectable character of a bishop and a saint/
The Greeks ambitiously commend the piety The festi. and catholic faith of the emperor whom they gave Jjp to the West; nor do they forget to observe, that lia- when he left Constantinople, he converted his palace into the pious foundation of a public bath, a church, and an hospital for old men.8 Yet
* Interveni autem nuptiis patricii Ricimeris, cui filia perennis Au gusti in spem publics securitatis copulabatur. The journey of Sido- nius from Lyons, and the festival of Rome, are described with some spirit. L. i, epist. 5, p. 9-13 ; epist. 9, p. 21.
f Sidonius (I. i, epist. 9, p. 23, 24) very fairly states his motive, his labour, and his reward. " Hie ipse Panegyricus, si non judi- " cium, certe eventum, boni operis, accepit." He was made bishop of Clermont, A. D. 471. Tillemout, Mem. Eccles. torn, xvi, p. 750.
* The palace of Authemius stood on the banks of the Propontis. in the ninth century, Alexius, the son-in-law of the emperor Theo-
plulu*, VOL. VI. O
194 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, some suspicious appearances are found to sully J^^I, *ne theological fame of Anthemius. From the conversation of Philotheus, a Macedonian sec- tary, he had imbibed the spirit of religious to- leration; and the heretics of Rome would have assembled with impunity, if the bold and vehe- * ment censure which Pope Hilary pronounced in the church of St Peter, had not obliged him to abjure the unpopular indulgence.11 Even the pagans, a feeble and obscure remnant, conceived some vain hopes from the indifference, or parti- ality, of Anthemius ; and his singular friend- ship for the philosopher Severus, whom he pro- moted to the consulship, was ascribed to a se- cret project of reviving the ancient worship of the gods/ These idols were crumbled into dust : and the mythology which had once been the creed of nations, was so universally disbe- lieved, that it might be employed without scan- dal, or at least without suspicion, by Christian poets.k Yet the vestiges of superstition were
philus, obtained permission to purchase tbe ground ; and ended hit days in a monastery which he founded on that delightful spot. Du- eange, Constantinopolis Christiana, p. 117, 152.
h Papa Hilarus . . . apuil beatutn Pctrum Apostohim, palam ne id fieret clara voce constrinxit, in tan turn ut non ea facienda cum interpositione juramenti idem promitteret Imperator. Gelasius Epis- tol. ad Andronicum, apud Baron. A. D. 467, N°. 3. The cardinal observes, with some complacency, that it was much easier to plant heresies at Constantinople, than at Rome.
1 Damascius, in tbe life of the philosopher Isidore, apud Photi- um, p. 1049. Damascius, who lived under Justinian, composed ano- ther work, consisting of 570 preternatural stories of touli, demous, apparations, the dotage of Platonic paganism.
k In the poetical works of Siilonius, which he afterwards con- demned, (1. ix. epist. 16, p. 285), the fabulous deities are the prin- cipal actors. If Jerom was scourged by tbe angels for only reading Virgil ; the bishop of Clermout, for such a vile imitation, deserved an additional whipping from the Muses.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 195
not so absolutely obliterated, and the festival CHAP.
V V V «T»
of the Lupercalia, whose origin had preceded M ^
the foundation of Rome, was still celebrated under the reign of Anthemius. The savage and simple rites were expressive of an early state of society before the invention of arts and agriculture. The rustic deities who presided over the toils and pleasures of the pastoral life, Pan, Faunus, and their train of satyrs, were such as the fancy of shepherds might create, sportive, petulant, and lascivious ; whose power was limited, and whose malice was inoffensive. A goat was the offering the best adapted to their character and attributes; the flesh of the vic- tim was roasted on willow spits ; and the riot- ous youths, who crowded to the feast, ran na- ked about the fields, with leather thongs in their hands, communicating as it was supposed, the blessing of fecundity to the women whom they touched.1 The altar of Pan was erected, per- haps by Evander the Arcadian, in a dark re- cess in the side of the Palatine hill, watered by a perpetual fountain, and shaded by an hanging grove. A tradition, that, in the same place, Ro- mulus and Remus were suckled by the wolf, rendered it still more sacred and venerable in the eyes of the Romans ; and this sylvan spot was gradually surrounded by the stately edi- fices of the Forum.m After the conversion of
1 Ovid (Fast. 1. ii, 267-452) has given an amusing description of the follies of antiquity, which still inspired so much respect, that » grave magistrate, running naked through the streets, was not an ob- ject of astonishment or laughter.
m Sec Dionys. Hal warn. 1. i, p. 25, 65, edit. Hudson. The Ro-
196 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, the imperial city, the Christians still continued, in \'f the month of February , the annual celebration of
I the Lupercalia ; to which they ascribed a secret and mysterious influence on the genial powers of the animal and vegetable world. The bishops of Rome were solicitous to abolish a profane cus- tom, so repugnant to the spirit of Christianity ; but their zeal was not supported by the authority of the civil magistrate : the inveterate abuse sub- sisted till the end of the fifth century, and Pope Gelasius, who purified the capital from the last stain of idolatry, appeased, by a formal apology, the murmurs of the senate and people."
^n a^ n^s P^lic declarations, the emperor Leo assumes the authority, and professes the of affection, of a father, for his son Anthemius, with wnom he had divided the administration of the universe.0 The situation, and perhaps the cha- racter, of Leo, dissuaded him from exposing his person to the toils and dangers of an African war. But the powers of the eastern empire
man Antiquaries, Donatus, (1. ii, c. 18, p. 173, 174), and Nardiui, (p. 386, 387), have laboured to ascertain the true situation of the Lupercal.
n Baronius published, from the MSS. of the Vatican, this epistle of Pope Gelasius, (A. n. 426, N°. 28-45), which is entitled Adversus And^omachum Senatorem, caeterosque Romanes, qui Lupercalia se- cundum morem pristinum colenda constituebant. Gelasius always supposes that his adversaries are nominal Christians ; and that he may not yield to them in absurd prejudice, he imputes to harm- less festival, all the calamities of the age.
0 Itaque nos quibus totius mundi regimen commissit supcrna pro- visio .... Pius et triumpbator semper Augustus filius noster Anthe- mius, licet Divinia Majestas et nostra creatio pietati ejus plenam Imperil commiscrit potestatem, &c. . . . Such is the dignified style of Leo, whom Anthemius respectfully names, Dominus et Pater meus Princeps sacratisimus Leo. See Novell. Anthem, tit. ii, iii, p. 38, ad calcem. Cod. Theod.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 197
were strenuously exerted to deliver Italy and CHAP. the Mediterranean, from the Vandals ; and Gen- ^£L seric, who had so long oppressed both the land and sea, was threatened from every side with a formidable invasion. The campaign was open- ed by a bold and successful enterprise of the prefect Heraclius.p The troops of Egypt, The- bais, and Libya, were embarked under his com- mand; and the Arabs, with a train of horses and camels, opened the roads of the desert. Hera- clius landed on the coast of Tripoli, surprised and subdued the cities of that province, and prepared, by a laborious march, which Cato had formerly executed,q to join the imperial army under the walls of Carthage. The intelligence of this loss extorted from Genseric some insidious and ineffectual propositions of peace : but he was still more seriously alarmed by the recon- ciliation of Marcellinus with the two empires. The independent patrician had been persuaded to acknowledge the legitimate title of Anthe- mius. whom he accompanied in his journey to Rome; the Dalmatian fleet was received into the harbours of Italy; the active valour of Mar- cellinus expelled the Vandals from the island of
f The expedition of Heraclius is clouded with difficulties, (TiBe- rnont, Hist, des empereurs, torn, vi, p. 640), and it requires some dexterity to use the circumstances afforded by Theopliaues, without injury to the more respectable evidence of Procopius.
q The march of Cato from Berenice, in the province of Cyrene, was much longer than that of Heraclius from Tripoli. He passed the deep sandy desert in thirty days, and it was found necessary to provide, besides the ordinary supplies, a great number of skins filled with water, and several Psylli, who were supposed to possess the art of sucking the wounds which had been made by the serpents of their native country. See Plutarch in Caton. Uticens, tore. iv. p. 276, Strabon Geograph. 1. xvii, p. 1193.
198 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, Sardinia; and the languid efforts of the West
v v v VI
^ added some weight to the immense preparations
of the eastern Romans. The expence of the naval armament which Leo sent against the Vandals, has been distinctly ascertained; and the curious and instructive account displays the wealth of the declining empire. The royal demenses, or private patrimony of the prince, supplied seventeen thousand pounds of gold; forty-seven thousand pounds of gold, and seven hundred thousand of silver, were levied and paid into the treasury by the pretorian prefects. But the cities were reduced to extreme poverty ; and the diligent calculation of fines and for- feitures, as a valuable object of the revenue, does not suggest the idea of a just, or merciful, administration. The whole expence, by what- soever means it was defrayed, of the African campaign, amounted to the sum of one hundred and thirty thousand pounds of gold, about five millions two hundred thousand pounds sterling, at a time when the value of money appears, from the comparative price of corn, to have been somewhat higher than in the present age/ The fleet that sailed from Constantinople to Car- thage, consisted of eleven hundred and thirteen ships, and the number of soldiers and mariners exceeded one hundred thousand men. Basi-
T The principal turn is clearly expressed by Procopiu», (de Bell. Vandal. I. i, c. 6, p. 19); the smaller constituent parts, which Tille- mont (Hist, des Empereures, torn, vi, p. 396) has laboriously col- lected from the Byzantine writers, are less certain, and less impor- tant. The historian Malchus laments the public misery, (Excerpt. ex Suida in Corp. Hist. Byzant. p. 58); but he is surely unjust, when he charges Leo with hoarding the treasures which he extorted from the people.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 199
liscus, the brother of the empress Vorina, was CHAP intrusted with this important command. His j^^VI' sister, the wife of Leo, had exaggerated the me- rit of his former exploits against the Scythians. But the discovery of his guilt, or incapacity, was reserved for the African war; and his friends could only save his military reputation, by as- serting, that he had conspired with Aspar to spare Genseric, and to betray the last hope of the western empire.
' Experience has shewn, that the success of an Failure of invader most commonly depends on the vigour *h<: e*P«- and celerity of his operations. The strength and sharpness of the first impression are blunted by delay; the health and spirit of the troops insensibly languish in a distant climate; the na- val and military force,' a mighty effort which perhaps can never be repeated, is silently con- sumed ; and every hour that is wasted in nego- tiation, accustoms the enemy to contemplate and examine those hostile terrors, which, on their first appearance, he deemed irresistible. The formidable navy of Basiliscus pursued its prosperous navigation from the Thracian Bos- phorus to the coast of Africa. He landed his troops at Cape Bona, or promontory of Mer- cury, about forty miles from Carthage." The army of Heraclius, and the fleet of Marcellinus, either joined or seconded the imperial lieu- tenant; and the Vandals, who opposed his pro- gress by sea or land, were successively van-
' Thi« promontory i« forty miles from Carthage, (Procop. 1. i, e. 6, p- 192), and twenty leagues from Sicily, (Shaw's Travels, p. 89). Scipio landed farther in the bay, at the fair promontory j see the ani- mated description of Livy, xxix, 26, 27*
200 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, quished.1 If Basiliscus had seized the moment
v -v -v y| *
ff ^ of consternation, and boldly advanced to the ca- pital, Carthage must have surrendered, and the kingdom of the Vandals was extinguished. Gen- seric beheld the danger with firmness, and eluded it with his veteran dexterity. He pro- tested, in the most respectful language, that he was ready to submit his person, and his domi- nions, to the will of the emperor; but he re- quested a truce of five days to regulate the terms of his submission; and it was universally be- lieved, that his secret liberality contributed to the success of this public negotiation. Instead of obstinately refusing whatever indulgence his enemy so earnestly solicited, the guilty, or the credulous, Basiliscus consented to the fatal truce; and his imprudent security seemed to proclaim, that he already considered himself as the conqueror of Africa. During this short in- terval, the wind became favourable to the de- signs of Genseric. He manned his largest ships of war with the bravest of the Moors and Van- dals; and they towed after them many large barks, filled with combustible materials. In the ob- scurity of the night, these destructive vessels were impelled against the unguarded and un- suspecting fleet of the Romans, who were awakened by the sense of their instant danger. Their close and crowded order assisted the pro- gress of the fire, which was communicated with ra- pid and irresistible violence; and the noise of the
1 Thenphanes (p. 100) affirms that many ships of the Vandals were wink. The assertion of Jornandes, (de Succetsione Regn.) that Basi- liscus attacked Carthage, must be understood in a very qualified sense.
OK THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 201
wind, the crackling of the flames, the dissonant CHAP. cries of the soldiers and mariners, who could neither command, nor obey, increased the hor- ror of the nocturnal tumult. Whilst they la- boured to extricate themselves from the fire- ships, and to save at least a part of the navy, the galleys of Genseric assaulted them with tempe- rate and disciplined valour; and many of the Romans, who escaped the fury of the flames, were destroyed or taken by the victorious Van- dals. Among the events of that disastrous night, the heroic, or rather desperate, courage of John, one of the principal officers of Basiliscus, has rescued his name from oblivion. When the ship, which he had bravely defended, was almost con- sumed, he threw himself in his armour into the sea, disdainfully rejected the esteem and pity of Genso, the son of Genseric, who pressed him to accept honourable quarter, and sunk under the waves ; exclaiming with his last breath, that he would never fall alive into the hands of those impious dogs. Actuated by a far different spirit, Basiliscus, whose station wras the most remote from danger, disgracefully fled in the beginning of the engagement, returned to Constantinople with the loss of more than half of his fleet and army, and sheltered his guilty head in the sanc- tuary of St. Sophia, till his sister, by her tears and entreaties, could obtain his pardon from the indignant emperor. Heraclius effected his re- treat through the desert; Marcellinus retired to Sicily, where he was assassinated, perhaps at the instigation of Ricimer, by one of his own captains; and the king of the Vandals expressed
202 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, his surprise and satisfaction, that the Romans XXXJi themselves should remove from the world his most formidable antagonists." After the failure of this great expedition, Genseric again became the tyrant of the sea: the coasts of Italy, Greece, and Asia, were again exposed to his revenge and avarice; Tripoli and Sardinia returned to his obedience; he added Sicily to the number of hisprovinces; and before hedied, in thefulnessof A. ». 177. years an(j of glory, he beheld the final extinc- tion of the empire of the West.x
Conquest! During his long and active reign, the African sigith/in monarch had studiously cultivated the friend- Gau'r and sn*P °f *ke barbarians of Europe, whose arms A. D. 462- he might employ in a seasonable and effectual diversion against the empires. After the death of Attila, he renewed his alliance with the Visi- goths of Gaul: and the sons of the elder Theo- doric, who successively reigned over that war- like nation, were easily persuaded, by the sense of interest, to forget the cruel affront which Gen- seric had inflicted on their sister/ The death of the emperor Majorian delivered Theodoric II from the restraint of fear, and perhaps of ho-
u Damascius in Vit. Isidor. apud Phot. p. 1048. It will appear, by comparing tbe three short chronicles of the times, that Marcellinus had fought near Carthage, and was killed in Sicily.
* For the African war, see Procopius, (de Bell. Vandal. 1 i, c. 6, p. 191, 192, 193)} Theophanes, (p. 99, 100, 101); Cedrenns, (p. 349, 350), and Zonoras, (torn, ii, 1. xiv, p. 50, 51). Montesquieu (Consi- derations iur la Grandeur, &c. c. xx, torn, iii, p. 497) has made a judicious observation on the failure of these great naval armaments.
7 Jornandes is our best guide through the reigns of Theodoric II, and Euric, (de Rebus Getiris, c. 44, 45, 46, 47, p. 675-681). Idatius ends too soon, and Isidore is too sparing of tbe information which be might have given on the affairs of Spain. The events that relate to Gaul are laboriously illustrated in the third book of tbe Abbe Dvbot. Hist. Critique, torn, i, p. 424-620.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 203
nour; he violated his recent treaty with the CHAP. Romans; and the ample territory of Narbonne, J which he firmly united to his dominions, became the immediate reward of his perfidy. The selfish policy of Ricimer encouraged him to in- vade the provinces which were in the possession of jEgidius, his rival ; but the active count, by the defence of Aries, and the victory of Orleans, saved Gaul, and checked, also, during his life- time, the progress of the Visigoths. Their am- bition was soon rekindled ; and the design of ex- tinguishing the Roman empire in Spain and Gaul, was conceived, and almost completed, in the reign of Euric, who assassinated his brother Theodoric, and displayed, with a more savage temper, superior abilities, both in peace and war. He passed the Pyrenees at the head of a nume- rous army, subdued the cities of Saragossa and Pampeluna, vanquished in battle the martial no- bles of the Tarragonese province, carried his victorious arms into the heart of Lusitania, and permitted the Suevi to hold the kingdom of Gal- licia under the Gothic monarchy of Spain/ The efforts of Euric were not less vigorous, or less successful, in Gaul ; and throughout the country that extends from the Pyrenees to the Rhone and the Loire, Berry, and Auvergne, were the only cities, or diocesses, which refused to ac- knowledge him as their master.* In the defence of Clermont, their principal town, the inhabi-
z See Mariana, Hist. Hispan. tom. i, 1. r, c. 5, p. 162.
* An imperfect, but original, picture of Gaul, more especially of Aurergne, is shewn by Sidonius; who, as a senator, and afterwards as • bishop, was deeply interested in the fate of his country. See 1. T, epist. 1, 6, 9, &c.
204 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, tants of Auvergne sustained, with inflexible re- soluti°n> the miseries of war, pestilence, and fa- mine; and the Visigoths, relinquishing the fruit- less siege, suspended the hopes of that important conquest. The youth of the province were ani- mated by the heroic, and almost incredible, va- lour of Ecdicius the son of the emperor Avitus,* who made a desperate sally with only eighteen horsemen, boldly attacked the Gothic army, and, after maintaining a flying skirmish, retired safe and victorious within the walls of Clermont. His charity was equal to his courage: in a time of extreme scarcity, four thousand poor were fed at his expence; and his private influence levied an army of Burgundians for the deliver- ance of Auvergne. From his virtues alone the faithful citizens of Gaul derived any hopes of safety or freedom; and even such virtues were insufficient to avert the impending ruin of their country, since they were anxious to learn from his authority and example, whether they should prefer the alternative of exile or servitude.' The public confidence was lost; the resources of the state were exhausted; and the Gauls had too much reason to believe that Anthemius, who reigned in Italy, was incapable of protecting his distressed subjects beyond the Alps. The fee-
* Sidonius, 1. iii, epUt. 3, p. 65-68. Greg. Turoii, I. ii, c. 24, in torn, ii, p. 174. Jornandes, c 45, p. 675. Perhaps Ecdiciut was only the son-in-law of Avitus, his wife's son by another husband.
c Si nulls a republica vires, nulla prsesidia, si nullae, quantum rumor est, Anthemii principis opes, statuit, te auctore, nobilitas seu patriam dimitterc sen cappillos, (Sidon. 1. ii, epist. 1, p 33). Tnc last words (Sirmoud Not. p. 25) may likewise denote the clerical toniure, which was indeed the choice of Sidonius himself.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 205
ble emperor could only procure for their defence CHAP. the service of twelve thousand British wa-^JJJ^ iliaries. Riothamus, one of the independent kings, or chieftains, of the island, was persuad- ed to transport his troops to the continent of Gaul ; he sailed up the Loire, and established his quarters in Berry, where the people com- plained of these oppressive allies, till they were destroyed, or dispersed, by the arms of the Vi- sigoths/
One of the last acts of jurisdiction, which the Trial of Roman senate exercised over their subjects Gaul, was the trial and condemnation of Arvan- dus, the pretorian prefect. Sidonius, who re- joices that he lived under a reign in which he might pity and assist a state-criminal, has ex- pressed, with tenderness and freedom, the faults of his indiscreet and unfortunate friend.6 From the perils, which he had escaped, Arvandus im- bibed confidence rather than wisdom; and such was the various, though uniform, imprudence of his behaviour, that his prosperity must appear much more surprising than his downfal. The second prefecture, which he obtained within the term of five years, abolished the merit and popu- 1 arity of his preceding administration . His easy
d The history of these Britons may be traced in Jornandes, (c. 45, p. 678); Sidonius, (1. Hi, epistol. 9, p. 73, 74,) and Gregory of Touri, (1. ii, c. 18, in torn, ii, p. 170). Sidonius (who styles these mercenary troops argutos, armatos, tumultuosos, virtute, numero, contubernio, contumaces) addresses their general in a tone of friendship and fa- miliarity.
See Sidonius, 1. i, epist. 7, p. 15-20, with Sirmond's notes. This letter does honour to his heart, as well as to his undertanding. The prone of Sidonius, however vitiated by a false and affected taste, i« much superior to insipid verses. ...
206 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, temper was corrupted by flattery, and exaspe- ^ rated by opposition; he was forced to satisfy his importunate creditors with the spoils of the pro- vince; his capricious insolence offended the nobles of Gaul, and he sunk under the weight of the public hatred. The mandate of his dis- grace summoned him to justify his conduct be- fore the senate : and he passed the sea of Tusca- ny with a favourable wind, the presage, as he vainly imagined, of his future fortunes. A de- cent respect was still observed for the prefecto- rzawrank; and on his arrival at Rome, Arvan- dus was committed to the hospitality, ratherthan the custody, of Flavius Asellus, the count of the sacred largesses, who resided in the Capitol/ He was eagerly pursued by his accusers, the four deputies of Gaul, who were all distinguish- ed by their birth, their dignities, or their elo- quence. In the name of a great province, and according to the forms of Roman jurisprudence, they instituted a civil and criminal action, re- quiring such a restitution as might compensate the losses of individuals, and such punishment as might satisfy the justice of the state. Their charges of corrupt oppression were numerous and weighty; but they placed their secret de- pendence on a letter, which they had intercept- ed, and which they could prove, by the evidence of his secretary, to have been dictated by Ar- vandus himself. The author of this letter seem-
f When the Capitol ceased to be a temple, it was appropriated to the use of the civil magistrate ; and it is still the residence of the Ro- man senator. The jewellers, &c. might be allowed to expose their precious wares iu the porticos.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 207
ed to dissuade the king of the Goths from a peace CHAP. with the Greek emperor : he suggested the at- tack of the Britons on the Loire; and he recom- mended a division of Gaul, according to the law of nations, between the Visigoths and Burgun- dians.8 These pernicious schemes, which a friend could only palliate by the reproaches of vanity and indiscretion, were susceptible of a treasonable interpretation : and the deputies had artfully resolved, not to produce their most formidable weapons till the decisive moment of the contest. But their intentions were dis- covered by the zeal of Sidonius. He imme- diately apprized the unsuspecting criminal of his danger; and sincerely lamented, without any mixture of anger, the haughty presumption of Arvandus, who rejected, and even resented, the salutary advice of his friends. Ignorant of his real situation, Arvandus shewed himself in the Capitol in the white robe of a candidate, ac- cepted indiscriminate salutations and offers of service, examined the shops of the merchants, the silks and gems, sometimes with the indiffer- ence of a spectator, and sometimes with the at- tention of a purchaser: and complained of the times, of the senate, of the prince, and of the delays of justice. His complaints were soon removed. An early day was fixed for his trial; and Arvandus appeared, with his accusers, be- fore a numerous assembly of the Roman senate.
* Haec ad regem Gothoruro, charta videbatur emitti, pacem cum Graeco Imperatore dissuadens, Britannos super Ligerim sitos impug- nari op port ere demons trans, cum Burgundionibui jure gentium Gal- Hut diridi debere confirmani.
208 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. The mournful earb which they affected, excited
«r v v vv
ff^ ^ the compassion of the judges, who were scan- dalized by the gay and splendid dress of their adversary : and when the prefect Arvandus, with the first of the Gallic deputies, were directed to take their places on the senatorial benches, the same contrast of pride and modesty was observed in their behaviour. In this memorable judg- ment, which presented a lively image of the old republic, the Gauls exposed, with force and freedom, the grievances of the province ; and as soon as the minds of the audience were suffici- ently inflamed, they recited the fatal epistle. The obstinacy of Arvandus was founded on the strange supposition, that a subject could not be convicted of treason, unless he had actually conspired to assume the purple. As the paper was read, he repeatedly, and with a loud voice, acknowledged it for his genuine composition; and his astonishment was equal to his dismay, when the unanimous voice of the senate decla- red him guilty of a capital offence. By their decree, he was degraded from the rank of a pre- fect to the obscure condition of a plebeian, and ignominiously dragged by servile hands to the public prison. After a fortnight's adjournment, the senate was again convened to pronounce the sentence of his death : but while he expect- ed, in the island of ^Esculapius, the expiration of the thirty days allowed by an ancient law to the vilest malefactors,11 his friends interposed,
k Scnatuscontultum Tiberianum, (Sirmond, Not. p. 17) ; but that law allowed only ten days between the sentence and execution ; the remaining twenty were added in the reign of Theodosiuc.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 209
the emperor Antheraius relented, and the pre- CHAP.
"vvv Vf
feet of Gaul obtained the milder punishment of __________
exile and confiscation. The faults of Arvan- dus might deserve compassion ; but the impu- nity of Serohatus accused the justice of the re- public, till he was condemned, and executed, on the complaint of the people of Auvergne. That flagitious minister, the Catiline of his age and country, held a secret correspondence with the Visigoths, to betray the province which he oppressed; his industry was continually exer- cised in the discovery of new taxes and obso- lete offences ; and his extravagant vices would have inspired contempt, if they had not excited fear and abhorrence.'
Such criminals were not beyond the reach of justice ; but whatever mi^ht be the ffuilt of Ri- and Rici-
• f 1U 1 • 11 mer, A. D.
cnner, that powerful barbarian was able to con- 471. tend or to negociate with the prince, whose alliance he had condescended to accept. The peaceful and prosperous reign which Anthe- mius had promised to the West, was soon clouded by misfortune and discord. Ricimer, apprehensive, or impatient, of a superior, re- tired from Rome, and fixed his residence at Milan ; an advantageous situation, either to in- vite, or to repel, the warlike tribes that were
1 Catilina seculi nostri. Sidonius, 1. ii, epist. 1, p. 33 ; 1. v. epist. 13, p. 143 ; 1. vii, epist. 7, p. 185. He execrates the crimes, and applauds the punishment, of Seronatus, perhaps with the indigna- tion of a virtuous citizen, perhaps with the reteutment of a perso- nal enemy.
VOL. VI. P
2iO THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, seated between the Alps and the Danube.11
XXXVI
'ff Italy was gradually divided into two indepen- dent and hostile kingdoms ; and the nobles of Liguria, who trembled at the near approach of a civil war, fell prostrate at the feet of the patri- cian, and conjured him to spare their unhappy country. " For my own part," replied Ricimer, in a tone of insolent moderation, " I am still in- " clined to embrace the friendship of the Gala- -** tian ;' but who will undertake to appease his " anger, or to mitigate the pride, which always " rises in proportion to our submission?" They informed him, that Epiphanius, bishop of Pa- via,m united the wisdom of the serpent with the innocence of the dove ; and appeared confident, that the eloquence of such an ambassador must prevail against the strongest opposition, either of interest or passion. Their recommendation was approved ; and Epiphanius, assuming the benevolent office of mediation, proceeded with- out delay to Rome, where he was received with the honours due to his merit and reputation.
k Ricimer under the reign of Anthemius, defeated and slew in battle Beorgor, king of the Alani, (Jornandes, c. 45, p. 678). Hit titter had married the king of the Burgundians, and he maintained an intimate connection with the Sueric colony established in Paa- nonia and Noricum.
1 Galatam concitatum. Sirmond (in his notes to Ennodiui) ap plies this appellation to Anthemius himself. The emperor was pro- bably born in the province of Galatia, whose inhabitants, the Gallo- Grecians, were supposed to unite the vices of a savage, and a cor- rupted, people.
m Epiphanius was thirty years bishop of Pavia, (A. D. 467-497 ; see Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. torn xvi, p. 788). His name and ac- tions would have been unknown to posterity, if Ennodiug, one of his successors , had not written his life, (Sirmund, Opera, torn, i, p. 1647-1692) ; in which he represents him as one of the greatest characters of the age
OF THE ROMAN EUP1RE. 211
The oration of a bishop in favour of peace, may CHAP. be easily supposed ; he argued, that in all pos- sible circumstances, the forgiveness of injuries must be an act of mercy, or magnanimity, or prudence : and he seriously admonished the emperor to avoid a contest with a fierce barba- rian, which might be fatal to himself, and must be ruinous to his dominions. Anthemius ac- knowledged the truth of his maxims ; but he deeply felt, with grief and indignation the be- haviour of Ricimer ; and his passion gave elo- quence and energy to his discourse. " What " favours," he warmly exclaimed, " have we " refused to this ungrateful man ? What provo- " cations have we not endured ? Regardless of " the majesty of the purple, I gave my daughter " to a Goth ; I sacrificed my own blood to the " safety of the republic. The liberality which " ought to have secured the eternal attachment " of Ricimer has exasperated him against his " benefactor. What wars as he not excited " against the empire? How often as he insti- " gated, and assisted the fury of hostile nations ? " Shall I now accept his perfidious friendship? " Can I hope that he will respect the engage- " ments of a treaty, who has already violated " the duties of a son ?" But the anger of Anthe- mius evaporated in these passionate exclama- tions ; he insensibly yielded to the proposals of Epiphanins; and the bishop returned to his diocess with the satisfaction of restoring the peace of Italy, by a reconciliation," of which
" Ennodius (p. 1659-10G1) has related this embaciy of Epbipha*
•HIM «
212 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, the sincerity and continuance might be reason-
"v "V "V VT
„ ably suspected. The clemency of the emperor was extorted from his weakness ; and Ricimer suspended his ambitious designs, till he had se- cretly prepared the engines with which he re- solved to subvert the throne of Anthemius. The mask of peace and moderation was then thrown aside. The army of Ricimer \vas fortified by a numerous reinforcement of Bur- gundians and oriental Suevi : he disclaimed all allegiance to the Greek emperor, marched from Milan to the gates of Rome, and fixing his camp on the banks of the Anio, impatiently expected the arrival of Olybrius, his imperial candidate.
?ri^rorsof The senator Olybrius, of the Anician family, the west, mie;ht esteem himself the lawful heir of the
A. D. 472.
March 23. western empire. He had married Placidia, the younger daughter of Valentinian, after she was restored by Genseric ; who still detained her sister Eudoxia, as the wife, or rather as the captive, of his son. The king of the Vandals supported, by threats and solicitations, the fair pretensions of his Roman ally ; and assigned, as one of the motives of the war, the refusal of the senate and people to acknowledge their lawful prince, and the unworthy preference which they had given to a stranger.0 The friendship of the public enemy might render
nius ; and his narrative, verbose and turgid as it must appear, illus- trates some curious passages in the fall of the western empire.
0 Priscus Excerpt. Legation, p. 74. Procopius de Bell. Vandal. 1. i. c. 6, p. 191. Eudoxia and her daughter were restored after the death of Majorian. Perhaps the consulship of Olybrius (A. O. 464) was bestowed as a nuptial present.
OF* THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 213
Olybrius still more unpopular to the Italians ; CHAP. but when Ricimer meditated the ruin of the emperor Anthemius, he tempted, with the offer of a diadem, the candidate who could justify his rebellion by an illustrious name, and a royal alliance. The husband of Placidia, who, like most of his ancestors, had been invested with the consular dignity, might have continued to enjoy a secure and splendid fortune in the peaceful residence of Constantinople ; nor does he appear to have been tormented by such a genius, as cannot be amused or occupied, unless by the administration of an empire^ Yet Oly- brius yielded to the importunities of his friends, perhaps of his wife ; rashly plunged into the dangers and calamities of a civil war ; and, with the secret connivance of the emperor Leo, ac- cepted the Italian purple, which was bestowed, and resumed, at the capricious will of a barba- rian. He landed without obstacle (for Genseric was master of the sea) either at Ravenna or the port of Ostia, and immediately proceeded to the camp of Ricimer, where he was received as the sovereign of the western world.p
The patrician, who had extended his posts from the Anio to the Milvian bridge, already possessed two quarters of Rome, the Vatican and the Janiculum, which are separated by the
f The hostile appearance of Olybrius is fixed (notwithstanding the opinion of Pagi) by the duration of his reign. The secret conni- vance of Leo is acknowledged by Theophanes, and the Paschal Chronicle. We are ignorant of his motives ; but in this obscure period, our ignorance extends to the most public and important fads.
2 14 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. Tiber from the rest of the city ;q and it may be
-m Y , • . • w
'rf conjectured that an assembly of seceding sena- sack of tors imitated, in the choice of Olybrius, the ?eThe'0afnd forms of a legal election. But the body of the se- Anthe- na^e an(j peOple firmly adhered to the cause of
mi us,
A. n. 472, Anthemius; and the more effectual support of a Gothic army enabled him to prolong his reign, and the public distress, by a resistance of three months, which produced the concomitant evils of famine and pestilence. At length, Ricimer, made a furious assault on the bridge of Ha- drian, or St. Angelo ; and the narrow pass was defended with equal valour by the Goths, till the death of Gilimer their leader. The victo- rious troops, breaking down every barrier, rush- ed with irresistible violence into the heart of the city, and Rome (if we may use the lan- guage of a contemporary pope) was subverted by the civil fury of Anthemius and Ricimer/ The unfortunate Anthemius was dragged from his concealment, and inhumanly massacred by the command of his son-in-law; who thus ad- ded a third, or perhaps a fourth emperor to the
* Of the fourteen regions, or quarters, into which Rome was di- vided by Augustus, only one, the Janiculum, lay on the Tuscan side of the Tiber. But, in the fifth century, the Vatican suburb formed n considerable city ; and in the ecclesiastical distribution, which had been recently made by Simplicius, the reiguiug pope two of the scten regions, or parishes of Rome, depended on the church of St. Peter. See Nardini Roma Antica, p. 67. It would require a tedious disser- tation to mark the circumstances, in which I am inclined to depart from the topography of that learned Roman.
' Nuper Anthemii et Ricimcris civil i furore subvcrsa est. Gela- sins in Epist. ad Andromach. apud Baron. A. D. 496, N°. 42. Si- gonius, (torn, i, 1. xiv, de Occidental! Imperio p. 542, 543), and Muratori, (Anuali. d'ltalia, torn. iv. p. 308, 309, with the aid of a less imperfect MS. of the Historia Miscella, have illustrated this dark and bloody transaction.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 215
number of his victims. The soldiers, who unit- CHAP.
v V v vi
ed the rage of factious citizens with the savage ^
manners of barbarians, were indulged without controul, in the license of rapine and murder : the crowd of slaves and plebeians, who were unconcerned in the event, could only gain by the indiscriminate pillage ; and the face of the city exhibited the strange contrast of stern cruelty, and dissolute intemperance.1 Forty Death of days after this calamitous event, the subject, not of glory, but of guilt, Italy was delivered, by a painful disease, from the tyrant Ricimer, who bequeathed the command of his army to his nephew Gundobald, one of the princes of the Burgundians. In the same year, all the principal actors in this great revolution, were removed from the stage ; and the whole reign of Olybrius, whose death does not betray any symptoms of violence, is included within the °ct- 2 term of seven months. He left one daughter, the offspring of his marriage with Placidia : and the family of the great Theodosius, transplanted from Spain to Constantinople, was propagated in the female line as far as the eighth generation.1 Whilst the vacant throne of Italy was aban-
* Such had been the sasva ac deformis urbe toti fades, when Rome was assaulted and stormed by the troops of Vespasian, (see Tacit. Hist, iii, 82, 83) ; and every cause of mischief had since acquired much additional energy. The revolution of ages may bring round the same calamities ; but ages may revolve, without producing a Ta- citus to describe them.
k * See Ducange, Fatniliae Byzantin. p. 74, 75. Areobindus, who appears to have married the niece of the emperor Justinian, was the, eight descendant of the elder Theodosius.
216 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, doned to lawless barbarians," the election of a 'rf new colleague was seriously agitated in the coun-
Ne- cil of Leo. The empress Verina, studious to Giycenus, promote the greatness of her own family, had ofThe0™ man*ie(i one °f ner nieces to Julius Nepos, who West, succeeded his uncle Marcellinus in the sove- 475. reignty of Dalmatia, a more solid possession than the title which he was persuaded to ac- cept, of Emperor of the West. But the mea- sures of the Byzantine court were so languid •and irresolute, that many months elapsed after the death of Anthemius, and even of Olybrius, before their destined successor could show him- self, with a respectable force, to his Italian sub- jects. During that interval, Glycerins, an ob- scure soldier, was invested with the purple by his patron Gundobald ; but the Burgundian prince was unable, or unwilling, to support his nomination by a civil war : the pursuits of do- mestic ambition recalled him beyond the Alps,* and his client was permitted to exchange the Roman sceptre for the bishoprick of Salona . After extinguishing such a competitor, the emperor Ne- pos was acknowledged by the senate, by the Ita- lians, and by the provincials of Gaul ; his moral vir-
" The last revolutions of the western empire are faintly marked in Theophanes, (p. 102 ; Jornandes, (c. 45, p. 679) ; the Chronicle of Marcellinus, and the fragments of an armoiiymous writer, publish, ed by Valesius at the end of Ammianus, (p. 716, 717). If Photius had not been so wretchedly concise, we should derive much infor- mation from the contemporary histories of Malchus and Candidui. See his extracts, p, 172-179.
x See Greg. Turon. 1. ii, c. 28, in torn, ii, p. 175. Dubos. Hist. Critique, torn, i, p. 613. By the murder, or death, of his two bro- thers, Gundobald acquired the sole possession of the kingdom of Burgundy, whose ruin was hastened by their discord.
0V THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 217
tues, and military talents, were loudly celebrated; CHAP. and those who derived any private benefit from XXXV|- his government, announced, in prophetic strains, " the restoration of the public felicity.7 Their hopes (if such hopes had been entertained) were confounded within the term of a single year ; and the treaty of peace, which ceded Auvergne to the Visigoths, is the only event of his short and inglorious reign. The most faithful subjects of Gaul were sacrificed by the Italian emperor, to the hope of domestic security;1 but his repose was soon invaded by a furious sedition of the barbarian confederates, who, under the com- mand of Orestes, their general, were in full march from Rome to Ravenna. Nepos trembled at their approach; and instead of placing a just confidence in the strength of Ravenna, he hastily escaped to his ships, and retired to his Dalma- tian principality, on the opposite coast of the Hadriatic. By this shameful abdication, he protracted his life about five years, in a very ambiguous state, between an emperor and an exile, till he was assassinated at Salona, by the ungrateful Glycerins, who was translated, per- haps as the reward of his crime, to the arch- bishoporic of Milan.*
y Julius Nepos armi» paritcr surmus Augustus ac mortbus. Si- donius, 1. v, ep. 19, p. 146. Nepos has giveu to Ecidicius the title of patrician, which Antheinius had promised, decessoris Anthcmi fidem absolvit. See 1. viii, ep. 7, p. 224.
z Epiphanius was sent ambassador from Nepos to the Visigoths, for the purpose of ascertaining the fines Imperil Itulici, (Ennodius in Sirmond. torn, i, p. 1665-1669). His pathetic discourse concealed th« disgraceful secret, which soon excited the just and bitter com- plaints of the bishop of Clermont,
* Malchus, apud. Phot. p. 172. Ennod. Epigram. 1. Ixxxii, in Sir- •nond Oper. torn, i, p. 1879. Some doubt may however be railed «n 'he dentity of the emperor and th« archbishop.
218 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. The nations who had asserted their independ- J^ ence after the death of Attila, were established, The patri- by the right of possession or conquest, in the t^n 8" boundless countries to the north of the Danube ; A. D. 475. or jn the Roman provinces between the river and the Alps. But the bravest of their youth enlisted in the army of confederates, who formed the defence and the terror of Italy ;b and in this promiscuous multitude, the names of the Heruli, the Scyrri, the Alani, the Turcilingi, and the Rugians, appear to have predominated. The example of these warriors was imitated by Ores- tes,' the son of Tatullus, and the father of the last Roman emperor of the West. Orestes who has been already mentioned in this history, had ne- ver deserted his country. His birth and fortunes rendered him one of the most illustrious subjects of Pannonia. When that province was ceded to the Huns, he entered into the service of Attila, his lawful sovereign, obtained the office of his secretary, and was repeatedly sent ambassador to Constantinople, to represent the person, and signify the commands, of the imperious monarch. The death of that conqueror restored him to his freedom ; and Orestes might honourably refuse either to follow the sons of Attila, into the Scy- thian desert, or to obey the Ostrogoths, who had
b Our knowledge of these mercenaries, who subverted the western empire, is derived from Procopius, (de Bell. Gothiro, 1. i, c. i, p. 308). The popular opinion, and the recent historians, represent Odoater in the false light of a stranger, and a king, who invaded Italy with an army of foreigners, his native subjects.
c Orestes, qni contempore quamlo Attila ad Italiam venit,, se illi junxit, et ejus notarius factus fureat. Anonym. Vales, p. 716. He is mistaken in the date ; but we may credit his assertion, that the «e- eretary of Attila was the father of Auguitului
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 219
usurped the dominion of Pannonia. He pre- CHAP ferred the service of the Italian princes, the sue- ^?J,*'^ cessors of Valentinian; and, as he possessed the qualifications of courage, industry, and experi- ence, he advanced with rapid steps in the mili- tary profession, till he was elevated, by the fa- vour of Nepos himself, to the dignities of patri- cian, and master-general of the troops. These troops had been long accustomed, to reverence the character and authority of Orestes, who af- fected their manners, conversed with them in their own language, and was intimately con- nected with their national chieftains, by long habits of familiarity and friendship. At his so- licitation they rose in arms against the obscure Greek, who presumed to claim their obedience; and when Orestes from some secret motive, de- clined the purple, they consented, with the same facility to acknowledge his son Augustulus, as His son the emperor of the West. By the al dication of ^"fjjf,"^ Nepos, Orestes had now attained the summit of emPeior «' his ambitious hopes; but he soon discovered, be- A. ». 4?c. fore the end of the first year, that the lessons of perjury and ingratitude, which a rebel must in- culcate, will be retorted against himself; and that the precarious sovereign of Italy was only permitted to choose, whether he would be the slave, or the victim, of his barbarian mercenaries. The dangerous alliance of these strangers had oppressed and insulted the last remains of Ro- man freedom and dignity. At each revolution, their pay and privileges were augmented, but their
insolence increased in a still more extravagant iegree; they envied the fortune of their brethren
220 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, in Gaul, Spain, and Africa, whose victorious l_ arms had acquired an independent and perpetual inheritance; and they insisted on their peremp- tory demand, that a third part of the lands of Italy should be immediately divided among them. Orestes, with a spirit which, in another situation, might be entitled to our esteem, chose rather to encounter the rage of an armed multi- tude, than to subscribe the ruin of an innocent people. He rejected the audacious demand; and his refusal was favourable to the ambition ofOdoacer; a bold barbarian, who assured his fellow soldiers, that, if they dared to associate under his command, they might soon extort the justice which had been denied to their dutiful petitions. From all the camps and garrisons of Italy, the confederates, actuated by the same re- sentment and the same hopes, impatiently flock- ed to the standard of this popular leader : and the unfortunate patrician, overwhelmed by the torrent, hastily retreated to the strong city of Pavia, the episcopal seat of the holy Bpipha- nites. Pavia was immediately beseiged, the fortifications were stormed, the town was pil- laged; and although the bishop might labour with much zeal and some success, to save the property of the church, and the chastity of fe- male captives, the tumult could only be ap- peased by the execution of Orestes.' His bro- ther Paul was slain in an action near Ravenna; and the hopeless Augustulus, who could no
* See Ennodius, (in Vit. Epiphan Sirmoud, torn, i, p. 1669, 1670). He adds weight to the narrative of Procopius, though we may doubt whether the devil actually contrived the sejge of Paria, to distress the bishop and his (lock.
OK THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 221
longer command the respect, was reduced to CHAP.
"v v v Vf
implore the clemency, of Odoacer.
r J 1 tf**f*UH^ »ff~f**r»*~
That successful barbarian was the son of Od
Edecon ; who, in some remarkable transactions, iufy,° particularly described in a preceding chapter, ^ 476" had been the colleague of Orestes himself. The honour of an ambassador should be exempt from suspicion; and Edecon had listened to a conspiracy against the life of his sovereign. But this apparent guilt was expiated by his merit or repentance ; his rank was eminent and conspicu- ous; he enjoyed the favour of Attila; and the troops under his command, who guarded, in their turn, the royal village, consisted in a tribe of Scyrri, his immediate and hereditary subjects. In the revolt of the nations, they still adhered to the Huns; and, more than twelve years after- wards, the name of Edecon is honourably men- tioned, in their unequal contest with the Ostro- goths ; which was terminated, after two bloody battles, by the defeat and dispersion of the Scyr- ri.* Their gallant leader, who did not survive this national calamity, left two sons, Onulf and Odo- acer, to struggle with adversity, and to main- tain as they might, by rapine or service, the faithful followers of their exile. Onulf directed his steps towards Constantinople, where he sul- lied, by the assassination of a generous benefac- tor, the fame which he had acquired in arms. His brother Odoacer led a wandering life among the
e Jornandes, c. 53, 54, p. 692-695. M. de Buat (Hist, dec Peuplei de 1' Europe, torn, viii, p. 221-228) has clearly explained the origin and adventures of Odoacer. I am almost inclined to believe that he was the same who pillaged Angers, and commanded a fleet of Saxon pirates on the ocean. Greg. Turou. 1. ii, c. 18, in torn, ii, p. 170.
222 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, barbarians of Noricum, with a mind and a for- J1; tune suited to the most desperate adventures ; The patri- and when he had fixed his choice, he piously cian o «- yjgjted the cell of Severinus, the popular saint of A. D. 475. the country, to solicit his approbation and bless- ing. The lowness of the door would not admit the lofty stature of Odoacer: he was obliged to stoop; but in that humble attitude the saint could discern the symptoms of his future great- ness; and addressing him in a prophetic tone, "Pursue," (said he) "your design; proceed to " Italy; you will soon cast away this coarse gar- " ment of skins ; and your wealth will be ade- " quate to the liberality of your mind.' The barbarian, whose daring spirit accepted and ra- tified the prediction, was admitted into the ser- vice of the western empire, and soon obtained an honourable rank in the guards. His man- ners were gradually polished, his military skill was improved, and the confederates of Italy would not have elected him for their general, unless the exploits of Odoacer had established a high opinion of his courage and capacity.8 Their military acclamations saluted him with the title of king: but he abstained, during his whole reign, from the use of the purple and di- adem,11 lest he should offend those princes, whose
f Vade ad Italian), vade vilissimis nunc pellibus coopertii: sed multis cito plurima largiturus. Anonym. Vales, p. 717. He quotes the life of St. Severinus, which is extant, and contains much unknown and valuable history ; it was composed by his disciple Eugippius, (A. D. 511), thirty years after his death. See Tillemont, Mem. Ecclesf. tom.xvi, p. 168-181.
8 Theophanes, who calls him a Goth, affirms, that he was educat- ed, nursed (TJ-S^EVTCJ) in Italy, (p. 102); and as this strong expression wilt not bear a literal interpretation, it mutt be explained by a long •ertice iu the imperial guards.
" Numen regit Odoacer assumpsit, cum tameu neque purport nee
egalibu*
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 223
subjects, by their accidental mixture, had CHAP. formed the victorious army which time and policy might insensibly unite into a great nation.
Royalty was familiar to the barbarians, and ^.x the submissive people of Italy was prepared western to obey, without a murmur, the authority A. "D™^ which he should condescend to exercise asj^f' D the vicegerent of the emperor of the West. But Odoacer had resolved to abolish that use- less and expensive office; and such is the weight of antique prejudice, that it required some boldness and penetration to discover the extreme facility of the enterprise. The unfor- tunate Augustulus was made the instrument of his own disgrace ; he signified his resignation to the senate : and that assembly in their last act of obedience to a Roman prince, still affected the spirit of freedom, and the forms of the con- stitution. An epistle was addressed, by their unanimous decree, to the emperor Zeno, the son-in-law and successor of Leo; who had lately been restored, after a short rebellion to the Byzantine throne. They solemnly " dis- " claim the necessity, or even the wish, of con- " tinuing any longer the imperial succession in " Italy ; since, in their opinion, the majesty of " a sole monarch is sufficient to pervade and " and protect, at the same time, both the East " and the West. In their own name, and in " the name of the people, they consent that the " seat of the universal empire shall be transfer- " red from Rome to Constantinople ; and they " basely renounce the right of choosing their
regalibu* utcretur insignibus. Cassiodor. in Chron. A. D. 476. He • terns to hare assumed the abstract title of a kin;, without applying t to any particular nation or country.
I
224 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. " master, the only vestige that yet remained of »« j.jjg authority which had given laws to the " world. The republic (they repeat that name " without a blush) might safely confide in the " civil and military virtues of Odoacer ; and " they humbly request, that the emperor would " invest him with the title of Patrician, and " the administration of the diocess of Italy." The deputies of the senate were received at Constantinople with some marks of displeasure and indignation ; and when they were admitted to the audience of Zeno, he sternly reproached them with their treatment of the two emperors, Anthemius and Nepos, whom the East had successively granted to the prayers of Italy. " The first" (continued he) " you have mur- " dered ; the second you have expelled : but " the second is still alive, and whilst he lives '• he is your lawful sovereign." But the pru- dent Zeno soon deserted the hopeless cause of his abdicated colleague. His vanity was gra- tified by the title of sole emperor, and by the statues erected to his honour in the several quarters of Rome ; he entertained a friendly, though ambiguous, correspondence with the patrician Odoacer ; and he gratefully accepted the imperial ensigns, the sacred ornaments of the throne and palace, which the barbarian was not unwilling to remove from the sight of the people.1
In the space of twenty years since the death
1 Malchus, whose loss excites our regret, has preserved (in Ex- cerpt. Legat. p. 93) this extraordinary embassy from the senate to Zeno. ; The anuonymous fragment, (p. 71< ), and the Extract front Candidas, (apud Phot. p. 176), are likewise of some u*e.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. i 225
of Valentinian nine emperors had successively (CHAP.
• -&-*r-*-,r*
disappeared ; and the son of Orestes, a youth recommended only by his beau-ty, would be the Augustu- least entitled to the notice of posterity, if his n1»hed, to
reign, which was marked by the extinction o the'Roman empire in the West, did not leave a memorable era in the history of mankind.* The patrician Orestes had married the daugh- ter of Count Romulus, of Petovio in Noricum : the name of Augustus, notwithstanding the jea- lousy of power, was known at Aquileia as a fa- miliar surname ; and the appellations of the two great founders of the city, and of the mo- narchy, were thus strangely united in the last of their successors.1 The son of Orestes as- sumed and disgraced the names of Romulus Augustus ; but the first was corrupted into Momyllus, by the Greeks, and the second has been changed by the Latins into the contemp- tible diminutive Augustulus. The life of this inoffensive youth v»as spared by the generous clemency of Odoacer ; who dismissed him, with his whole family, from the imperial palace,
' k The precise year in which the western empire was extinguished, is not positively ascertained. The vulgar era of A. D. 476, appeart to have the sanction of authentic chronicles. But the two dates as- signed by Joruandes, (c. 46, p. 6SO), would delay that great event to the year 479 : and though M. de Buat has overlooked his evi- dence, he produces (torn, viii, p. 261-288), many collateral circum- stances in support of the same opinion.
1 See his medals in Ducange, (Fam. Byzantin. p. 31), Priscus, (Excerpt, Legat. p. 56. MafFei Osservarioni Letterarie, torn, ii. p. 314). We may allege a famous and similar case. The meanest sub- jects of the Roman empire assumed the illustrious name of Patri. cius, which, by the conversion of Ireland, has been communicated to a whole nation.
VOL. VI. Q
22C THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, fixed his annual allowance at six thousand
' pieces of gold, and assigned the castle of Lu-
| cullus, in Campania, for the place of his exile I or retirement." As soon as the Romans breath- ed from the toils of the Punic war, they were attracted by the beauties and the pleasures of Campania ; and the country-house of the elder Scipio at Liternum, exhibited a lasting model of their rustic simplicity." The delicious shores of the bay of Naples were crowded with villas ; and Sylla applauded the masterly skill of his rival, who had seated himself on the lofty pro- montory of Misenum, that commands, on every side, the sea and land, as far as the boundaries of the horizon.0 The villa of Marius was pur- chased, within a few years, by Lucullus, and the price had increased from two thousand five hundred, to more than fourscore thousand pounds sterling.1* It was adorned by the new
m Ingrediens autem Ravennam deposuit Augustulum de regno, cu- jus iufantiam misertus concessit ei sauguinem ; et quia pulcher prat, tamen donavit ei reditum sex millin solidos, et misit eum intrm Campaniam cnrn pareatihus suis libere vivere. Anonym. Vales, p. 716. Jornandes says, (c. 46, p, 680), iu Lucallano Campaniae cas- telle exilii poeua darauavit.
" See the eloquent declamation of Seneca, (epist. Ixxxvi). The philosopher might have recollected, that all luxury is relative ; mad that the elder Scipio, whose manners were polished by study and conversatiuu, was himself accused of that vice by his ruder contem- poraries, (Livy, xxix, 19).
0 Sylla, in the language of a soldier, praised his peritia. catirame- tunti, (Plin. Hist. Natur. xviii, 7). Phsedrus, who makes its shady walk* (l*ta firidia) the scene of an insipid fable, (ii, S), has thua described the situation- Caesar Tiberius quam petens Neapolim. In Mesenensem villam vvenisset suam ; Qua; monte rumino posita Luculli maun Prospectat Siculum ct prospicil Tuscuin mare. ' From seven myriads and a half to two hundred and iit'iy my- riads
.Of THE ROMAIC EMPIRE. 327
proprietor with Grecian arts, and Asiatic trea- CHAP.
XXXVI
sures ; and the houses and gardens of Lucullus ^,,
obtained a distinguished rank in the list of im- perial palaces.q When the Vandals became formidable to the sea-coast, the Lucullan villa, on the promontory of Misenum, gradually as- sumed the strength and appellation of a strong castle, the obscure retreat of the last emperor of the West. About twenty years after that great revolution, it was converted into a church and monastery, to receive the bones of St. Se- verinus. They securely reposed, amidst the broken trophies of Cinibric and Armenian vic- tories, till the beginning of the tenth century ; when the fortifications, which might afford a dangerous shelter to the Saracens, were demo- lished by the people of Naples/
Odoacer was the first barbarian who reigned Decay of in Italy, over a people who had once asserted their just superiority above the rest of mankind. The disgrace of the Romans still excites our respectful compassion, and we fondly sympa- thise with the imaginary grief and indignation
riads of drachmae. Yet even in the possession of Marina, it was a luxurious retiremeut. The Romans derided his indolence : ' they soon bewailed his activity. See Plutarch, in Mario, torn. ii. p 524.
* Lucullus had other villas of equal, though variou* magnificence, at Baiae, Naples, Tusculum, &c. He boasted that he changed his climate with the storks and cranes. Plutarch, in Lucull. torn. iii. p. 193.
r Severinus died in Noricum, A. D. 482. Six years afterwards, his body, which scattered miracles as it passed, was transported by his disciples into Italy. The devotion of a Neapolitan lady invited the saint to the Lucullan villa, in the place of Augustulus, who was probably no more. See Baronius, (Annal. Eccles. A. D. 496, V°. 50, 51), and Tillemont. (Mem. Eccles. torn, xvi, p. 178-181), from the original life by Eugipius. The narrative of the last mi- gration of Severinus to Naples is likewise an authentic piece.
228 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. I
xxxvi.j of their degenerate posterity. But the calami- *f ties of Italy had gradually subdued the proud I consciousness of freedom and glory. In the age of Roman virtue, the provinces were sub- ject to the arms, and the citizens to the laws, of the republic ; till those laws were subverted by civil discord, and both the city and the pro- vinces became the servile property of a tyrant. The forms of the constitution, which alleviated or disguised their abject slavery, were abolish- ed by time and violence ; the Italians alternately lamented the presence or the~absence~of the so- vereigns, whom they detested or despised ; and the succession of five centuries inflicted the various evils of military license, capricious des- potism, and elaborate oppression. During the same period, the barbarians had emerged from obscurity and contempt, and the warriors of Germany and Scythia were introduced into the provinces, as the servants, the allies, and at length the masters, of the Romans, whom they | .insulted or protected. The hatred of the peo- I pie was suppressed by fear ; they respected the spirit and splendour of the martial chiefs •who were invested with the honours of the em- pire ; and the fate of Rome had long depend- ed on the sword of those formidable strangers* The stern Ricimer, who trampled on the ruins of Italy, had exercised the power, without as- suming the title of a king; and the patient [ Romans were insensiby prepared to acknow- ledge the royalty of Odoacer and his barbaric successors.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 2.29
The king of Italy was not unworthy of the CHAP. high station to which his valour and fortune **; had exalted him ; his savage manners were po- character lished by the habits of conversation ; and he of respected, though a conqueror and a barbarian, the institutions, and even the prejudices, of his subjects. After an interval of seven years, Odoacer restored the consulship of the West. For himself, he modestly, or proudly, declined an honour which was still accepted by the em- perors of the East ; but the curule chair was successively filled by eleven of the most illus- trious senators ;s and the list is adorned by the respectable name of Basilius, whose virtues claimed the friendship and grateful applause of Sidonius, his client.' The laws of the empe- Jors were strictly enforced, and the civil admi- nistration of Italy was still exercised by the pretorian prefect, and his subordinate officers. .Odoacer devolved on the Roman magistrates the odious and oppressive task of collecting the public revenue ; but he reserved for himself the merit of seasonable and popular indulgence^1 Like the rest of the barbarians, he had .been instructed in the Arian heresy ; but he revered
* The consular Fasti may be found in Pagi or Muratio. The consuls named by Odoacer, or perhaps by the Roman senate, ap- pear to have been acknowledged in the eastern empire.
1 Sidonius Apollinaris (1. i, epist. 9, p. 22, edit. Sirmond) has compared the two leading senators' of his time, (A. D. 468), G-en- nadius Avienus and Caecina Basilius. To the former he assigns the specious, to the latter the solid, virtues of public and private life. A. Basilius, junior, possibly his son, was consul in the year 480.
u Epiphauius interceded for the people of Pavia ; and the king first granted an indulgence of live years, and afterwards, relieved them from the oppression of Pelagius, the pretorian prefect, (En- nodius, in Vit, St. Epiphan. in Sirmond. Oper. torn, i, p. 1670, 1G72>
230 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, the monastic episcopal characters : and the si-
XXXVI «
leuceof the catholics attests the toleration which
they enjoyed. The peace of the city required the interposition of his prefect Basilius in the choice of a Roman pontiff : the decree which restrained the clergy from alienating their lands, was ultimately designed for the benefit of the people, whose devotion would have been taxed to repair the dilapidations of the church.* Ita- ly was protected by the arms of its conqueror ; and its frontiers were respected by the barba- rians of Gaul and Germany, who had so long insulted the feeble race of Theodosius. Odo- acer passed the Hadriatic to chastise the assas- sins of the emperor Nepos, and to acquire the maritime province of Dalmatia. He passed the Alps, to rescue the remains of Noricum from Fava, or Feletheus, king of the Rugians, who held his residence beyond the Danube. The king was vanquished in battle, and led away prisoner ; a numerous colony of captives and subjects was transplanted into Italy ; and Rome, after a long period of defeat and dis- grace, might claim the triumph of her barbarian master.y
Miserable Notwithstanding the prudence and success of Italy.0 Odoacer, his kingdom exhibited the sad pros-
x See Baronius, Auual. Eccles. A. D. 483, N°. 10-15. Suteen years afterwards, the irregular proceedings of Basilius were con- demned by Pope Symmachus in a Roman synod.
* The wars of Odoacer are concisely mentioned by Paul the defc- con, (de Geat. Langobard, 1. i, c. 19, p. 757, edit. Grot.), and in the two Chronicles of Cassiodorius and Cuspiuian. The life of St. Severiuus, by Eugipius, which the Count de Buat (Hist des Peu pies, &. torn, viii, c. 1, 4, 8, 9) has diligently studied, illustrate* the ruin of Noricum and the Bavarian Antiquities..
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 231
pcct of misery and desolation. Since the age of CHAP Tiberius, the decay of agriculture had been felt *™^ in Italy; and it was a just subject of complaint, that the life of the Roman people depended on the accidents of the winds and waves.* In the division and decline of the empire, the tributary harvests of Egypt and Africa were withdrawn; the numbers of the inhabitants continually di- minished with the means of subsistence; and the country was exhausted by the irretrievable losses of war, famine,* and pestilence. St. Ambrose has deplored the ruin of a populous district, which had been once adorned with the flourishing cities of Bologna, Modena, Regium, and Placentia.b Pope Gelasius was a subject of Odoacer, and he affirms, with strong exag- geration, that in ^Emilia, Tuscany, and the ad- jacent provinces, the human species was almost extirpated." The plebeians of Rome, who were fed by the hand* of their master, perished or dis- appeared, as soon as his liberality was suppress- ed; the decline of the arts reduced the indus- trious mechanic to idleness and want; and the
* Tacit. Annal. iii, 53. The Recherches sur 1* Administration de Term chez les Remains, (p. 351-361), clearly state the progress of internal decay.
• A famine, which afflicted Italy at the time of the irruption of Odoacer, king of the Heruli, is eloquently described in prose and verse, by a French poet, (Les Mois, torn, ii, p. 174, 20G, edit, iu 12mo)- I am ignorant from whence he derires his information; but I am well assured that he relates some facts incompatible with the truth of history.
b See the xxxixth epistle of St. Ambrose, as it is quoted by Mura- torio, sopra le Antichita Italiane, torn, i, Dissert, xxi, p. 354.
c ^Emilia, Tuscia, ceteraque provinciae in "quibus hominum prop* nullus exisstit. Gelasius, Epist. ad Andromachum. ap. Annal. Eccles. A D. 496, N°. 36
CHAP, senators, who might support with patience the ^ ruin of their country, bewailed their private loss of wealth and luxury. One third of those am- ple estates, to which the ruin of Italy is origi- nally imputed/ was extorted for the use of the conquerors. Injuries were aggravated by in- sults; the sense of actual sufferings was embit- tered by the fear of more dreadful evils; and as new lands were allotted to hew swarms of bar- barians, each senator was apprehensive lest the arbitrary surveyors should approach his fa- vourite villa, or his most profitable farm. The least unfortunate were those who submitted without a murmur to the power which it was impossible to resist. Since they desired to live, they owed some gratitude to the tyrant who had spared their live ; and since he was the absolute master of their fortunes, the portion which he left must be accepted as his pure and voluntary gift* The distress of Italy was mitigated by the prudence and humanity of Odoacer, who had bound himself, at the price of his elevation, to satisfy the demands of a licentious and tur- bulent multitude. The kings of the barbarians were frequently resisted, deposed, or murdered, by their native subjects; and the various bands of Italian mercenaries, who associated under
* Verumque confitentibus, latifundia perdidere Italian. Plin. Hist. . Natur. xviii, 7.
c Such are the topics of consolation, or rather of patience, which Cicero (ad Farailiares, lib. ix, epist. 17) suggests to his friends Pa- pirius Pactus, under the military despotism of Caesar. The argu- ment, however, of «' vivere pulcherrimum duxi," ismoru forcibly ad- dressed to a Roman philosopher, who possessed the fret alternative of life or death.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 233
the standard of an elective general, claimed a CHAP.
larger privilege of freedom and rapine. A mo- I
narchy destitute of national union, and herecti- tary right, hastened to its dissolution. After a / reign of fourteen years, Odoacer was oppressed by the superior genius of Theodoric, king of the \ Ostrogoths, a hero alike excellent in the arts of Avar and of government, who restored an age of peace and prosperity, and whose name still ex- cites and deserves the attention of mankind. f
234 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. XXXVII.
Origin, progress, and effects of the monastic life — Conversion of the barbarians to Christi- anity and Arianism — Persecution of the Van- dals in Africa — Extinction of Arianism among the barbarians.
CHAP. THE indissoluble connection of civil and ec- *~~~~J clesiastical affairs, has compelled and encou- raged me to relate the progress, the perse- cutions, the establishment, the divisions, the final triumph, and the gradual corruption of Christi- anity. I have purposely delayed the conside- ration of two religious events, interesting in the study of human nature, and important in the de- cline and fall of the Roman empire. I. The institution of the monastic life;1 and, II. The convertion of the northern barbarians. i. THB I- Prosperity and peace introduced the dis- MONA5- tinction of the vulgar and the Ascetic Christians*
TIC HFK. , "
origin of The loose and imperfect practice of religion sa-
thc monks
* The origin of the monastic institution has been laboriously dis- cussed by Thomasin, (Discipline de 1'Eglise, torn i, p. 1419-1426), and Helyot, (Hist. <les Ordres Monastiques, torn, i, p. 1-66). These authors are very learned and tolerably honest, and their difference of opinion shews the subject , in its full extent. Yet the cautious protestant, who distrusts any popish guides, may consult the seventh book of Bingham's Christian Antiquities.
b See Euseb. Demonstrat Evangel. (1. i, p. 20, 21, edit. Graec. Rob. Stephaui, Paris, 1545). In this Ecclesiastical History, published twelve years after the Demonstration, Eusebius (1. ii, c. 17) asserts the Christianity of the Therapeutic ; but he appears ignorant, that a •imilar institution was actually revived in Egypt.
OF THE HOMAN EMPIRE. 235
tisfied the conscience of the multitude. The CHAP. prince or magistrate, the soldier or merchant, *** reconciled their fervent zeal, and implicit faith, with the exercise of their profession, the pursuit of their interest, and the indulgence of their pas- sions: but the Ascetics, who obeyed and abused the rigid precepts of the gospel, were inspired by the savage enthusiasm, which represents man as a criminal, and God as a tyrant. They se- riously renounced the business, and the plea- sures, of the age; abjured the use of wine, of flesh, and of marriage ; chastised their body, mor- tified their affections, and embraced a life of misery, as the price of eternal happiness, In the reign of Constantine, the Ascetics" fled from a profane and degenerate world, to perpetual solitude, or religious society. Like the first Christians of Jerusalem,' they resigned the use, or the property, of their temporal possessions; established regular communities of the same sex, and a similar disposition; and assumed the names of Hermits, Monks, and Anachorets, ex- pressive of their lonely retreat in a natural or artificial desert. They soon acquired the res- pect of the world which they despised; and the loudest applause was bestowed on this DIVINE PHILOSOPHY/ which surpassed, without the aid
c Cassian (Collat. xriii, 5) claims this origin for the institution of the Coenobites, which gradually decayed till it was restored by An- thony and his disciples.
*• &(f>EX(/uo>TaToy ^ap rt yjpfM. M; mdfuvvf ixflwa arapa ®ea » riutv-n f iXs9-e<f><a. These are the expressive words of Sozomen, who copiously and agreeably describes (1. i, c. 12, 13, 14) the origin and progress ef this, monkish philosophy, (See Suicer. Thesaur. Eccles. torn, ii, p. 1441). Some modern writers, Lipsius, (torn, iv, p. 448 ; Manuduct. ad Philosoph. Stoic, iii, 13), and La Mothe le Vayer, (torn, ix, de
In
236 THE.DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, of science or reason, the laborious virtues of the r"; Grecian schools. The monks might indeed con- tend with the stoics, in the contempt of fortune, of pain, and of death : the Pythagorean silence and submission were revived in their servile dis- cipline; and they disdained, as firmly as the Cy- nics themselves, all the forms and decencies of civil society. But the votaries of this divine phi- losophy aspired to imitate a purer and more per- fect model. They trod in the footsteps of the prophets, who had retired to the desert;* and they restored the devout and contemplative life, which had been instituted by the Essenians in Palestine and Egypt. The philosophic eye of Pliny had surveyed with astonishment a soli- tary people, who dwelt among the palm-tret near the Dead Sea ; who subsisted without mo- ney, who were propagated without women ; and who derived from the disgust and repentance of mankind, a perpetual supply of voluntary asso- ciates/
Egypt, the fruitful parent of superstition, afforded the first example of the monastic life.
la Vertu des Payens, p. 22S-2G2), have Compared the Carmelites to the Pythagorians, and the Cynics to the Capuchins:
• The Carmelites derive their pedigree, in regular succession, from the prophet Elijah, (see the Theses of Beziers, A. D. 1682, in Bayle's Nouvelles de la Republique des Lettrcs, Oeuvres torn, i, p. 82, &c. and the prolix irony of the Ordres Monastiques, au anony- mous work, torn, i, p. 1-433 ; Berlin, 1751). Rome and the inquisi- tion of Spain, silenced the profane criticism of the Jesuits of Flanders. (Helyot, Hist, des Ordres Monastiques, torn i, p. 282-300); and the •tatue of Elijah, the Carmelite, has been erected iu the church of St. Peter, (Voyages du P. Labat, lorn, in, p. 87).
f Plin. Hist. Nattrr. v, 15. Gens sola, et in toto orbe prater ceteras iniia, line ulla femiua, onmi vcncre abdicata, sine pecunia socia pal-
marum.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 237
Antony,8 an illiterate11 youth of the lower parts CHAP. ofThebais, distributed his patrimony.' deserted ***^ his family and native home, and executed his A"to"y
• • i • • i . . and the
monastic penance with original and intrepid fa- monks of natacism. After a long and painful noviciate, ? Dpt aos. among the tombs, and in a ruined tower, he boldly advanced into the desert three days jour- ney, to the eastward of the Nile; discovered a lonely spot, which possessed the advantages of shade and water, and fixed his last residence on mount Colzin near the Red Sea; where an an- cient monastery still preserves the name and me- mory of the saint.k The curious devotion of the Christians pursued him to the desert; and when he was obliged to appear at Alexandria, in
Warum. Ita per seculornra nrillia (iucredibile dictu) gens aeterna est rti qua memo nascitur. Tarn foecuuda illis aliorum vitae pranitentia est He places them just beyond the noxious influence of the lake, and names Engaddi and Masada as the nearest towns. The Laura and monastery of St. Sabas, could not be far distant from this place. See Reland. Palestin. torn, i, p. 295 ; torn, ii, p. 763, 874, 880, 890.
• See Athanas. Op. torn, i, p. 450-505, and the Vit. Patrum, p. 26-74, with Rosweyde's Annotations. The former is the Greek ori- ginal ; the latter, a rery ancient Latin version by Evagrius, the friend of St. Jcrom.
h rj a^juaT* jwsy jt*a&Eiv »x JivKr^E-ro. Athanas. torn, ii, in Vit. St. An- ton, p. 452 ; and the assertion of his total ignorance has been re- ceived by many of the ancients and moderns. But Tillemont (Mem. Eccles. torn, vii, p. 666) shews, by some probable arguments, that Antony could read and write in the Coptic, his native tongue ; and that he was only a stranger to the Greek letters. The philosopher Sy- nesius (p. 51) acknowledges, that the natural genius of Antony did not require the aid of learning.
1 Arura autetn erant ei trecentae uberes, et valde optima-, (Vit. Patr. 1. i, p. 36). If the 'Arura be a square measure of an hundred Egyptian cubits, (Rosweydc, Onomssticon ad Vit. Patrum, p. 1014, 1015), and the Egyptian cubit of all ages be equal to twenty-two En- glish inches, (Graves, vol. i, p. 233), the arura will consist of about three quarters of an English acre.
kThe description of the monastery is given by Jerom, (torn, i, p. 248, 249, in Vit. Hilarion), and the P. Sicard, (Missions du Levant, torn, v, p. 122-200). Their accwunts cannot always be reconciled ; th« father painted from his fancy, and the Jesuit from his experience.
238 THE DECLINE AND *ALL
CHAP, the face of mankind he supported his fame with IL discretion and dignity. He enjoyed the friend- ship of Athanasius, whose doctrine he approved; and the Egyptian peasant respectfully declined a
A. D. 251- respectful invitation from the emperor Constan- tine. The venerable patriarch (for Antony at- tained the age of one hundred and five years) beheld the numerous progeny which had been formed by his example and his lessons. The prolific colonies of monks multiplied with rapid increase on the sands of Libya, upon the rocks of Thebais, and in the cities of the Nile. To the south of Alexandria, the mountain, and ad- jacent desert, of Nitria, were peopled by five thousand anachorets; and the traveller may still investigate the ruins of fifty monasteries, which were planted in that barren soil by the disciples of Antony.1 In the Upper Thebais. the vacant island of Tabenne™ was occupied by Pachomius, and fourteen hundred of his bre- thren. That holy abbot successively founded nine monasteries of men, and one of women; and the festival of Easter sometimes collected fifty thou- sand religious persons, who followed his angelic
1 Jerom. torn, i, p. 146, ad Eustochium. Hist. Lausiac. r. 7, in Vit. Pat rum, p. 712. The P. Sicard .(Missions du Levant, torn, ii, p. 29-79) visited, and baa described, this desert, which now contains four monasteries, and twenty or thirty monks. See D'Anville, Descrip- tion de 1'Egypte, p. 74.
m Taheune is a small island in the Nile, in the diocess of Tentyra or Dendera, between the modern town of Girge and the ruin of an- cient Thebes, (D'Anville, p. 194). M. de Tillemont doubts whether it was an isle; but I may conclude, from his own facts, that the pri- mitive name was afterwards transferred to the great monastery of Bau or Pabau, (Mem. Kccles torn, vii, p. 678, 688).
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 239
rule of discipline.11 The stately and populous CHAP. city of Oxyrinchus, the seat of Christian ortho- * doxy, had devoted the temples, the public edi- fices, and even the ramparts, to pious and cha- ritable uses ; and the bishop who might preach in twelve churches, computed ten thousand fe- males, and twenty thousand males, of the mo- nastic profession.0 The Egyptians, who glo^ ried in this marvellous revolution, were dispos- ed to hope, and to believe, that the number of the monks was equal to the remainder of the people ;p and posterity might repeat the saying, which had formerly been applied to the sacred animals of the same country, that, in Egypt, it was less difficult to find a god, than a man.
Athanasius introduced into Rome the know- *edge and practice of the monastic life ; and school of this new philosophy was opened by the disciples of Antony, who accompanied their Ro™e'341 primate to the holy threshold of the Vatican. The strange and savage appearance of these Egyptians excited, at first, horror and con- tempt, and, at length, applause and zealous imitation. The senators, and more especially the matrons, transformed their palaces and
n See in the Codex Regularum (published by Lucas Holsteuius Rome, 1C61) a preface of St. Jerom to his Latin version of the Rule uf Pachomius, torn, i, p. 61.
0 Rufin, c. 5, in Vit. Patrum, p. 459. He calls it, civitas am- pla valde et populosa, and reckons twelve churches. Strabo, (1. xvii, p. 1166), and Ammianus, (xxii, 16), have made honourable mention of Oxyrinchus, whose inhabitants adored a small fish in a magnifi- cent temple.
p Quanti populi habeutur in urbibiis, tauta pxne habentur in de- sertis imiltitudines monachornm. Rufin. c. 7. in Vit. Patrum, p. 461. He congratulate! the fortunate change.
240 THE DECLINE AND FALL '
CHAP, villas into religious' houses ; and the narrow xxx VIT. . ? „-„ institution of sz# vestals, was eclipsed by the
frequent monasteries, which were seated on the
ruins of ancient temples, and in the midst of
the Roman Forum.q Inflamed by the example
of Antony, a Syrian youth, whose name was
in' p"ies-' Hilarion/ fixed his dreary abode on a sandy
A|MD 328 beach, between the sea and a morass, about
seven miles from Gaza. The austere penance,
in which he persisted forty-eight years, diffused
a similar enthusiasm ; and the holy man was
followed by a train of two or three thousand
anachorets, whenever he visited the innumerable
Basil in monasteries of Palestine. The fame of Basil5 is
Puntus,
A. D. 360. immortal in the monastic history of the East With a .mind that had tasted the learning and eloquence of Athens ; with an ambition, scarce- ly to be satisfied by the archbishopric of Cae- sarea, Basil retired to a savage solitude in Pontus ; and deigned for a while to give laws to the spiritual colonies which he profusely scattered along the coast of the Black Sea.
' The introduction of the monastic life into Rome and Italy, is occasionally mentioned by Jeroin, (torn. i. p. 119, 120, 199).
r See the life of Hilarion, by St. Jerom, (torn, i, p. 241, 252). The stories of Paul, Hilarion, and Malchus, by the same author, are admirably told ; and the only defect of these pleasing composi- tions is the want of truth and common sense.
* His original retreat was in a small village on the banks of the Iris, not far from Neo-Csesarea. The ten or twelve years of his monastic life were disturbed by long and frequent avocations. Some critics have disputed the authenticity of his Ascetic rules j bnt the external evidence is weighty, and they can only prove that it is the work of a real or affected enthusiast. See Tillemout, Mem. Eccles. torn. ix. p. 636-644. Helyot, Hist, des Ordres Monastiques, torn, i. p. 175-181.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 241
In the West, Martin of Tours,1 a soldier, an CHAP.
"Y "Y" Y V I T
hermit, a bishop, and a saint, established the _
monasteries of Gaul : two thousand of his dis- Martin in
f* \
ciples followed him to the grave ; and his elo- A^.'STO. quent historian challenges the deserts of The- bais, to produce, in a more favourable climate, a champion of equal virtue. The progress of the monks was not less rapid, or universal than that of Christianity itself. Every province, and, at last, every city, of the empire, was filled with their increasing multitudes ; and the bleak and barren isles, from Lerins to Lipari, that arise out of the Tuscan sea, were chosen, by the anachorets, for the place of their voluntary exile. An easy and perpetual intercourse by sea and land connected the provinces of the Roman world ; and the life of Hilarion displays the facility with which an indigent hermit of Palestine might traverse Egypt, embark for Si- cily, escape to Epirus, and finally settle in the island of Cyprus." The Latin Christians em- braced the religious institutions of Rome. The pilgrims, who visited Jerusalem eagerly copied, in the most distant climates of the earth, the
1 See his life, and the Three dialogues by Sulpicius Severus, who asserts, (Dialog, i, 16), that the booksellers of Rome were delighted with the quick and ready sale of his popular work.
u When Hilarion sailed from Paraetonium to Cape Pachynus, he offered to pay his passage with a book of the Gospels. Posthumi- an, a Gallic monk, who had visited Egypt, found a merchant-ship bound from Alexandria to Marseilles, and performed the voyage in thirty days, (Sulp. Sever. Dialog, i, 1). Athanasius, who addressed his Life of St. Antony to the foreign monks, was obliged to hasten • the composition, that it might be ready for the sailing of the fleeU, (torn, ii, p. 451).
VOL. VI. R
242 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, faithful model of the monastic life. The disci-
XXXVII
„ pies of Antony spread themselves beyond the
tropic, over the Christian empire of -/Ethiopia." The monastery of Banchor,y in Flintshire, which contained above two thousand brethren, dispersed a numerous colony among the bar- barians of Ireland ;* and Ion a, one of the He- bribes, which was planted by the Irish monks, diffused over the northern regions a doubtful ray of science and superstition.'
These unhappy exiles from social life were impelled by the dark and implacable genius of superstition. Their mutual resolution was sup- ported by the example of millions, of either sex, of every age, and of every rank : and each proselyte, who entered the gates of a monas- tery, was persuaded, that he trod the steep and thorny path of eternal happiness.1* But the
x See Jerom, (torn, i, p. 126), Assemanni, (Bibliot. Orient, torn. IT, p. 92, p. 857-919), and Cedes, (Church History of ^Ethiopia, p. 20, 30, 31). The Abyssinian monks adhere very strictly to the primitive institution.
y Cambden's Britannia, vol. i, p. 666, 667:
z All that learning can extract from the rubbish cf the dark ages is copiously stated by Archbishop Usher, in his Britannicarum EC- clesiarum Antiquitates, cap. xvi, p. 425-503.
* This small, though uot barren, spot, lona, Hy, or Columbkill, only two miles in length, aud one mile in breadth, has been distin- guished, 1. By the monastery of St. Columba, founded A. D. 566; whose abbot exercised an extraordinary jurisdiction over the bishops of Caledonia. 2. By a classic library, which afforded some hopes of an entire Livy ; and, 3. By the tombs of sixty kings, Scots, Irish, and Norwegians ; who reposed in holy ground. See Usher (p. 311, 360-370), and Buchanan, (Rer. Scot. 1. ii, p. 15, edit. Kuddiman ).
b Chrysostom (in the first tome of the Benedictine edition) has consecrated three books to the praise and defence of the monastic life. He is encouraged, by the example of the ark, to presume, that none but the elect (the monks) can possibly be saved, (1. i, p. 55, 66). Elsewhere, indeed he becomes more merciful, (1. iii, p, 83,
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 243
operation of these religious motives was vari- CHAP.
XXXVII
ously determined by the temper and situation J
of mankind. Reason might subdue, or passion might suspend, their influence : but they acted most forcibly on the infirm minds of children and females ; they were strengthened by se- cret remorse, or accidental misfortune ; and they might derive some aid, from the temporal considerations of vanity or interest. It was na- turally supposed that the pious and humble monks, who had renounced the world, to ac- complish the work of their salvation, were the best qualified for the spiritual government of the Christians. The reluctant hermit was torn from his cell, and seated, amidst the acclama- tions of the people, on the episcopal throne : the monasteries of Egypt, of Gaul, and of the East, supplied a regular succession of saints and bishops : and ambition soon discovered the secret road which led to the possession of wealth and honours.6 The popular monks, whose reputation was connected with the fame and success of the order, assiduously laboured to multiply the number of their fellow-captives. They insinuated themselves into noble and opu- lent families ; and the specious arts of flattery and seduction were employed to secure those proselytes, who might bestow wealth or dignity
84), and allows different degrees of glory, like the sun, moon, and stars. In this lively comparison of a king and a monk, (i. Hi, p. 116-121), he supposes (what is hardly fair) that the king will be inure sparingly rewarded, and more rigorously punished.
c Thomasin, (Discipline d'Eglise, torn, i, p. 1426-1469), and Ma- billon, Oeuvres Posthumes, torn, ii, p. 115-158). The monks gradually adopted as a part of the ecclesiastical monarchy.
244 THE DECLINE AND FALS
CHAP, on the monastic profession. The indigent fa
vr~"
ther bewailed the loss, perhaps, of an only son ;d the credulous maid was betrayed by va- nity to violate the laws of nature ; and the ma- tron aspired to imaginary perfection, by re- nouncing the virtues of domestic life. Paula yielded to the persuasive eloquence of Jerom ;e and the profane title of mother-in-law of God/ tempted that illustrious widow, to consecrate the virginity of her daughter Eustochium. By the advice, and in the company, of her spiritual guide, Paula abandoned Rome and her infant son ; retired to the holy village of Bethlem ; founded an hospital and four monasteries ; and acquired, by her alms and penance, an eminent and conspicuous station in the catholic church. Such rare and illustrious penitents were cele- brated as the glory and example of their age ; but the monasteries were filled by a crowd of obscure and abject plebeians,8 who gained in
* Dr. Middleton (vol. i, p. 110) liberally censures the conduct and writings of Clirysostom, one of the most eloquent and successful ad- vocates for the monastic life.
* Jerom's devout ladies form a very considerable portion of his works : the particular treatise, which he styles the Epitaph of Paula, (torn, i, p. 169-192), is an elaborate and extravagant panegyiic. The exordium is ridiculously turgid. — " If all the members of my " body were changed into tongues, and if my limbs resounded with " a human voice, yet should I be incapable," &c.
f Socrus Dei esse coepisti, (Jerom, torn, i, p. 140, ad Eustochiam) Rufmus, (in Hieronym. Op. torn iv, p. 223), who was justly scan- dalized, asks his adversary, From what pagan poet he had stolen an expression so impious and absurd ?
* Nuuc autem veniunt plerumque ad hanc professionem servitutis Dei, et e* couditione servili, vel etiam liberati, vel propter hoc a Dominis liberati sive liberandi ; et ex vita rusticana, et ex opificum exercitatione/et plebeio labore. Augustin. de Oper Monach. c. 22, ap. Thomassin. Discipline de 1'Eglise, torn, iii, p. 1094. The Egyp«
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 245
the cloister much more than they had sacrificed CHAP.
in the world. Peasants, slaves, and mechanics, J
might escape from poverty and contempt, to a safe and honourable profession ; whose appa- rent hardships were mitigated by custom, by popular applause and by the secret relaxation of discipline.11 The subjects of Rome, whose per- . sons and fortunes were made responsible for unequal and exorbitant tributes, retired from the oppression of the imperial government ; and the pusillanimous youth preferred the penance of a monastic, to the dangers of a military life. The affrighted provincials, of every rank, who fled before the barbarians, found shelter and subsistence ; whole legions were buried in these religious sanctuaries ; and the same cause, which relieved the distress of individuals, im- paired the strength and fortitude of the empire.* The monastic professsion of the ancientsk was an act of voluntary devotion. The in-
tiao, who blamed Arsenius, owned that he led a more comfortable life as a monk, than as a shepherd. See Tilleinont, Mem. Eccles. torn, xiv, p. 679.
h A Dominican friar,' (Voyages du P. Labat, torn. i. p. 10), who lodged at Cadiz in a convent of hit brethren, soon understood, that their repose wan never interrupted by nocturnal devotion ; " quoi- quo'n ne laisse pas de sonner pour Tedincation du peuple."
' See a very sensible preface of Lucas Holitenius to the Codex Regularem. The emperors attempted to support the obligation of public and private duties ; but the feeble dikes were swept away by the torrent of superstition ; and Justinian surpassed the most san- guine wishes of the monks, Thomassin, torn, i, p. 1782-1799, and Bingham, 1. vii, c. 3, p. 253).
k The monastic institutions, particularly those of Egypt, about the year, 400, are described by four curious and devout travellers • Run mis, (Vit. Patrum, 1. ii, iii, p. 424-536); Posthumian, (Sulp. Se- ver. Dialog, i); Palladius, (Hist. Lausiac. in Yit. Patrum; p. 709- 863), and Cassian, (tee in torn, vii, Bibliothec. Max. Patrum, his fonr first books of Institutes, and the twenty-four Collations or Conferences). — '
246 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, constant fanatic was threatened with the eter- l\ nal vengeance of the God whom he deserted : oi»edience but the doors of the monastery were still open monks, for repentance. Those monks, whose consci- ence was fortified by reason or passion, were at liberty to resume the character of men and citizens ; and even the spouses of Christ might accept the legal embraces of an earth- ly lover.1 The examples of scandal, and the progress of superstition, suggested the pro- priety of more forcible restraints. After a suf- ficient trial, the fidelity of the novice was se- cured by a solemn and perpetual vow; and his irrevocable engagement was ratified by the laws of the church and state. A guilty fugitive was pursued, arrested, and restored to his perpetual prison ; and the interposition of the magistrate oppressed the freedom and merit, which had alleviated in some degree, the abject slavery of the monastic discipline."1 The actions of a monk, his words, and even his thoughts, were determined by an inflexible rule," or a capri-
1 Tbe example of Malchus, (Jerom. torn. i. p 256), and the design of Cassian and his friend, (Collation xxiv, 1), are incontestible proofs of their freedom ; which is elegantly described hy Erasmus in his life of St. Jerom. See Chardon, Hist, ties Sacremens torn. TI, p. 279-300.
™ See the laws of Justinian, (Novel, cxxiii, N°. 42), and of Lewis the Pious, (in the historians of France, torn, vi, p. 427), and the ac- tual jurisprudence of France, in Denissart, (Decissions, &c. torn, iv, p. 855, &c).
n The ancient Codex Regularum, collected by Benedict Anianinus, the reformer of the monks in the beginning of the ninth century, and published in the seventeenth, by Lucas Holstenius, contains thirty different rules for men and women. Of these, seven were com- posed in Egypt, one in the East, one in Cappadocia, one in Italy, one in Africa, four in Spain, eight in Gaul, or France, and one in England.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 247
cious superior: the slightest offences were cor- CHAP. rected by disgrace or confinement, extraordi- xxx nary fasts or bloody flagellation ; and disobedi- ence, murmur, or delay, were ranked in the catalogue of the most heinous sins.0 A blind submission to the commands of the abbot, how- ever absurd, or even criminal, they might seem, was the ruling principle, the first virtue of the Egyptian monks; and their patience was fre- quently exercised by the most extravagant trials. They were directed to remove an enor- mous rock ; assiduously to water a barren staff, that was planted in the ground, till, at the end of three years, it should vegetate and blossom like a tree; to walk into a fiery furnace; or to cast their infant into a deep pond ; and several saints, or madmen, have been immortalized, in monastic story, by their thoughtless, and fear- less obedience.9 The freedom of the mind, the source of every generous and rational sentiment, was destroyed by the habits of credulity and
0 The rule of Columbanus, so prevalent in the West, inflicts one hundred lashes for very slight offences, (Cod. Reg, part ii, p. 174). Before the time of Charlemagne, the abbots indulged themselves in mutilating their monks, or putting out their ryes; a punishment much less cruel than the tremenduous cade in pace, (the subterrane- ous dungeon, or sepulchre), which was afterwards invented. See an admirable discourse of the learned Mabillon, (Oeuvres Pnsthumes, torn, ii, p. 321-336); who, on this occasion, seems to be inspired by the genius of humanity. For such an effort, I can forgive his de- fence of the holy tear of Vendome. (p. 361-399).
p Sculpt. Serer. Dialog, i, 12, 13, p. 532, &c. Cassian Institut. 1. iv, c. 26, 27. " Praecipua ibi virtus et prinia e*t obedientim." Among the verba seniorum, (in Vit. Patrum, 1. T, p. 617), the four- teenth libel or discourse is on the subject of obedience ; and the Jesuit Rosweyde, who published that huge rolume for the use «*f convents, has collected all the scattered passages in his two copious indexes.
248 THE DCLINE AND FALL
CHAP, submission ; and the monk, contracting: the vices
XXXVII
w of a slave, devoutly followed the faith and pas- sions of his ecclesiastical tyrant. The peace of the eastern church was invaded by a swarm of fanatics, incapable of fear, or reason, or human- ity; and the imperial troops acknowledged, without shame, that they were much less appre- hensive of an encounter with the fiercest bar- barians/1
Superstition has often framed and consecrated '" the fantastic garments of the monks ;r but their apparent singularity sometimes proceeds from their uniform attachment to a simple and primi- tive model, which the revolutions of fashion have made ridiculous in the eyes of mankind The father of the Bedictines expressly disclaims all idea of choice, or merit; and soberly exhorts his disciples to adopt the coarse and convenient dress of the countries which they may inhabit.5 The monastic habits of the ancients varied with the climate, and their mode of life ; and they as- sumed, with the same indifference, the sheep- skin of the Egyptian peasants, or the cloak of the Grecian philosophers. They allowed them- selves the use of linen in Egypt, where it was a cheap and domestic manufacture; but in the West, they rejected such an expensive article of
q. Dr. Jortin (Remarks on Ecclesiastical History, vol. iv, p. 161) has observed the scandalous valour of the Cappadocian monks, which was exemplified in the banishment of Chrysostom.
' Cassian has simply, though copiously, described the monastic ha bit of Egypt, (Institut. 1. i,), to which Sozomen (I. iii, c. 14) attri- butes such allegorical meaning and virtue.
* Regul. Benedict. N°. 55, in Cod. part ii, p. 51.
OIF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 249
foreign luxury.1 It was the practice of the CHAP monks either to cut or shave their hair; they "™j wrapped their heads in a cowl, to escape the sight of profane objects ; their legs and feet were naked, except in the extreme cold of winter; and their slow and feeble steps were supported by a long staff. The aspect of a genuine ana- choret was horrid and disgusting: every sensa- tion that is offensive to man, was thought accep- table to God ; and the angelic rule of Tabenne condemned the salutary custom of bathing the limbs in water, and of anointing them with oil." The austere monks slept on the ground, on a hard mat, or a rough blanket; and the same bun- dle of palm-leaves served them as a seat in the day, and a pillow in the night. Their original cells were low narrow huts, built of the slightest materials ; which, formed, by the regular distri- bution of the streets, a large and populous vil- lage, inclosing within the common wall, a church, an hospital, perhaps a library, some necessary offices, a garden, and a fountain or reservoir of fresh water. Thirty or forty brethren composed a family of separate discipline and diet; and the great monasteries of Egypt consisted of thirty or forty families.
Pleasure and guilt are synonymous terms in Their diet the language of the monks ; and they had disco-
1 See the Rule of Ferreolus, bishop' of Ufez, (Ne. 31, ia Cod. Regul. part ii, p. 136) and of Isidore, bishop of Serille, (N°. IS, in Cod. Regul. part ii, p. 214).
" Some partial indulgences were granted for the hands and feet. '* Totum autcm corpus nemo unguet nisi caasa infirmitatis, nee " lavabitur apqua nudo corpore, nisi languor per cuus sit." (ReguL Pachom. xcii, part i, p> 78)
250 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, vered, by experience that rigid fasts and abste- r'f mious diet, are the most effectual preventatives against the impure desires of the flesh.1 The rules of abstinence, which they imposed, or practised, were not uniform or perpetual: the cheerful festival of the Pentecost was balanced by the extraordinary mortification of Lent ; the fer- vour of new monasteries was insensibly relaxed; and the voracious appetite of the Gauls could not imitate the patient and temperate virtue of the Egyptians/ The disciples of Antony and Pachomius were satisfied with their daily pit- tance,1 of twelve ounces of bread, or rather bis- cuit,* which they divided into two frugal repasts, of the afternoon, and of the evening. It was esteemed a merit, and almost a duty, to abstain
z St. Jerora, in strong, but indiscreet, language, expresses the most important use of fasting and abstinence. — " Non quod Deus •* universitatis Creator et Dominus, intestinorum nostrornm rugitu, " et inanitate ventris, pulmonisqne ardore delectetur, sed quod aliter " pudicitia tuta esse non possit." (Op. torn, i, p. 137, ad Eusto- chium). See the twelfth and twenty-second Collations of Cassian, de Castitate, and de Illusionibut Nocturnit.
1 Edacitas in Giaecis gula est, in Gallis natura, (Dialog, i, c. 4> p. 521). Cassian fairly owns, that the perfect model of abstinence can not be imitated in Gaul, on account of the serum temperies, and the qualitas nostrae fragilitatis, (Institat. ir, 11). Among the wes- tern rales, that of Columbanus is the most austere ; he had been educated amidst the poverty of Ireland, as rigid perhaps, and inflex- ible, as the abstemious virtue of Egypt. The rule of Isidure of Seville is the mildest : on holidays he allows the use of flesh.
1 " Those who drink only water, and have no nutritious liquor, " ought, at least, to have a pound and a half (twenty-four ounces} " of bread every day." State of Prisons, p. 40, by Mr. Howard.
» See Cassian, Cullat, 1. ii, 19, 20, 21. The small loaves or bis- cuit of six ounces each, had obtained the name of Paximacia, (Ros- weyde, Onomasticon, p. 1045). Pachomius, bowerer, allowed bis nionks some latitude in the quantity of their food ,• but he made them work in proportion as they eat, (Pallad. in Hist. Lausitc. c. S8, 59, in Vit, Patrum, 1 viii, p. 736, 787)
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 251
from the boiled vegetables, which were provided CH AP
XXXVII
for the refectory; but the extraordinary bounty
of the abbot sometimes indulged them with the luxury of cheese, fruit, sallad, and the small driedfishof the Nile.b A more ample latitude of sea and river fish was gradually allowed or as- sumed ; but the use of flesh was long confined to the sick or travellers ; and when it gradually prevailed in the less rigid monasteries of Eu- rope, a singular distinction was introduced ; as if birds, whether wild or domestic, had been less profane than the grosser animals of the field. Water was the pure and innocent beve- rage of the primitive monks; and the founder of the Benedictines regrets the daily portion of half a pint of wine, which had been extorted from him by the intemperance of the age.c Such an allowance might be easily supplied by the vineyards of Italy; and his victorious disciples, who passed the Alps, the Rhine, and the Baltic required, in the place of wine, an adequate compensation of strong beer or cider.
The candidate who aspired to the virtue of Ti,eir ma evangelical poverty, abjured, athis first entrance Jjjjj, la- into a regular community, the idea, and even the name, of all separate, or exclusive, posses-
b See the banquet to which Casiian (Collation viii, 1) was invited by Serenus, an Egyptian abbot.
c See the Rule of St. Benedict, N°. 39, 40, (in Cod Reg. part ii, p. 41. 42). Licet legamus vinum omnino monachorum non esse, sed quia nostis temporibus id monachis persuader! non potest ; he al- lows them a Roman hemina, a measure which may be ascertained from Arbuthnot's Tables.
252 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, sion.f The brethren were supported by their
XXXVII
„„ J manual labour ; and the duty of labour was
strenuously recommended as a penance, as an exercise and as the most laudable means of secur- ing their daily subsistence.' The garden, and fields, which the industry of the monks had often rescued from the forest of the morass, were diligently cultivated by their hands. They performed, without reluctance, the me- nial offices of slaves and domestics ; and the several trades that were necessary to provide their habits, their utensils, and their lodging, were exercised within the precincts of the great monasteries. The monastic studies have tended, for the most part, to darken, rather than to dis- pel, the cloud of superstition. Yet the curio sity or zeal of some learned solitaries has culti- vated the ecclesiastical, and even the profane, sciences : and posterity must gratefully ac- knowledge, that the monuments of Greek and Roman literature have been preserved and mul- tiplied by their indefatigable pens/ But the
d Such expressions as my book, my cloak, my shoes, (Cassian. Institut 1. iv, «. 13), were not less severely prohibited among the western monks, (Cod. Regul. part ii, p. 174, 235, 288) ; and the Rule of Columbanus punished them with six lashes. The ironical author of the Ordres Monastiques, who laughs at the foolish nicety of modern convents, seems ignorant that the ancients were equally absurd.
' Two great masters of ecclesiastical science, the P. Thomassin, (Discipline de PEglise, tom. iii, p. 1090-1139), and the P. Mabillon, (Etudes Monastiques, tom. i, p. 116-155), have seriously examined the manual labour of the monks, which the former considers as a merit, and the latter as a duty.
f Mabillion (Etudes Monastiques, torn, i, p. 47-55) has collected many curious -facts to justify the literary labours of his predecessors, both in the East and West. Books were copied iu the ancient mo-
' nasterio
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 253
more humble industry of the monks, especially CHAP.
in Egypt, was contented with the silent, seden- .^
tary, occupation,'of making wooden sandals, or of twisting the leaves of the palm tree into mats and baskets. The superfluous stock, which was not consumed in domestic use, supplied, by trade, the wants of the community : the boats of Tabenne, and the other monasteries of Thebais, descended the Nile as far as Alex- andria ; and, in a Christian market, the sanc- tity of the workmen might enhance the intrinsic value of the work.
But the necessity of manual labour was insen- Their sibly superseded. The novice was tempted to bestow his fortune on the saints, in whose so- ciety he was resolved to spend the remainder of his life ; and the pernicious indulgence of the laws permitted him to receive, for their use, any future accessions of legacy or inherit- ance.* Melania contributed her plate, three hundred pounds weight of silver ; and Paula contracted an immense debt, for the relief of their favourite monks ; who kindly imparted the merits of their prayers and penance to a rich and liberal sinner.h Time continually in-
nasteries of Egypt, (Caisian. Institut. 1. iv. c. 12), and by the disci- ples of St. Martin, (Sulp. Sever, in Vit. Martin, c. 7, p. 473). Cas- •iodorius has allowed an ample scope for the studies of the monks ; and we shall . not be scandalized, if their pen sometime* wandered from Chrysostom and Augustin, to Homer and Virgil.
* Thomassia (Discipline de I'Egli&e, torn, iii, p. 118, 145, 146, 171-179) has examined the revolution of the civil, canon, and com- mon, law. Modern France confirms the death which monks have inflicted on themselves, and justly deprives them of all right of in beritance.
• iee Jerom, (torn, i, 176, 183). The monk Parobo made a sub-
lime
254 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, creased, and accidents could seldom diminish,
•v v -y T^BT
the estates of the popular monasteries, which spread over the adjacent country and cities : and, in the first century of their institution, the infidel Zosimus has maliciously observed, that, for the benefit of the poor, the Christian monks had reduced a great part of mankind to a state of beggary.1 As long as they maintained their original fervour, they approved them- selves, however, the faithful and benevolent stewards of the charity which was intrusted to their care. But their discipline was corrupted by prosperity : they gradually assumed the pride of wealth, and at last indulged the luxury ofexpence. Their public luxury might be ex- cused by the magnificence of religious worship, and the decent motive of erecting durable habi- tations for an immortal society. But every age of the church has accused the licentiousness of the degenerate monks : who no longer remem- bered the object of their institution, embraced the vain and sensual pleasures of the world, which they had renounced,k and scandalously
lime answer to Melania, wbo wished to specify the value of her gift — " Do you ofler it to me, or to God? If to God, HE who sus- •' pends the mountains in a balance, need not be informed of the " weight of your plate." (Pallad. Hist, Ltusiac. c. 10, in the Vit. Patrum, 1. viii, p. 715.)
1 To wcXu fjitf®- Tijf yns uxeittfa.rrt, vf^nati TWV /usTaJiJ«vai wavr« wrw^oif, -BraVTaf («{ SITTER) WToo;^} jtafartwavlEf. Zosim. 1. vi p. 325. Yet the wealth of the eastern monks was far surpassed by the princely greatness of the Benedictines.
k The sixth general council (the Quiaisext in Trullo, Canon, xlvii, in Beveridge, toin. i, p. 213) restrains women from passing the night in a male, or men in a female, monastery. The seventh ge- neral council (the second Nicene, Canon xx, iu Beveridge, torn, i, p. S25) prohibits the erection of double or promiscuous monasteries of
both
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 255
abused the riches which had been acquired CHAP.
by the austere virtues of their founders.1 „„,„
Their natural descent, from such painful and dangerous virtue, to the common vices of huma- nity, will not, perhaps, excite much grief or in- dignation in the mind of a philosopher.
The lives of the primitive monks were con- Their sou sumed in penance and solitude ; undisturbed by the various occupations which fill the time, and exercise the faculties, of reasonable, active, and social beings. Whenever they were per- mitted to step beyond the precincts of the mo- nastery, two jealous companions were the mu- tual guards and spies of each other's actions ; and, after their return, they were condemned to forget, or at least to suppress, whatever they had seen or heard in the world. Strangers, who professed the orthodox faith, were hospit- ably entertained in a separate apartment ; but their dangerous conversation was restricted to some chosen elders of approved discretion and fidelity, except in their presence, the monastic slave might not receive the visits of his friends or kindred ; and it was deemed highly merito- rious, if he afflicted a tender sister, or an aged parent, by the obstinate refusal of a word or a
both sexci ; but it appears from Balsamon, that the prohibition was not effectual. On the irregular pleasures and expences of the clergy and monks, See Thomassin, torn, iii, p. 1344-1368.
1 I have somewhere heard or read the frank confession of a Be- nedictine abbot. — " My row of poverty has given me an hundred " thousand crowns a year ; my vow of obedience has raised me to " the rank of a sovereign prince." I forget the consequences of bis Taw of chastity.
256 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, look.™ The monks themselves passed their
•v 'V' v v* I T
lives, without personal attachments, among a crowd, which had been formed by accident, and was detained, in the same prison, by force or prejudice. Recluse fanatics have few ideas o,r sentiments to communicate ; a special li- cense of the abbot regulated the time and du- ration of their familiar visits : and, at their si- lent meals, they were enveloped in their cowls, inaccessible, and almost invisible, to each other." Study is the resource of solitude : but education had not prepared and qualified for any liberal studies the mechanics and peasants, who filled the monastic communities. They might work ; but the vanity of spiritual perfection was tempted to disdain the exercise of manual la- bour ; and the industry must be faint and lan- guid, which is not excited by the sense of per- sonal interest.
Their de- According to their faith and zeal, they might employ the day, which they passed in their cells, either in vocal or mental prayer : they as- sembled in the evening, and they were awaken- ed in the night, for the public worship of the monastery. The precise moment was deter- mined by the stars, which are seldom clouded in the serene sky of Egypt ; and a rustic horn or trumpet, the signal of devotion, twice inter-
m Pior, an Egyptian monk, allowed his sister to »ee him ; but he shut his eyes during the whole visit. See Vit. Patrum, 1. iii, p. 604. Many such examples might be added.
" The 7th, 8th, 29th, 30th, 31st, 34th, 57th, 60th, 86th, and 95th articles of the Rule of Pachomius, impose most intolerable laws of ti- lence and mortification.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 257
rupted the vast silence of the desert.0 Even CHAP.
^C \. X VI I
sleep, the last refuge of the unhappy, was rigo- J
rously measured ; the vacant hours of the monk heavily rolled along, without business or pleasure ; and before the close of each day, he had repeatedly accused the tedious progress of the sun.p In this comfortless state, superstition still pursued and tormented her wretched vota- ries.*1 The repose which they had sought in the cloister was disturbed by tardy repentance, profane doubts and guilty desires ; and, while they considered each natural impulse as an un- pardonable sin, they perpetually trembled on the edge of a flaming and bottomless abyss. T^rom the painful struggles of disease and des- pair, these unhappy victims were sometimes re- lieved by madness or death ; and, in the sixth century, an hospital was founded at Jerusalem for a small portion of the austere penitents, who were deprived of their senses/ Their vi-
* ° The diurnal and nocturnal prayers of the monks are copiously discussed by Cassinn in the third and fourth books of his Institu- tions ; and he constantly prefers the liturgy, which an angel had dictated to the monasteries of Tabene.
f Cassian, from his own experience, describes the acedia, or list- lessness of mind and body, to which a raouk was exposed, when he •ighed to find himself alone. Saepiusque egreditur et ingreditur eel- lam, et solem velut ad occasum tardius properantem crebrius intue- tur, (Institut. x, 1),
* The temptation* and sufferings of Stagirius were communicated by that unfortunate youth to his friend St. Chrysostom. See Mid- dleton'i Works, vol. i. p, 107-110. Something similar introduces the life of every saint ; and th« famous Inigo, or Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits, (Vide d'Inigo de Guiposcoa, torn, i, p. 29-38), may serve as a memorable example.
" Fleury, Hist. Ecclesiastique, torn, vii, p. 46. I have read some- where, in the Vitie Patrum, but I cannot recover the place that «r-
8 VOL. vi.
258 THE^DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, sions, before they attained this extreme and ac-
XXXVII
'f knowledged term of frenzy, have afforded ample
materials of supernatural history. It was their firm persuasion, that the air which they breath- ed, was peopled with invisible enemies ; with innumerable demons, who watched every occa- sion, and assumed every form to terrify, and above all to tempt, their unguarded virtue. The imagination, and even the senses, were de- ceived by the illusions of distempered fanati- cism ; and the hermit, whose midnight prayer was oppressed by involuntary slumber might easily confound the phantoms of horror and de- light, which had occupied his sleeping, and his waking, dreams.
The C<K- The monks were divided into two classes : a- tne Ctenobifes, who lived under a common, and regular, discipline ; and the Anachorets, who indulged their unsocial, independent, fanati- cism.1 The most devout, or the most ambitious, of the spiritual brethren, renounced the convent, as they had renounced the world. The fervent monasteries of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria, were
teral, I believe many, of the monks, who did not reveal their temp- tations to the abbot, became guilty of suicide.
' See the seventh and eight Collations of Cassian, who gravely examines, why the demons were grown less active and numerous since the time of St Antony. Rosweyde's copious index to the Vi- tae Patrum will point out a variety of infernal scenes. The dtvils were most formidable in a female shape.
1 For the distinction of the Canobites and the Hermits, especially in Egypt, see Jerom, (torn i, p. 45, ad Rusticum); the first dia- logue of Sulpicius Severus, Rufinus, (c. 22, in Vit. Patrum, 1. ii, p. 478) ; Paladius, (c. 7, 69, in Vit. Patrum, 1: viii, p. 712, 758), and, above all, the eighteenth and nineteenth Collations of Cassian. These writers, who compare the common, and solitary life reveal the abuse and danger of the latter
Or THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
surrounded by a Laura," a. distant circle of solita- CHAP. ry cells ; and the extravagant pennance of the her- mits was stimulated by applause and emula- tion/ They sunk under the painful weight of cros- ses and chains; and their emaciated limbs were confined by collars, bracelets, gauntlets, and greaves, of massy and rigid iron. All superfluous encumbrance of dress they contemptuously cast away; and some savage saints of both sexes have been admired, whose naked bodies were only co- vered by their long hair. They aspired to reduce themselves to the rude and miserable state in which the human brute is scarcely distinguished above his kindred animals ; and a numerous sect of anachorets derived their name from their hum- Die practice of grazing in the fields of Mesopota- mia with the common herd/ They often usurped the den of some wild beast whom they affected to resemble; they buried themselves in some gloomy cavern which art or nature had scooped out of the rock ; and the marble quarries of The- bais are still inscribed with the monuments of their penance.1 The most perfect hermits are
* Suicer. Thesaur. Ecclesiast. torn, ii, p. 205, 218. Thomassin (Discipline de VEglise, torn i, p. 1501, 1502) gives a good account of these cells. When Gerasimus founded his monastery, in the wilderness of Jordan, it was accomplished by a Laura of seventy cells.
x Theodoret, in a large volume, (the Philotheus in Vit. Patrum, 1. ix, p. 793-863), has collected the lives and miracles of thirty anacho- rets, Evagrius (1. i, c. 12) more briefly celebrates the monks and her- mito of Palestine.
* Sozomen, 1. vi, c. 33. The great St. Ephrem composed a pane* gyric on these gwrxoi, or grazing monks (Tillemont, Mem. Eccles torn. viii, p. 292).
* The P. Sicard (Missions du Levant, torn, ii, p. 217-233) exa- mined the caverns of the Lower Thebais with wonder and devotion. The inscriptions are in the old Syriac character, which was used by the Christians of Habyssinia.
260 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, supposed to have passed many days without
„„„„ food, many nights without sleep, and many
years without speaking; and glorious was the man (I abuse that name) who contrived any cell, or seat, of a peculiar construction, which might expose him, in the most inconvenient posture, to the inclemency of the seasons.
Simeon Among these heroes of the monastic life, the StyHte395 name and genius of Simeon Stylites* have been 46i- immortalized by the singular invention of an aerial penance. At the age of thirteen, the young Syrian deserted the profession of a shep- herd > and threw himself into an austere monas- tery. After a long and painful noviciate, in which Simeon was repeatedly saved from pious suicide, he established his residence on a moun- tain about thirty or forty miles to the east of Antioch. Within the space of a mandara, or cir cle of stones, to which he had attached himself
I by a ponderous chain, he ascended a column, which was successively raised from the height of nine, to that of sixty, feet, from the ground,* In this last, and lofty station, the Syrian ana- choret resisted the heat of thirty summers, and the cold of as many winters. Habit and exer- cise instructed him to maintain his dangerous situation without fear or giddiness, and succes-
See Theodoret, (in Vit. Patruni, 1. ix, p. 848-854); Antony, (in Vit. Patrnm, 1. i, p. 170-177); Cosmas, (in Asseman. Bibliot. Oriental, torn, i, p. 239-253); Evagrius, (I. i, c. 13, 14), and Tillcmont, (Menv Eccles. torn, xv, p. 347-392).
b The narrow circumference of two cubits, or three feet, which Eragrius assigns for the summit of the column, is inconsistent with reason, with facts, and with the rules of architecture. The people who taw it from below might be easily deceived.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 261
sively to assume the different postures of devo- CHAP. tion. He sometimes prayed in an erect atti- * tude, with his out-stretched arms, in the figure of a cross; but his most familiar practice was that of bending his meagre skeleton from the forehead to the feet; aiid a curious spectator, after numbering twelve hundred and forty-four repetitions, at length desisted from the endless account. The progress of an ulcer in his thigh* ! might shorten, but it could not disturb, this ce- \ leslial life ; and the patient hermit expired, with- out descending from his column. A prince who should capriciously inrlict such tortures, would be deemed a tyrant; but it would surpass the power of a tyrant, to impose a long and misera- ble existence on the reluctant victims of his cruelty. This voluntary martyrdom must have gradually destroyed the sensibility both of the mind and body ; nor can it be presumed that the fanatics, who torment themseivesTare sus- ceptible of any lively affection for the rest of mankind. A cruel unfeeling temper has distin- guished the monks of every age and country: their stern indifference, which is seldom molli- fied by personal friendship, is inflamed by re- ligious hatred ; and their merciless zeal has stre- nuously administered the holj office of the in- quisition.
monastic saints, who excite only the con-
c I must not conceal a piece of ancient scandal concerning tbe origin of this ulcer. It has been reported, that the Devil, assuming an an- gelic form, invited him to ascend, like Elijah, into n fiery chariot. The saint too hastily raised his foot, and Satan seized the moment ».'f inflicting this chastisement on hit vanity.
262 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, tempt and pity of a philosopher, were respected,
J" _ J and almost adored, by the prince and people.
Miracles Successive crowds of pilgrims from Gaul and ship of the -India saluted the divine pillar of Simeon: the monks, tribes of Saracens disputed in arms the honour of his benediction; the queens of Arabia and Persia gratefully confessed his supernatural virtue; and the angelic hermit was consulted by the younger Theodosius, in the most important concerns of the church and state. His remains were transported from the mountain of Tel enissa, by a solemn procession of the patriarch, the master-general of the East, six bishops, twenty- one counts or tribunes, and six thousand sol- diers; and Antioch revered his bones, as her glorious ornament and impregnable defence. The fame of the apostles and martyrs was gra- dually eclipsed by these recent and popular anachorets; the Christian world fell prostrate before their shrines ; and the miracles ascribed to their relics exceeded, at least in number and duration, the spiritual exploits of their lives. But the golden legend of their lives* was embellished by the artful credulity of their interested brethren; and a believing age was easily persuaded, that the slightest caprice of an Egyptian or a Syrian monk, had been suffi- cient to interrupt the eternal laws of the uni- verse. The favourites of Heaven were accus-
d 1 know not how to select or specify the miracles contained in the Vita Pat runt of Rosweyde, as the number very much exceeds the thousand pages of that voluminous work. An elegant specimen may be found in the Dialogues of Sulpicius Severus, and his life of St. Martin. He reveres the monks of Egypt ; yet he insults them with the remark, that they never raised the dead ; whereas the bishop «/ Tours had restored tkrte dead men to life.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 263
tomed to cure inveterate diseases with a touch, CHAP. a word, or a distant message ; and to expel the **^ most obstinate demons from the souls or bodies, which they possessed. They familiarly accosted, or imperiously commanded, the lions and ser- pents of the desert; infused vegetation in a sap- less trunk ; suspended iron on the surface of the water; passed the Nile on the back of a croco- dile, and refreshed themselves in a fiery furnace. These extravagant tales, which display the fic- tionTwitHout the genius of jaoelry, Tiave senoirsly
y***- • ' ~*j i —- - ' •' • " "" """"* | i •• ~ - . j. T"»«_I
affected the reason, the faith, and the morals, of the ChrTstians. ThWeffldiiliiy dftMuted akd vitiated tKelaculties of the mind ; infer cormp- *uperjti: teS^flre^vT^no^oT^nistory : and" superstition age.
._ -rr-, '• «rn. . r ™~r-—^-, -••iHn|,L, i V ' L
gradually extinguished the hostile light of phi losbphy and science. Every mode of religious worship which had been practised by the saints, every mysterious doctrine which they believed, was fortified by the sanction of divine revelation, and all the manly virtues were oppressed by the servile and pusillanimous reign of the monks. If it be possible to measure the interval between the philosophic writings of Cicero and the sa- cred legend of Theodoret, between the charac- ter of Cato and that of Simeon, we may appre- ciate the memorable revolution which was ac- complished in the Koman empire within a pe- riod of five hundred years.
anx^a^MMP***1^' . ' ' — , f T /i
IT. The progress of Christianity has been yERsioir marked by two glorious and decisive victories: UF THE
... B.VRBA.
over the learned and luxurious citizens of the R Roman empire; and over the warlike barbarians of Scythia and Germany, who subverted the
264 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, empire, and embraced the religion, of the Ro-
XXXVIL
, ^ mans. The Goths were the foremost of these
savage proselytes ; and the nation was indebted for its conversion to a countryman, or, at least, to a subject, worthy to be ranked among the in- ventors of useful arts, who have deserved the remembrance and gratitude of posterity. A great number of Roman provincials had been led away into captivity by the Gothic bands, who ravaged Asia in the time of Gallienus : and of these captives, many were Christians, and several belonged to the ecclesiastical order. Those involuntary missionaries, dispersed as slaves in the villages of Dacia, successively la- boured for the salvation of their masters. The seeds, which they planted, of the evangelic doc- trine, were gradually propagated; and before the end of a century, the pious work was achieved by the labours of Ulphilas, whose an- cestors had been transported beyond the Da- nube from a small town of Cappadocia.
Ulphilas, the bishop and apostle of the Goths,'
the Goths, acquired their love and reverence by his blame'
A D 360
&c. ' less life and indefatigable zeal ; and they receiv- ed, with implicit confidence, the doctrines of truth and virtue, which he had preached and practised. He executed the arduous task of translating the Scriptures into their native tongue, a dialect of German, or Teutonic, lan- guage: but he prudently suppressed the four
' On the subject, of Vlphilas, and the conversion of the Goths, see Sozomen, i. *i, c. 37 ; Socrates, 1. ir, c. 33 ; Theodoret, 1. ir, c. 37 ; Philostrog. 1. ii, c. 5. The heresy of Philostorgiug appears to have firen him superior means of information.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 265
books of Kinffs, as they might tend to irritate CHAP.
XXXVII
the fierce and sanguinary spirit of the barba M 'f
rians. The rude, imperfect idiom of soldiers, so ill qualified to communicate any spiritual ideas, was improved and modulated by his ge- nius; and Ulphilas, before he could frame his version, was obliged to compose a new alphabet of twenty-four letters ; four of which he invented, to express the peculiar sounds that were un- known to the Greek, and Latin pronunciation.1 But the prosperous state of the Gothic church was soon afflicted by war and intestine discord, and the chieftains were divided by religion as well as by interest. Fritigern, the friend of the Romans, became the proselyte of Ulphilas; while the haughty soul of Athanaric disdained the yoke of the empire, and of the Gospel. The faith of the new converts was tried by the persecution which he excited. A waggon, bear- ing aloft the shapeless image of Thor, perhaps, or of Woden, was conducted in solemn proces- sion through the streets of the camp; and the re- bels, who refused to worship the God of their fathers, were immediately burnt, with their tents and families. The character of Ulphilas re- commended him to the esteem of the eastern court, where he twice appeared as the minister of peace; he pleaded the cause of the distressed
T A mutilated copy of the four gospels, in the Gothic version, wa» published A. D. 1665, and is esteemed the most ancient monument of the Teutonic language, though Westein attempts, by some frivolous conjectures, to deprive Ulphilas of the honour of the work. Two of the four additional letters express the Wt and our own Th. See Simon. Hist. Critique du Nouveau Testament, torn, ii, p. 219-223. Mill. Pr«. . p. 151, edit. Kutter. Westein, Prolegom, torn, i, p. 114.
266 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. Goths, who implored the protection of Valens:
XXXVII
,,J and the name of Moses was applied to this spi- ritual guide, who conducted his people, through the deep waters of the Danube, to the Land of Promise.8 The devout shepherds, who were attached to his person, and tractable to his voice, acquiesced in their settlement, at the foot of the Maesian mountains, in a country of wood- lands and pastures, which supported their flocks and herds, and enabled them to purchase the corn and wine of the more plentiful provinces. These harmless barbarians multiplied in obscure peace and the profession of Christianity.11
Their fiercer brethren, the formidable Visi- dSu&c g°ths, universally adopted the religion of the embrace Romans, with whom they maintained a perpe-
Chrislia- { ." r
Bity. tual intercourse of war, of friendship, or of con- &c.D 100> quest. In their long and victorious march from the Danube to the Atlantic ocean, they con- verted their allies ; they educated the rising ge- neration; and the devotion which reigned in the camp of Alaric, or the court of Toulouse, might edify, or disgrace, the palaces of Rome and Constantinople.1 During the same period, Chris- tianity was embraced by almost all the barba- rians, who established their kingdoms on the
? Philostorgius erroneously places this passage under the reign of Constantiue ; but I am much inclined to believe that it preceded the great emigration.
h We are obliged to Jornandes (de Reb. Get. c. 51, p. 688) for a short and lively picture of these lesser Goths. Gothi minores, populus im- mensus, cum suo Pontiface ipsoque primate Wulfila. The last words if they are not mere tautology, imply some temporal jurisdiction.
J At non ita Gothi non ita Vandali : malis licet doctorbius iustituti, meliores tamen etiam iu hac parte quam nostri Salviati de Gubern. Dei, 1. vii, p. 243.'
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 267
ruins of the western empire; the Burgundians CHAP. in Gaul, the Suevi in Spain, the Vandals in ^*; Africa, the Ostrogoths in Pannonia, and the various bands of mercenaries, that raised Odo- acer to the throne of Italy. The Franks and the Saxons still persevered in the errors of pa- ganism: but the Franks obtained the monarchy of Gaul by their submission to the example of Clovis; and the Saxon conquerors of Britain were reclaimed from their savage superstition by the missionaries of Rome. These barbarian proselytes displayed an ardent and successful zeal in the propagation of the faith. The Me- rovingian kings, and their successors, Charle- magne and the Othos, extended, by their laws and victories, the dominion of the cross, En- gland produced the apostle of Germany; and the evangelic light was gradually diffused from the neighbourhood of the Rhine, to the nations of the Elbe, the Vistula, and the Baltic.k
The different motives which influenced the M°»>ves »f
their faith
reason, or the passions, of the barbarian converts, cannot easily be ascertained. They were often capricious and accidental; a dream, an omen, the report of a miracle, the example of some priest, or hero, the charms of a believing wife, and above all, the fortunate event of a prayer, or vow, which, in a moment of danger, they had address- ed to the God of the Christians.1 The early
k Mosheim has slightly sketched the progress of Christianity in the North, from the fourth to the fourteenth century. The subject would afford materials for an ecclesiastical, and even philosophical, history.
1 To such a cause has Socrates (1. vii, c. 30) ascribed the conversion of the Burguudians, whose Christian piety is celebrated by Oiosius, (1. vii, c 19;.
THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, prejudices of education were insensibly erased by
M°ff the habits of frequent and familiar society ; the
moral precepts of the Gospel were protected by the extravagant virtues of the monks ; and a spiritual theology was supported by the visible power of relics, arid the pomp of reli- gious worship. But the rational and ingenious mode of persuasion, which a Saxon bishop** suggested to a popular saint, might sometimes be employed by the missionaries, who laboured for the conversion of Infidels. " Admit," " says the sagacious disputant, whatever they " are pleased to assert of the fabulous, and car- " nal, genealogy of their gods and goddesses, " who are propagated from each other. From " this principle deduce their imperfect nature, " and human infirmities, the assurance they " were born, and the probability that they will " die. At what time, by what means, from " what cause, were the eldest of the gods or " goddesses produced ? Do they still conti- *' nue, or have they ceased, to propagate? If " they have ceased, summon your antagonists " to declare the reason of this strange alteration. " If they still continue the number of the gods " must become infinite ; and shall we not risk, " by the indiscreet worship of some impotent " deity, to excite the resentment of his jealous " superior ? The visible heavens and earth,
m See an original and curious epistle from Daniel, the first bishop of Winchester, (Beda, Hist. Eccles. Anglorum, 1. v, c. 18, p. 203, edi. Smith), to St. Boniface, who preached the Gospel among the Sarages of Hesse and Tharingia. Epistol. Bouifacii, Ixvii, in the Maxima Bib- liotheca Patrum, torn, xiii, p. 93.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 269
" the whole system of the universe, which may CHAP. " be conceived by the mind, is it created or "eternal? If created, how, or where, could " the gods themselves exist before the crea- " tion ? If eternal, how could they assume " the empire of an independent and pre-existing " world ? Urge these arguments with temper " and moderation ; insinuate, at seasonable, " intervals, the truth, and beauty, of the Chris- " tian revelation ; and endeavour to make the " unbelievers ashamed, without making them *' angry." This metaphysical reasoning, too refined perhaps for the barbarians of Germany, was fortified by the grosser weight of authority and popular consent. The advantage of tem- poral prosperity had deserted the pagan cause, and passed over to the service of Christianity. The Romans themselves, the most powerful and enlightened nation of the globe, had re- nounced their ancient superstition ; and, if the ruin of their empire seemed to accuse the efficacy of the new faith, the disgrace was already re- trieved by the conversion of the victorious Goths. The valiant and fortunate barbarians, who subdued the provinces of the West, suc- cessively received, and reflected the same edi- fying example. Before the age of Charlemagne, the Christian nations of Europe might exult in the exclusive possession of the temperate cli- mates, of the fertile lands, which produced corn, wine, and oil ; while the savage Idolaters, and their helpless idols, were confined to the extre-
their con. version.
270 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, mities of the earth, the dark and frozen regions
*X,*!!!'. of the north."
Effects of Christianity, which opened the gates of Hea- ven to the barbarians, introduced an important change in their moral and political condition. They received, at the same time, the use of let- ters, so essential to a religion whose doctrines are contained in a sacred book, and while they studied the divine truth, their minds were in- sensibly enlarged by the distant view of his- tory, of nature, of the arts, and of society. The version of the scriptures into their native tongue, which had facilitated their conversion, must excite, among their clergy, some curiosity to read the original text, to understand the sacred liturgy of the church, and to examine in the \vri tings of the fathers, the chain of ecclesias- tical tradition. These spiritual gifts were pre- served in the Greek and Latin languages, which concealed the inestimable monuments of ancient learning. The immortal productions of Virgil, Cicero, and Livy, which were acces- sible to the Christian barbarians, maintained a silent intercourse between the reign of Au- gustus, and the times of Clovis and Charle- magne. The emulation of mankind was en- couraged by the remembrance of a more perfect state ; and the flame of science was secretly kept alive, to warm and enlighten the mature age of the western world. In the most corrupt
n The sword of Charlemagne added weight to the argument ; but when Daniel wrote this epistle, (A. D. 723), the Mahometans, who reigned from India to Spain, might hare retorted it against the Chris-
tians.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 271
state of Christianity, the barbarians miffht learn CHAP
' XXXVII
justice from the law, and mercy from the gospel :
and if the knowledge of their duty was insuffi- cient to guide their actions, or to regulate their passions ; they were sometimes restrained by conscience, and frequently punished by re- morse. But the direct authority of religion was less effectual, than the holy communion which united them with their Christian bre- thren in spiritual friendship. The influence of these sentiments contributed to secure their fidelity in the service, or the alliance, of the Ro- mans, to alleviate the horrors of war, to mode- rate the insolence of conquest, and to preserve, in the downfal of the empire, a permanent re- spect for the name and Institutions of Rome. In the days of paganism, the priests of Gaul and Germany reigned over the people, and con- trouled the jurisdiction of the magistrates ; and the zealous proselytes transfered an equal, or more ample, measure of devout obedience, to the pontiffs of the Christian faith. The sacred character of the bishops was supported by their temporal possessions; they obtained an ho- nourable seat in the legislative assemblies of soldiers and freemen ; and it was their interest, as well as [their duty, to mollify by peaceful counsels, the fierce spirit of the barbarians. The perpetual correspondence of the Latin clergy, the frequent pilgrimages to Rome and Jerusalem, and the growing authority of the Popes, cemented the union of the Christian re- public ; and gradually produced the similar man- ners, and common jurisprudence, which have
272 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, distinguished from the rest of mankind, the in-
XXVII
„ ....... J depende
They are Europe.
XXXVII
"„ ....... J dependent, and even hostile, nations of modern
operation of these causes was check- e(j an(j retarded by the unfortunate accident, which infused a deadly poison into the cup of Salvation. Whatever might be the early senti- ments of Ulphilas, his connections with the em- pire and the church were formed during the reign of Arianism. The apostle of the Goths subscribed the creed of Rimini ; professed with freedom, and perhaps with sincerity, that the SON was not equal, or consubstantial, to the FATHER ;° communicated these errors to the clergy and people ; and infected the barbaric world with an heresy,p which the great Theo- dosius proscribed and extinguished among the Romans. The temper and understanding of the new proselytes were not adapted to me- taphysical subtleties ; but they strenuously maintained what they had piously received, as the pure and genuine doctrines of Christianity. The advantage of preaching and expounding
0 The opinions of Ulphilas and the Goths inclined to Semi-Arianisru, since they would not say that the Son was a creature, though they held communion with those who maintained that heresy. Their apostle re- presented the whole controversy as a question of trifling moment, which had been raised by the passions of the clergy. Theodoret, 1. i.r, e. 37.
r The Arianism of the Goths had been imputed to the emperor Va- lens. — " Itaque justo Dei judicio ipsi eum vivum incenderunt, qui " propter eum etiam mortui, vitio erroris arsuri sunt." Oiosius, 1. vii, c. 33, p. 554. Tb's cruel sentence is confirmed by Tillemont, (Mem. Eccles. torn, vi, p 604-610), who coolly observes, " un suel homme en traina dans I'enfer un nombre infiui de Septeutrionaux," &c. Salrian (de Gubern. Dei, 1. v, p. 150, 151) pities and excuses their involuntary
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 273
the Scriptures in the Teutonic language, pro- CHAP. moted the apostolic labours of Ulphilas and ,— ^,^J his successors ; and they ordained a competent number of bishops and presbyters, for the in- struction of the kindred tribes. The Ostro- goths, the Burgundians, the Suevi,' anci the Vandals, who had listened ,to the eloquence of the Latin clergy,q preferred the more intelligi- ble lessons of their domestic teachers ; and Arianism was adopted as the national faith of the warlike converts, who were seated on the ruins of the western empire. This irreconcili- able difference of religion was a perpetual source of jealousy and hatred ; and the re- proach of barbarian was embittered by the .more odious epithet of heretic. The heroes of the North, who had submitted with some re- luctance, to believe that all their ancestors were in hell/ were astonished and exasperated to learn, that they themselves had only changed the mode of their eternal condemnation. In- stead of the smooth applause, which Christian kings are accustomed to expect from their loyal prelates, the orthodox bishops and their clergy were in a state of opposition to the Arian courts ; and their indiscreet opposition frequently became criminal, and might some-
-#; /• U . ij: .,. :,
i Orosius affirms, in the year 416, (1. 7, c. 41, p. 580), that the churches of Christ (of the catholics) were filled with Huus, Suevi, Van- dals, Burgundians.
T Ranbod, king of the Prisons, was so much scandalized by this rash declaration of a missionary, that he drew back his foot after he had en- tered the baptismal font. See Fleury Hist. Lcclos. torn, ix, p, 167.
VOI. VI. T
274,, THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, times be dangerous.* The pulpit, that safe
XXXVII •
„ J and sacred organ of sedition, resounded with
the names of Pharaoh and Holofernes ;l the public discontent was inflamed by the hope or promise of a glorious deliverance ; and the
t Oration, seditious saints were tempted to promote the accomplishment of their own predictions. Not- withstanding these provocations, the catholics of Gaul, Spain, and Italy, enjoyed under the reign of the Arians, the free, and peaceful, ex- ercise of their religion. Their haughty masters respected the zeal of a numerous people, re- solved to die at the foot of their altars ; and the example of their devout constancy was admir- ed and imitated by the barbarians themselves. The conquerors evaded, however the disgrace- ful reproach, or confession, of fear, by attribut- ing their toleration to the liberal motives of rea- son and humanity ; and while they affected the language, they imperceptibly imbibed the spi- rit, of genuine Christianity.
Amn per- The peace of the church was sometimes in-
•ecution of __ • T
the van- terrupted. Ihe catholics were indiscreet, the barbarians were impatient; and the partial acts of severity or injustice which had been recommended by the Arian c/ergy, were exag- gerated by the orthodox writers. The guilt of persecution may be imputed to Euric, king of the Visigoths ; who suspended the exercise of
' The epistles of Sidonius, bishop of Clermont, under the Visigoths, and of Avitus, bishop of Vienna, under the Burgundians, explain, sometimes in dark hints, the general dispositions of the catholics. The history of Cloris and Tbeodoric will suggest some particular facts.
1 Genseric confessed the resemblance, by the severity with which he punished such indiscreet allusions. Victor Vitensis, 1, 7, p. 10.
O* THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 275
ecclesiastical, or, at least, of episcopal func- CHAP.
• • XXXVII
tions ; and punished the popular bishops of J
Aquitain with imprisoment, exile, and confisca- tion.11 But the cruel and absurd enterprise of subduing the minds of a whole people, was undertaken by the Vandals alone. Genseric Gengeric himself, in his early youth, had renounced the A- D- 423- orthodox communion ; and the apostate could neither grant, nor expect, a sincere forgiveness. He was exaperated to find, that the Africans, who had fled before him in the field, still pre- sumed to dispute his will in synods and churches ; and his ferocious mind was incapa- ble of fear, or of compassion. His catholic subjects were oppressed by intolerant laws, and arbitrary punishments. The language of Genseric was furious and formidable ; the knowledge of his intentions might justify the most favourable interpretations of his actions ; and the Arians were reproached with the fre- quent executions which stained the palace, and the dominions, of the tyrant. Arms and ambi- tion were, however, the ruling passions of the monarch of the sea. But Hunneric, his inglo- Hunncric, rious son, who seemed to inherit only his vices, A tormented the catholics with the same unrelent- ing fury which had been fatal to his brother, his nephews, and the friends and favourites of his father : and, even to the Arian patriarch,
u Such are the contemporary complaints of Sidonius, bishop of Cler- mont, (1 vii, c. 6, p. 182, &c. edit. Sirmond). Gregory of Tours, who quotes this Epistle, (1. ii, c. 25, in torn, ii, p. 174), extorts an unwar- rantable assertion, that of the nine vacancies in Aquitain-. some had been produceu by episcopal martyrdom*.
276 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, who was inhumanly burnt alive in the midst
'f of Carthage. The religious war was preceded
and prepared by an insidious truce ; persecu- tion was made the serious and important busi- ness of the Vandal court ; and the loathsome disease, which hastened the death of Hun- neric, levenged the injuries, without contribut- ing to the deliverance of the church. The throne of Africa was successively filled by the two nephews of Hunneric ; by Gundamund, GuncU- who reigned about twelve, and by Thrasi- A.Ui>.484. mund, who governed the nation above twenty- seven, years. Their administration was hostile and oppressive to the orthodox party. Gunda- mund appeared to emulate, or even to surpass, the cruelty of his uncle ; and, if at length he relented, if he recalled the bishops, and restor- ed the freedom of Athanasian worship, a pre- mature death intercepted the benefits of his Thrwi- tardy clemency. His brother, Thrasimund, A. D. 496. was the greatest and most accomplished of the Vandal kings, whom he excelled in beauty, prudence, and magnanimity of soul. But this magnanimous character was degraded by his intolerant zeal and deceitful clemency. In- stead of threats and tortures, he employed the gentle, but efficacious, powers of seduction. Wealth, dignity, and the royal favour, were the liberal rewards of apostacy; thecatholics/who had violated the laws, might purchase their pardon by the renunciation of their faith : and whenever Thrasimund meditated any rigorous measure, he patiently waited till the indiscretion of his adversaries furnished him with a specious
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 277
opportunity. Bigotry was his last sentiment CHAP. in the hour of death ; and he exacted from his ,_
successor a solemn oath, that he would never tolerate the sectaries of Athanasius. But his A successor, Hiideric, the gentle son of the sa- vage Hunneric, preferred the duties of huma- nity and justice, to the vain obligation of an impious oath ; and his accession was* glorious- ly marked by the restoration of peace and uni- versal freedom. The throne of that virtuous, though feeble, monarch, was usurped by his cousin Gelimer, a zealous Arian; but the Van- Geiimer, dal kingdom, before he could enjoy or abuse At D> 6SO- his power, was subverted by the arms of Beli- sarius ; and the orthodox party retaliated the injuries which they had endured.1
The passionate declamations of the catholics, *l**'!>?ml the sole historians of this persecution, cannot tbeperf*-' afford any distinct series of causes and events ; Africa. any impartial view of characters, or counsels ; but the most remarkable circumstances, that • deserve either credit or notice, may be preferr- ed to the following heads. — I. In the original law, which is still extant/ Hunneric expressly
* The original monuments of the Vandal persecution are preserved in the five books of th'e History of Victor Vitensis, (de Persecutione Vau- dalica), a bishop who was exiled by Hnuneric • in the Life of St. I'ul- gentius, who was distinguished in the persecution of Thrasiniiuul, (in Bililioth. Max. Patrum, torn, ix, p. 4-16) and in the first book of the Vandalic War, by the impartial Procopius, (c. 7, 8, p. 196, 197, 198, 199). Doui. Ruinart, the last editor of Victor, has illustrated the whole subject with a copious and learned apparatus of notes and supplement. (Paris, 1694).
y Victor, iv, 2, p. 65. Hunneric refuses the name of catholics to the Uomoousians. He describes, as the veri Diviuac Majestatis cultores, h» .*wn party, who professed the faith, confirmed by more thana thousand bishops, i-,i the synods of Rimini and Seleucia.
278 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, declares, and the declaration appears to be cor-
XXXVII
^ ff'ff rect, that he had faithfully transcribed the re- gulations and penalties of the imperial edicts ; against the heretical congregations, the clergy, and the people, who dissented from the esta- blished religion. If the rights of conscience had been understood, the catholics must have condemned their past conduct, or acquiesced in their actual sufferings. But they still per- sisted to refuse the indulgence which they claimed. While they trembled under the lash of persecution, they praised the laudable seve- rity of Hunneric himself, who burnt or banish- ed great numbers of Manichaeans ;2 and they rejected, with horror, the ignominious compro- mise, that the disciples of Arius, and of Atha- nasius, should enjoy a reciprocal and similar toleration in the territories of the Romans, and in those of the Vandals.* II. The practice of a conference, which the catholics had so fre- quently used to insult and punish their obsti- nate antagonists, was retorted against them- selves.11 At the command of Hunneric, four hundred and sixty-six orthodox bishops as- sembled at Carthage ; but when they were ad- mitted into the hall of audience, they had the
z Victor, ii, 1, p. 21, 22. Laudabilior .". . idehmtur. ID the MSS. which omit this word, the passage is unintelligible. See Ruinart, Not. p. 164.
• Victor, ii, 2, p. 22, 23. The clergy of Carthage called these condi- tions, pcriculos* ; and they seem, indeed, to hare been proposed as a snare to entrap the catholic bishops.
b See the narrative of this conference, and the treatment of the bf. sbops, in Victor, ii, 13-18, p. 35-42, and the whole fourth book, p. 63- 171. The third book, p. 42-62, is entirely filled by their apology or c«Bft8ii«B of faith.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 279
mortification of beholdine the Arian Cirila ex- CHAP.
'*£ -V -\r *»| i
alted on the patriarchal throne. The dispu- „'
tants were separated, after the mutual and ordi- nary reproaches of noise and silence, of delay and precipitation, of military force and of po- pular clamour. One martyr and one confessor were selected among the catholic bishops; twenty-eight escaped by flight, and eighty-eight by conformity ; forty-six were sent into Corsica to cut timber for the royal navy; and three hundred and two were banished to the different parts of Africa, exposed to the insults of their enemies, and carefully deprived of all the tem- poral and spiritual comforts of life.0 The hardships of ten years exile must have reduced their numbers ; and if they had complied with the law of Thrasimund, which prohibited any episcopal consecrations, the orthodox church of Africa must have expired with the lives of its actual members. They disobeyed ; and their disobedience was punished by a second exile of two hundred and twenty bishops into Sardinia ; where they languished fifteen years, till the accession of the gracious Hilderic.d The
c See the list of the African bishops, in Victor, p. 117-140, and Rui- nart's notes, p. 215-397. The schismntie name of Donatus frequently occurs, and they appear to have adopted (like our fanatics of the last agf) the pious appellations of Deodatus, Deogratias, Quidvultdeus, Hit- betdeum, &c.
d Fulgent. Vit. c. 16-29. Thrasimund affected the praise of modera- tion and learning ; and Fulgentius addressed three books of controversy to the Arian tyrant, whom he styles piissime Rex. Biblioth Maxim. Pat rum, torn, ix, p. 41. Only sixty bishops are mentioned as exiles in the life of Fulgentius ; they are increased to one hundred and twenty, by Victor Tunimncnsis, and Isidore ; but the number of two hundred and twenty is specified in the Hiatoria Miscella, and a short authentic chro- niel« of the limes. See Ruinart, p. 570, 671.
280 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, two islands were judiciously chosen by the ma-
„! lice of their Arian tyrants. Seneca, from his
own experience, has deplored and exaggerated the miserable state of Corsica,' and the plenty of Sardinia was overbalanced by the unwhole- some quality of the air/ III. The zeal of Genseric, and his successors, for the conver- sion of the catholics, must have rendered them still more jealous to guard the purity of the Vandal faith. Before the churches were finally shut, it was a crime to appear in a barbarian dress ; and those who presumed to neglect the royal mandate, were rudely dragged backwards by their long hair.8 The palatine officers, who refused to profess the religion of their prince, were ignonimiously stripped of their honours and employments ; banished to Sardinia and Sicily ; or condemned to the 'servile labours of slaves and peasants in the fields of Utica. In the districts which had been peculiarly al- lotted to the Vandals, the exercise of the ca- tholic worship was more strictly prohibited , and severe penalties were denounced against the guilt, both of the missionary, and the proselyte. By these arts, the faith of the barbarians was preserved, and their zeal was inflamed ; they discharged, with devout fury,
* See the base and insipid epigrams of the Stoic, who could not »up- port exile with more fortitude than Ovid. Corsica might not produce corn, wine, or oil ; but it could not be destitute of grass, water, and even fire.
f Si ob gravitatcm cceli interissent, vile daranum. Tacit. Annal. ii, 85. In this application, Thrasimund would have adopted the reading of some critic?, utilc danmuni.
* See these preludes of a general persecution, in Victor, ii, 8, 4, 7, and the two edict* of Hunneric, 1. ii, p. 35 ; I. ir, p. 64.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.1 281
the office of spies, informers, or executioners ; CHAP.
and whenever their cavalry took the field, „ ^J
it was the favourite amusement of the march, to defile the churches, and to insult the cler- gy of the adverse faction.11 IV. The citi- zens who had been educated in the luxury of the Roman province, were delivered, with ex- quisite cruelty, to the Moors of the desert. A venerable train of bishops, presbyters, and dea- cons, with a faithful crowd of four thousand and ninety-six persons, whose guilt is not precisely ascertained, were torn from their native homes, by the command of Hunneric. During the night, they were confined, like a herd of cattle, amidst their own ordure; during the day they pursued their march over the burning sands; and if they fainted under the heat and fatigue, they were goaded, or dragged along, till they expired in the hands of their tormentors.1 These unhappy exiles, when they reached the Moor- ish huts, might excite the compassion of a peo- ple, whose native humanity was neither im- proved by reason, nor corrupted by fanaticism: but if they escaped the dangers, they were con- demned to share the distress, of a savage life. V. It is incumbent on the authors of persecu- tion previously to reflect, whether they are de- termined to support it in the last extreme*. They excite the flame which they strive to ex-
h See Procopius de Bell. Vandal. 1. i, c. 7, p. 197. 198. A Moorish prince endeavoured to propitiate the God of the Christians, by his dili- gence to erase the marks of the Vandal sacrilege.
1 See this story in Victor, ii, 8-12, p. 30-34. Victor deicribei the di»- trc» of these confessors as an eye witness.
282 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, tiiiffuish: and it soon becomes necessary to
XXXVII
w chastise the contumacy, as well as the crime, of
the offender. The fine, which he is unable or unwilling to discharge, exposes his person to the severity of the law; and his contempt of lighter penalties suggests the use and propriety of capital punishment. Through the veil of fic- tion and declamation, we may clearly perceive, that the catholics, more especially under the reign of Hunneric, endured the most cruel and ignominious treatment.* Respectable citizens, noble matrons, and consecrated virgins, were stripped naked, and raised in the air by pulleys, with a weight suspended at their feet. In this painful attitude their naked bodies were torn with scourges, or burnt in the most tender parts with red hot plates of iron. The amputation of the ears, the nose, the tongue, and the right hand, was inflicted by the Arians; and although the precise number cannot be defined, it is evi- dent that many persons, among whom a bishop1 and a proconsulm may be named, were entitled to the crown of martyrdom. The same honour has been ascribed to the memory of Count Se- bastian, who professed the Nicene creed with unshaken constancy ; and Genseric might detest, as an heretic, the brave and ambitious fugitive
* See the fifth book of Victor. His passionate complaints are con- firmed by the sober testimony of Procopius, and the public declaration of the emperor Justinian. (Cod. 1. i, tit. xxrii).
1 Victor, ii, 18, p. 41.
" Victor. T, 4, p. 74, 75. His name was Victorianus, and he was * wealthy citizen of Adrumetum, who enjoyed the confidence of the king ; by whose favour he had obtained the office, or at least the title, •f Proeoniul of Africa,
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 283
whom he dreaded as a rival.' VI. A new mode CHAP. of conversion, which might subdue the feeble, and alarm the timorous, was employed by the Arian ministers. They imposed, by fraud or violence, the rites of baptism ; and punished the apostacy of the catholics, if they disclaimed this odious and profane ceremony, which scanda- lously violated the freedom of the will, and the unity of the sacrament.0 The hostile sects had formerly allowed the validity of each others baptism; and the innovation, so fiercely main- tained by the Vandals, can be imputed only to the example and advice of the Donatists. VII. The Arian clergy surpassed, in religious cruel- ty, the king and his Vandals; but they were in- capable of cultivating the spiritual vineyard, which they were so desirous to possess. A pa- triarch15 might seat himself on the throne of Car- thage; some bishops, in the principal cities, might usurp the place of their rivals; but the smallness of their numbers, and their ignorance of the Latin language,' disqualified the barba- rians for the ecclesiastical ministry of a great
" Victor, i, 6, p. 8, 9. After relating the firm resistanceand dexter- ous reply of Count Sebastian, he adds, square alio generis argumento postero bellicosum virum occidit.
0 Victor, v, 12, 13. Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. torn, vi, p. 609.
f Primate was more properly the title of the bishop of Carthage ; but the name of patriarch was given by the sects and nations to their prin- cipal ecclesiastic. See Thomaisin, Discipline de 1'Eglise, torn, i, p. 155, 158.
1 The patriarch Cyrila himself publicly declared, that he did not un- derstand Latin, (Victor, ii, 18, p. 42); Nescio Latine ; and he might converse with tolerable ease, without being capable of disputing or preaching in that language. His Vandal clergywere still more ignorant ; and small confidence could be placed in the Africans, who had con- formed.
284 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, church; and the Africans after the loss of their
XXXVII
J orthodox pastors, were deprived of the public
exercise of Christianity. VIII. The emperors were the natural protectors of the Homoousin doctrine: and the faithful people of Africa, both as Romans and as catholics, preferred their lawful sovereignty to the usurpation of the bar- barous heretics. During an interval of peace and friendship, Hunneric restored the cathedral of Carthage ; at the intercession of Zeno, who reigned in the East, and of Placidia, the daugh- ter and relict of emperors, and the sister of the queen of the Vandals/ But this decent regard was of short duration ; and the haughty tyrant displayed his contempt for the religion of the empire, by studiously arranging the bloody images of persecution, in all the principal streets through which the Roman ambassador must pass in his way to the palace.5 An oath was requested from the bishops, who were assem- bled at Carthage, that they would support the succession of his son Hilderic, and that they would renounce all foreign or transmarine cor- respondence. This engagement, consistent as it should seem with their moral and religious duties, was refused by the more sagacious mem- bers1 of the assembly. Their refusal faintly co-
T Victor, ii, 1, 2, p. 22.
* Victor, v, 7, p. 77. He appeals to the ambassador himself, whose name was Uranius.
' Attutiores, Victor, iy, 4, p. 70. He plainly intimates that their quotation of the Gospel, " Non jurabitis in toto," was only meant to elude the obligation of an inconvenient oath. The forty-six bishops who refuted were banished to Corsica; the three hundred and two who •wore, were distributed through the provinces of Africa.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, 28t*>
loured by the pretence that it is unlawful for a CHAP. Christian to swear, must provoke the suspicions ^ of a jealous tyrant.
The catholics, oppressed by royal and mili- catholic tary force, were far superior to their adversaries fraudt- in numbers and learning. With the same wea- pons which the Greek" and Latin fathers had already provided for the Arian controversy, they repeatedly silenced, or vanquished, the fierce and illiterate successors of Ulphilas. The consciousness of their own superiority might have raised them above the arts, and pas- sions, of religious warfare. Yet, instead of as- suming such honourable pride, the orthodox theologians were tempted, by the assurance of impunity, to compose fictions, which must be stigmatised with the epithets of fraud and for- gery. They ascribed their own polemical works to the most venerable names of Christian anti- quity: the characters of Athanasius and Augus- tin were awkwardly personated by Vigilius and his disciples ;x and the famous creed, which so clearly expounds the mysteries of the Trinity and the Incarnation, is deduced, with strong probability, from this African school/ Even the
" Fulgentius, bishop of Ruspae, iu the Byzacene prorince, was of a senatorial family, and received a liberal education. He could repeat all Homer and Menander before he was allowed to study Latin, his native tongue, (Vit. Fulgent, c. 1). Many African bishops might understand Greek, and many Greek theologians were translated into Latin.
x Compare the two prefaces to the Dialogue of Vigilius of Thapsus, (p 118, 119, edit. Chiflet.). He might amuse his learned reader with an innocent fiction; but the subject was too grave, and the Africans were too ignorant.
1 The P. Quesnel started this opinion, which has been favourably re- ceived. But the three following truths, however surprising they may
seem
286 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. Scriptures themselves were profaned by their ^ rash and sacrilegious hands. The memorable text, which asserts the unity of the THREE who bear witness of Heaven,* is condemned by the universal silence of the orthodox fathers, ancient versions, and authentic manuscripts.* It was first alleged by the catholic bishops whom Hun- neric summoned to the conference of Carthage.6 An allegorical interpretation, in the form, per- haps, of a marginal note, invaded the text of the Latin bibles, which were renewed and correct- ed in a dark period of ten centuries.' After the
seem, are now universally acknowledged, (Gerard Vosiius, torn, vi, p. 510-522. Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. torn, viii, p. 667-671). 1. St. Atha- nasius is not the author of the creed which is so frequently read in our churches. 2. It does not appear to have existed, within a century after liis death. 3. It wan originally composed in the Latin tongue, and, consequently, in the western province. Gennandius, patriarch of Con- stantinople, was so much amazed by this extraordinary composition, that he frankly pronounced it to be the work of a drunken mail. Pe- tav, Dogmat. Theologica, torn, ii, 1. vii, c. 8, p. 68
z 1 John, v, 7. See Simeon, Hist. Critique du Nouveau Testament, part i, c. xviii, p. 203-218; and part ii, c. ix, p. 99-121 : and the elabo- rate Prolegomena and Annotations of Dr. Mill and \Vetstein to their editions of the Greek Testament. In 1689, the papist Simon strove to be free; in 1707, the protestant Mill wished to be a slave ; in 1751, the Armenian Wetstein used the liberty of his times, and of his sect.
* Of all the MSS. now extant, above fourscore in number, some of which are more than 1200 years old, (Wetstein ad loc.), the orthodox copies of the Vatican, of the Coruplutensiati editors of Robert Stephens, are become invisible ; and the tiro MSS. of Dublin and Berlin are un- worthy to form an exception. See Kmlyn's Works, vol. ii, p. 227-255, 269-299 ; and M. de Myssy's four ingenious letters, in torn, viii and ix of the Journal Britannique.
b Or, more properly, by the/our bishops who composed and publish- ed the profession of faith in the name of their brethren. They style this text, luce clarius, (Victor Vitensis de Persecut. Vandal. 1. iii, c. 11, p. 54). It is quoted soon afterwards by the African polemics, Vi- gilius and Fulgentius.
c In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the bibles were correcteo by Lanfranc, archbishop of Canterbury, and by Nicholas, a cardinal and
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 287
invention of printing,* the editors of the Greek CHAP. Testament yielded to their own prejudices, or j^^JJ,' to those of the times;6 and the pious fraud, which was embraced with equal zeal at Rome and at Geneva, has been infinitely multiplied in every country and every language of modern Europe.
The example of fraud must excite suspicion: «n<j mi,*, and the specious miracles by which the African el<* catholics have defended the truth and justice of their cause, may be ascribed with more reason, to their own industry, than to the visible pro- tection of Heaven. Yet the historian, who views this religious conflict with an impartial eye, may condescend to mention one preternatural event, which will edify the devout, and surprise the incredulous. Tipasa/ a maritime colony of Mauritania, sixteen miles to the east of Caesa- rea, had been distinguished, in every age, by
librarian of the Roman church, secundum orthodoxam fidem, (Wet&tein Prolegom. p. 84, 85). Notwithstanding these corrections, the passage is still wanting in twenty-five Latin MSS. (Wetstein ad loc), the oldest and the fairest ; two qualities seldom united,except in manuscripts.
d The art which the Germans had invented was applied in Italy to the profane writers of Rome and Greece. The original Greek of the New Testament was published about the same time (A. D. 1514, 1510, 1520) by the industry of Erasmus, and the munificence of Caidinal Xi- menes. The complutensian Polyglot cost the cardinal 50,000 ducats. See Mattaire Annal. Typograph. torn, ii, p. 2-8, 125-133 j and Wetstein, Prolegomena, p. 11&-127.
* The three witnesses have been established in our Greek Testaments by the prudence of Erasmus ; the honest bigotry of the Compluteasian editors ; the typographical fraud, or error, of Robert Stephens in the placing a crotchet ; and the deliberate falsehood, or strange misappre- hension, of Theodore Beza.
fPliu. Hist. Natural, v, 1. Itinerar. Wesseling, p. 15. Cellarius, Geograph. Antiq. torn, ii, part ii, p. 127. This Tipasa (which must not be confounded with another in Numidia) was a (own of some note, since Vespasian endowed it with the right of Latium.
288 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, the orthodox zeal of its inhabitants. They had xxxvn. krave(j tne fury Of the Donatists :g they resist-
•*• * * + ++*+**• *
ed, or eluded, the tyranny of the Arians. The town was deserted on the approach of an here- tical bishop : most of the inhabitants who could procure ships passed over to the coast of Spain ; and the unhappy remnant, refusing all communion with the usurper, still presumed to hold* their pious, but illegal, assemblies. Their disobedience exasperated the cruelty of Hunneric. A military count was despatched from Carthage to Tipasa : he collected the ca tholics in the Forum, and, in the presence of the whole province, deprived the guilty of their right hands and their tongues. But the holy confessors continued to speak without ton- gues ; and this miracle is attested by Victor, an African bishop, who published an history of the persecution within two years after the event.h " If any one," says Victor, " should <e doubt of the truth, let him repair to Con- " stantinople, and listen to the clear and per- " feet language of Restitutus, the sub-deacon, lt one of these glorious sufferers, who is now " lodged in the palace of the emperor Zeno, " and is respected by the devout empress.'* At Constantinople we are astonished to find a cool, a learned, and unexceptionable witness, without interest, and without passion. JEneas of Gaza, a Platonic philosopher, has accurate- ly described his own observations on these African sufferers. " I saw them myself: I
c Optatus Milevitanus de Schism. Donatist. I. ii, p. 38. * Victor Vitensis, r, 6, p. T6. Ruinart, p. 483-487.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 2U.9
" heard them speak : I diligently inquired by CHAP.
" what means such an articulate voice could ,J J
" be formed without any organ of speech : I " used my eyes to examine the report of my " ears : I opened their mouth, and saw that " the whole tongue had been completely torn " away by the roots ; an operation which the " physicians generally suppose to be mortal."1 The testimony of JEneas of Gaza might be confirmed by the superfluous evidence of the emperor Justinian, in a perpetual edict ; of Count Marcel] inus, in his Chronicle of the times ; and of Pope Gregory I, who had resid- ed at Constantinople, as the minister of the Roman pontiff.k They all lived within the compass of a century ; and they all appeal to their personal knowledge, or the public noto- riety, for the truth of a miracle, which was re- peated in several instances, displayed on the . greatest theatre of the world, and submitted, during a series of years, to the calm examina- tion of the senses. This supernatural gift of the African confessors, who spoke without tongues, will command the assent of those, and
' ,£neas Gazseus in Thcop'nrasto, in Bibliofh. Patrum, torn, viii, p. 664, G65. He was a Christian, and composed this Dialogue (the Theo- phrastus) on the immortality of the soul, and the resurrection of the body ; besides twenty-five Epistles, still extant. See Cave, (Hist Lit- teraria, p. 297), and Fabricius, (Bibl. Graec. torn, i, p. 422).
k Justinian. Codex, l.'i, tit. xxvii. Marcellin in Chron. p. 45, in The- saur. Teroporura Scaliger. Procopius, dtfBell Vandal. 1. i, c. 7, p. 196. Gregor. Magnus Dialog, iii, 32. None of these witnesses hare specified the number of the confessors, which is fixed at sixty in an old mcnolo- gy, (apud Ruinart, p. 486). Two of them lost their speech by fornica- tion ; but the miracle is enhanced by the single instance of a boy who had never spoken before his tongue was cut out.
VOt. VI. U
290 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, of those only, who already believe that their
\ language was pure and orthodox. But the
stubborn mind of an infidel is guarded by se- cret, incurable, suspicion ; and the Arian or Socinian, who has seriously rejected the doc- trine of the Trinity, will not be shaken by the most plausible evidence of an Athanasian miracle.
The ruin The Vandals and the Ostrogoths persevered f/mAriaa" in the profession of Arianism till the final ruin among the of the kingdoms which they had founded in A. D. 5oo-' Africa and Italy. The barbarians of Gaul submitted to the orthodox dominion of the Franks ; and Spain was restored to the catho- lic church by the voluntary conversion of the Visigoths.
Mdmu- This salutary revolution1 was hastened by tyrdomof the example of a royal martyr, whom our
Hermeue- J J
gild in calmer reason may style an ungrateful rebel. A*n.'577- Leovigild, the Gothic monarch of Spain, de- 684> served the respect of his enemies, and the love of his subjects ; the catholics enjoyed a free toleration, and his Arian synods attempted, without much success, to reconcile their scru- ples by abolishing the unpopular rite of a se- cond baptism. His eldest son Hermenegild, who was invested by his father with the royal diadem, and the fair principality of Boetica, contracted an honourable and orthodox alliance with a Merovingian princess, the daughter of
1 See the two general historians of Spain, Mariana, (Hist de RubuB Hispanic, torn, i, 1. r, c: 12-15, p. 182-194), and Ferreras, (French translation, torn, ii, p. 206-247). Mariana almost forgets that he M a Jesuit, to assume the style and spirit of a Roman classic. Ferrerai, an industrious compiler, reviews his facts, and rectifies his chronology.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 291
Sigibert, king of Austrasia, and of the famous CHAP. Brunechild. The beauteous Jngundis, who was no more than thirteen years of age, was re- ceived, beloved, and persecuted, in the Arian court of Toledo, and her religious constancy was alternately assaulted with blandishments and violence by Goisvintha, the Gothic queen, who abused the double claim of maternal au- thority."1 Incensed by her resistance, Goisvin- tha seized the catholic princess by her long hair, inhumanly dashed her against the ground, kicked her till she was covered with blood, and at last gave orders that she should be stripped, and thrown into a bason or fish- pond." Love and honour might excite Her- menegild to resent this injurious treatment of his bride; and he was gradually persuaded that Ingundis suffered for the cause of divine truth. Her tender complaints, and the weigh- ty arguments of Leander, archbishop of Se- ville, accomplished his conversion ; and the heir of the Gothic monarchy was initiated in the Nicene faith by the solemn rites of confir- mation.0 The rash youth, inflamed by zeal,
' * , . t •.* t* .
m Gttisvintha successively married two kings of the Visigoths : .Atlia- nigild, to whom she bore Brunechild, the mother of Ingundis; and Leovigild, whose 'two sons, Hermenegild and Rccared, were the issue of a former marriage.
n Iracuudiae furore succensa, adpreheusatn per coman capitis puel- lam in terram conlidit, et diu calcibus verberatam, ac sanguine cruen- tatam, jussit expoliari, et piscinae iuimergi. Greg. Turon. 1. v, c. 30, in torn, ii, p. 255. Gregory is one of our best originals for this portion of history.
• The catholics who admitted the baptism of hereticks, repeated the rite, or as it was afterwards styled, the sacrament of confirmation, to
292 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, and perhaps by ambition was tempted to vio-
.. ^late the duties of a son, and a subject; and the
s catholics of Spain, although they could not complain of persecution, applauded his pious rebellion against an heretical father. The civil war was protracted by the long and obstinate seiges of Merida, Cordova, and Seville, which had strenuously espoused the party of Her menegild. He invited the orthodox barba- rians, the Suevi, and the Franks, to the de- struction of his native land : he solicited the dangerous aid of the Romans, who possessed Africa, and a part of the Spanish coast ; and his holy ambassador, the archbishop Leander, effectually negociated in person with the By- zantine court. But the hopes of the catholics were crushed by the active diligence of a mo- narch who commanded the troops and trea- sures of Spain ; and the guilty Hermenegild, after his vain attempts to resist or to escape, was compelled to surrender himself into the hands of an incensed father. Leovigild was still mindful of that sacred character ; and the rebel, despoiled of the regal ornaments, was still permitted, in a decent exile, to profess the catholic religion. His repeated and unsuc- cessful treasons at length provoked the indig- nation of the Gothic king ; and the sentence of death, which he pronounced with apparent re- luctance, was privately executed in the tower of Seville. The inflexible constancy with
which they ascribed many mystic and marvellous prerogative*, both visible and invisible. See Chardon, Hut. des Sacramens, torn, i, p. 406-551.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 293
which he refused to accept the Arian commu- CHAP. nion, as the price of his safety, may excuse the ^ honours that have been paid to the memory of St. Hermenegild. His wife and infant son were detained by the Romans in ignominious captivity : and this domestic misfortune tar- nished the glories of Leovigild, and embittered the last moments of his life.
His son and successor, Recared, the first ca-
tholic king of Spain, had imbibed the faith of cared and his unfortunate brother, which he supported gothlof with more prudence and success. Instead of sPail1'
r A. D. 586-
revolting against his father, Recared patiently 689. expected the hour of his death. Instead of condemning his memory, he piously supposed, hat the dying monarch had abjured the errors of Arianism, and recommended to his son the conversion of the Gothic nation. To accom- plish that salutary end, Recared convened an assembly of the Arian clergy and nobles, de- clared himself a catholic, and exhorted them to imitate the example of their prince. The la- borious interpretation of doubtful texts, or the curious pursuit of metaphysical arguments, would have excited an endless controversy ; and the monarch discreetly opposed to his illi- terate audience two substantial and visible ar- guments, the testimony of Earth, and of Hea- ven. The Earth had submitted to the Nicene synod : the Romans, the barbarians, and the inhabitants of Spain, unanimously professed the same orthodox creed ; and the Visigoths resisted, almost alone, the consent of the Chris- tian world. A superstitious age was prepared
294 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, to reverence, as the testimony of Heaven, the ^L preternatural cures, which were performed by the skill or virtue of the catholic clergy ; the baptismal fonts of Osset in Bo?tica,p which were spontaneously replenished each year, on the vigil of Easter ;q and the miraculous shrine of St Martin of Tours, which had already con- verted the Suevic prince and people of Galli cia.r The catholic king encountered some dif- ficulties on this important change of the nation- al religion. A conspiracy, secretly fomented by the queen-dowager, was formed against his life ; and two counts excited a dangerous re- volt in the Narbonriese Gaul. But Recared, disarmed the conspirators, defeated the rebels, and executed severe justice ; which the Arians, in their turn, might brand with the reproach of persecution. Eight bishops, whose names be- tray their barbaric origin, abjured their errors ; and all the books of Arian theology were redu- ced to ashes, with the house in which they had been purposely collected. The whole body of the Visigoths and Suevi were allured or driven into the pale of the catholic communion ; the
r Osset, or Julia Coustantia, was opposite to Seville, on the northern side of the Bcetis, (Plin. Hist. Natur. iii, 3) : and the authentic refe- rence of Gregory of Tours (Hist. Francor. 1. vi, c. 43, p. 288) deserves more credit than the name of Lusitania, (de Gloria Martyr, c. 24), which has been eagerly embraced by the rain and superstitious Portu- guese, (Ferreras, Hist. d'Espagnr, torn, ii, p. 166).
* This miracle was skilfully performed. An Arian king sealed the doors, and dug a deep trench round the church, without being able to intercept the Easter supply of baptismal water.
r Ferreras (torn, ii, p. 168-175, A. D. 650) has illustrated the difficul- ties which regard the time and circumstances of the conversion of the Suevi- They had been recently united by Leovigild to the Gothic mo- narchy of Spain.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 295
faith, at least of the rising generation, was fer- CHAP.
x- \' ~v - v i T
vent and sincere; and the devout liberality of, ^"'
the barbarians enriched the churches and mo- nasteries of Spain. Seventy, bishops assem- bled in the council of Toledo, received the sub- mission of their conquerors ; and the zeal of the Spaniards improved the Nicene creed, by de- claring the procession of the Holy Ghost, from the Son, as well as from the Father ; a weighty point of doctrine, which produced, long after- wards, the schism of the Greek and Latin churches." The royal proselyte immediately saluted and consulted Pope Gregory, surnani- ed the Great, a learned and holy prelate, whose reign was distinguished by the conversion of hereticks and infidels. The ambassadors of Recared respectfully offered on the threshold of the Vatican his rich presents of gold and gems ; they accepted, as a lucrative exchange, the hairs of St. John the Baptist; a cross, which inclosed a small piece of the true wood ; and a key, that contained some particles of iron which had been scraped from the chains of St. Peter.1
The same Gregory, the spiritual conqueror Conyer_ of Britain, encouraged the pious Theodelinda, si°n of the
f i T i i TVT- Lombard!
queen of the Lombards, to propagate the i\i-ofitaiy, cene faith among the victorious savages, whose £C<D* 630>J recent Christianity was polluted by the Arian
5 Thii addition to the Nicene, or rather the Constantinopolitan, creed, was first made in the eighth council of Toledo, A. »• 653 ; but it was expressive of the popular doctrine, (Gerard Vossiut, torn- vi, p 527, de tribiH) Synibulis).
' See Gregor Magn- I. rii, epist- 126, apud Baronium, Annal- Eccle*. A. D. 599, 1S"°- 25, 26.
296 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, heresy. Her devout labours still left room for xxxvii. .. . j j f f , the industry and success of future missiona- ries ; and many cities of Italy were still disput- ed by hostile bishops. But the cause of Arian- ism was gradually suppressed by the weight of truth, of interest, and of example ; and the con- troversy, which Egypt had derived from the Platonic school, was terminated, after a war of three hundred years, by the final conversion of the Lombards of Italy." persecu- The first missionaries who preached the eos
tion of the , A , , ,
Jews in pel to the barbarians, appealed to the evidence f?n?6i2- of reason, and claimed the benefit of tolera- 718- tion.1 But no sooner had they established their spiritual dominion than they exhorted the Christian kings to extirpate without mercy, the remains of Roman or barbaric superstition. The successors of Clovis inflicted one hundred lashes on the peasants who refused to destroy their idols ; the crime of sacrificing to the de- mons was punished by the Anglo-Saxon laws, with the heavier penalties of imprisonment and confiscation ; and even the wise Alfred adopt- ed, as an indispensable duty, the extreme rigour
u Paul Warnefrid (de Gestis Langobard- 1. iv, c. 44. p. 853, edit. Grot-) allows that Arianism still prevailed under the reign of Rotharis, (A. D. 636-652-) The pious Deacon doe* not attempt to mark the pre- cise era of the national conversion, which was accomplished, however, before the end of the seventh century.
* Quorum fidei et conversion ita congratulatus esse rex pe'rhibetur, ut nullum ta men cogeret ad Christianismum .... Didicerat enim a doctoribus auctoribusque suae salutis, servitium Cbristi voluntarium non coactitium, esse debere. Bedas Hist- Ecclesiastic- I. i, c. c. 26, p 62, edit Smith.
y See the Historians of France, torn- iv, p. 114 ; and Wilkins, Leges Anglo-Saxonica?, p. 11, 31. Siquii •acrificium immolaverit prvtrr. Deo •oli niorte moriatur.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
of the Mosaic institutions/ But the punish- CHAP.
, ,, j 11 u XXXV.U.
ment, and the crime, were gradually abo-
lished among a Christian people : the theolo- gical disputes of the schools were suspended catholic by propitious ignorance ; and intolerant spi- fraudt- rit, which could find neither idolaters nor he- retics, was reduced to the persecution of the Jews. That exiled nation had founded some synagogues in the cities of Gaul; but Spain, since the time of Hadrian, was filled with their numerous colonies.2 The wealth which they accumulated by trade, and the management of the finances, invited the pious avarice of their masters ; and they might be oppressed without danger, as they had lost the use, and even the re- membrance, of arms. Sisebut, a Gothic king, who reigned in the beginning of the seventh cen- tury, proceeded at once to the last extremes of persecution.* Ninety thousand Jews were com- pelled to receive the sacrament of baptism; the fortunes of the obstinate infidels were confis- cated, their bodies were tortured ; and it seems doubtful whether they were permitted to aban- don their native country. The excessive
y See the Historians of France, torn, iv, p. 114 ; and Wilkins, Leget Anglo-Saxonicae, p, 11, 31. Siquis sacrificium immolaverit prater Deo soli morte moriatur.
z The Jews pretend that they were introduced into Spain by the fleet of Solomon, and the arms of Nebuchadnezzar; that Hadrian trans- ported forty thousand families of the tribe of Judah, and ten thousand of the tribe of Benjamin, &c. Basnage, Hist, des Juifs, torn, vii, c. 9, p. 240-256,
* Isidore, at that time archbishop of Seville, mentions, disapprove!, and congratulates, the zeal of Sisebut, (Chron. Goth. p. 728). .Bare- nius (A. D. 614, N°. 41) assigns the number on the evidence of Aimoin, (1. iv, c. 22) : but the evidence is weak, and 1 have not been able to ver- sify the quotation, (Historians of France, torn, iii, p. 127),
298 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, zeal of the catholic king was moderated, even ~~ by the clergy of Spain, who solemnly pro nounced an inconsistent sentence: that the sa- craments should not be forcibly imposed; but that the Jews who had been baptized should be constrained, for the honour of the church, to persevere in the external practice of a religion which tney disbelieved and detested. Their frequent relapses provoked one of the succes- sors of Sisebut to banish the whole nation from his dominions; and a counsel of Toledo pub- lished a decree, that every Gothic king should swear to maintain this salutary edict. But the tyrants were unwilling to dismiss the victims, whom they delighted to torture, or to deprive themselves of the 'industrious slaves, over whom they might exercise a lucrative oppression. The Jews still continued in Spain, under the weight of the civil and ecclesiastical laws, which in the same country have been faithfully tran- scribed in the Code of the Inquisition. The Gothic kings and bishops at length discovered, that injuries will produce hatred, and that ha- tred will find the opportunity of revenge. A nation, the secret or professed enemies of Chris- tianity, still multiplied in servitude, and dis- tress ; and the intrigues of the Jews promoted the rapid success of the Arabian conquerors.* As soon as the barbarians withdrew their powerful support, the unpopular heresy of Ari-
1 Bainage (torn, viii, c. 13, p. 388-400) faithfully repr«ents the state of the Jews; but he might have added from the canons of the Spanish councils, and the laws of the Visigoths, many curious circumstances, essential to his subject, though they are foreign to nine.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 299
us sunk into contempt and oblivion. But the CHAP Greeks still retained their subtle and loquaci- ousllisposition: the establishment of an obscure doctrine suggested new questions, and new dis- putes ; and it was always in the power of an am- bitious prelate, or a fanatic monk, to violate the peace of the church, and, perhaps, of the em- pire. The historian of the empire may over- look those disputes which were confined to the obscurity of schools and synods. The Mani- chaeans, who laboured to reconcile the religions of Christ and of Zoroaster, had secretly intro- duced themselves into the provinces ; but these foreign sectaries were involved in the com- mon disgrace of the Gnostics, and the imperial laws were executed by the public hatred. /The rational opinions of the Pelagians, were propa- gated from Britain to Rome, Africa, and Pales- tine, and silently expired in a superstitious age. But the East was distracted by the Nestorian and Eutychian controversies ; which attempted to explain the mystery of the incarnation, and hastened the ruin of Christianity in her native land. These controversies were first agitated under the reign of the younger Theodosius; but their important consequences extend far beyond fhe limits of the present volume. The meta- physical chain of argument, the contest of eccle- siastical ambition, and their political influence \ on the decline of the Byzantine empire, may afford an interesting and instructive series of history, from the general ccuncils of Ephesus and Clialcedon, to the conquest of the East by the successors of Mahomet.
THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. XXXVIII.
Reign and conversion of Clovis — His victories over the Alemanni, Hurgundians, and Visi- goths— Establishment of the French monarchy in Gaul — Laws of the barbarians — State of the Romans — The Visigoths of Spain — Con- quest of Britain by the Saxons.
CHAP. THE Gauls," who impatiently supported the xxxvni Roman yoke, received a memorable lesson The revo- from one of the lieutenants of Vespasian, whose '* °f weighty sense has been refined and expressed by the genius of Tacitus.b " The protection of " the republic has delivered Gaul from internal " discord and foreign invasions. By the loss " of national independence, you have acquired " the name and privileges of Roman citizens. " You enjoy, in common with ourselves, the " permanent benefits of civil government; and " your remote situation is less exposed to the " accidental mischiefs of tyranny. Instead of " exercising the rights of conquest, we have
* la this chapter I shall draw my quotations from the Recueil des . Historiens des Gaules et de la France, Paris, 1738-1767, in eleven vo- lumes in folio. By the labour of Dom. Bouquet, and the other Bene- dictines, all the original testimonies, -as far as A. u. 1060, are disposed in chronological order, and illustrated with learned notes. Such a na- tional work, which will be continued to the year 1500, might provoke our emulation.
b Tacit. Hist, ir, 73, 74, in torn, i, p. 445. To abridge Tacitus would indeed be presumptuous: but I may select the general ideas which he applies to tie present state and future revolutions of Gaul.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 301
" been contented to impose such tributes as are CHAP. . ., f V xxxvin " requisite for your own preservation. Jreace .„,„,
" cannot be secured without armies ; and armies " must be supported at the expenceof the peo- " pie. It is for your sake, not for our own, that " we guard the barrier of the Rhine against the " ferocious Germans, who have so often at- " tempted, and who will always desire, to ex- " change the solitude of their woods and mo- " rasses for the wealth and fertility of Gaul. " The fall of Rome would be fatal to the pro- " vinces ; and you would be buried in the ruins " of that mighty fabric, which has been raised " by the valour and wisdom of eight hundred " years, your imaginary freedom would be in- sulted and oppressed by a savage master : and ' ' the expulsion of the Romans would be suc- " ceeded by the eternal hostilities of the barba- " rian conquerors."0 This salutary advice was accepted, and this strange prediction was ac- complished. In the space of four hundred years, the hardy Gauls, who had encountered the arms of Caesar, were imperceptibly melted into the general mass of citizens and subjects : the western empire was dissolved ; and the Germans, who had passed the Rhine, fiercely contended for the possession of Gaul, and ex- cited the contempt, or abhorrence, of its peace- ful and polished inhabitants. With that coii-
c Eacem semper causa Gcrmanis trnmcrndendijin Gallias libido]atque avaritise et mutanda- scdis amor ; ut relictis paludibus et solitudinibu* unit, fecundissimum hoc solum vosque ipsos possidercnt. . . . Nam pulsis Romanis auid aliud quam Bella omnium inter se gentium exis- tent ?
302 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, scions pride which the pre-eminence of know-
XXXVIII
^ ledge and luxury seldom fails to inspire, they derided the hairy and gigantic savages of the North; their rustic manners, dissonant joy, vo- racious appetite and their horrid appearance, equally disgusting to the sight and to the smell. The liberal studies were still cultivated in the schools of Autun and Bordeaux ; and the lan- guage of Cicero and Virgil was familiar to the Gallic youth. Their ears were astonished by the harsh and unknown sounds of the Germanic dialect, and they ingeniously lamented that the trembling muses fled from the harmony of a Burgundian lyre. The Gauls were endowed with all the advantages of art and nature ; but as they wanted courage to defend them, they were justly condemned to obey, and even to flatter, the victorious barbarians, by whose cle- mency they held their precarious fortunes and their lives.d
Euric, As soon as ,Odoacer had extinguished the theSvui- wegtern empire, he sought the friendship of the goths, most powerful of the barbarians. The new
A D. 476- . T , . *i J • -n ' . i- «
485. sovereign or Italy resigned to .huric, king of the Visigoths, all the Roman conquests beyond the Alps, as far as the Rhine and the Ocean ;e and the senate might confirm this liberal gift with some ostentation of power, and without any real loss of revenue or dominion. The
* Sidonius Apollinarig ridicules, with affected wit and plesantry, the hardships of his situation, (Carm. xii, in torn, i, p. 811).
e See Procopius de Bell. Gothico, 1. i, c. 12, in toin. ii, p. 31. The character of Grotius inclines me to believe, that he has not substituted the Rhine for the Rhone, (Hist. Gothorutn, p. 1751, without the autho- rity of some MS. "
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 303
lawful pretentions of Euric were justified by CHAP.
ambition and success ; and the Gothic nation ^
might aspire, under his command, to the mo- narchy of Spain and Gaul. Aries and Mar- seilles surrendered to his arms ; he oppressed the freedom of Auvergne ; and the bishop con- descended to purchase his recal from exile by a tribute of just, but reluctant, praise. Sido- nius waited before the gates of the palace among a crowd of ambassadors and suppliants ; and their various business at the court of Bordeaux attested the power, and the renown, of the king of the Visigoths. The Heruli of the distant ocean, who painted their naked bodies with its cerulean colour, implored his protection ; and the Saxons respected the maritime provinces of a prince, who was destitute of any naval force. The tall Burgundians submitted to his autho- rity ; nor did he restore the captive Franks, till he had imposed on that fierce nation the terms of an unequal peace. The Vandals of Africa cultivated his useful friendship ; and the Ostro- goths of Pannonia were supported by his pow- erful aid against the oppression of the neigh- bouring Huns. The North (such are the lofty strains of the poet) was agitated, or appeased, by the nod of Euric : the great king of Persia consulted the oracle of the West ; and the aged god of the Tiber was protected by the swell- ing genius of the Garonne/ The fortune of na- tions has often depended on accidents ; and
f Sidonius, 1. viii, epist. 3, 9, in torn, i, p. 800. Jornaudes (de Rebut Geticis, c. 47, p. 680) justifies, in some measure, this portrait of the Gothic here.
304 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. France may ascribe her greatness to the pre- \ mature death of the Gothic king, at a time when his son Alaric was an helpless infant, and his adversary Clovis5 an ambitious and va- liant youth.
Sgofthe While Childeric, the father of Clovis, lived Franks, an exile in Germany, he was hospitably enter- t>i2. tamed by the queen, as well as by the king, of the Thuringians. After his restoration, Ba- sina escaped from her husband's bed to the arms of her lover ; freely declaring, that if she had known a man wiser, stronger, or more beautiful, than Childeric, that man should have been the object of her preference.11 Clovis was the offspring of this voluntary union ; and, when he was no more than fifteen years of age, he succeeded, by his father's death, to the com- mand of the Salian tribe. The narrow limits of his kingdom1 were confined to the island of of the Batavians, with the ancient diocesses of Tournay and Arras ;k and at the baptism of Clovis, the number of his warriors could not
* I use the familiar appellation of Clovis, from the Latin Chlodove- chvs, or Chlodovaeus. But the Ch expresses only the German aspira- tion ; and the true name is not different from Lv.duin, or Lewis, (Mem. de 1'Academie des Inscriptions, torn, xx, p. 68).
h Greg. Turon. 1. ii, c. 12, in torn, i, p. 168. Basina speaks the lan- guage of nature : the Franks, who had seen her in their youth, might converse with Gregory in their old age ,• and the bishop uf Tours tould not wish to defame the mother of the first Christian king.
1 The Abbe Dubos (Hist. Critique de TEstablissement de la Monar- chic Francoise dans les Gaules, torn, i, p. 630-650) has the merit of de- fining the primitive kingdoms of Clovis, and of ascertaining the genuine number of his subjects.
k Ecclesiam incultam ac negligeutia civium paganorum praetermis sum, veprium desitate oppletam, &c. Tit. St. Vedasti, in torn, iii, p. 372. This description supposes that Arras was possessed by the pa- gaus, many years before the baptism of Clovis,
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 305
exceed five thousand. The kindred tribes of CHAP. the Franks, who had seated themselves along the Belgic rivers, the Scheld, the Meuse, the Moselle, and the Rhine, were governed by their independent kings, of the Merovingian race ; the equals, the allies, and sometimes the ene- mies, of the Sallic prince. But the Germans, who obeyed, in peace, the hereditary jurisdic- tion of their chiefs, were free to follow the standard of a popular and victorious general ; and the superior merit of Clovis attracted the respect and allegiance of the national confede- racy. When he first took the field, he had nei- ther gold and silver in his coffers, nor wine and corn in his magazine:1 but he imitated the ex- ample of Caesar, who, in the same country, had acquired wealth by the sword, and purchased soldiers with the fruits of conquest. After each successful battle or expedition, the spoils were accumulated in one common mass ; every warrior received his proportionable share, and the royal prerogative submitted to the equal re- gulations of military law. The untamed spirit of the barbarians was taught to acknowledge the advantages of regular" disciplkie." At the annual review of the month of March, their
Gregory of Tours (I. v, c. 1, ill torn, ii, p. 232) contrasts the poverty of Clovis with the wealth of his grandsons. Yet Remigius (in torn, iv, p. 52) mentions hii paternas opes, as sufficient for the redemption of captives.
m See Gregory, (I- ii, c. 27, 37, in torn, ii, p. 175, 181, 182). The fa- mous story of the vase of Soissons explains both the power and the character of Clovis. As a point of controversy, it has been strangely tortured by Boulainvilliers, Dubos, and the other political anti- quarians. .
VOI. VI. X
306 THE DECLINE AND FAIA
CHAP, arms were diligently inspected ; and when they ^ traversed a peaceful territory, they were prohi- bited from touching a blade of grass. The jus- tice of Clovis was inexorable ; and his careless ordisobedient soldiers were punished with in- stant death. It would be superfluous to praise the valour of a Frank : but the valour of Clo- vis was directed by cool and consummate pru- dence." In all his transactions with mankind, he calculated the weight of interest, of passion, and of opinion ; and his measures were some- times adapted to the sanguinary manners of the Germans, and sometimes moderated by the milder genius of Rome, and Christianity. He was intercepted in the career of victory, since he died in the forty-fifth year of his age ; but he had already accomplished, in a reign of thirty years, the establishment of the French monarchy in Gaul.
Hi» yic- The first exploit of Clovis was the defeat of syagriu" , Syagrius, the son of jJEgidius ; and the public A. ». 486. quarrei might, on this occasion, be inflamed by private resentment. The glory of the father still insulted the Merovingian race ; the power of the son might excite the jealous ambition of the king of the Franks. Syagrius inherited, as •a patrimonial estate, the city and diocess of Soissons : the desolate remnant of the second Belgic, Rheims and Troyes, Beauvais and Amiens, would naturally submit to the count
0 The duke of Nirernois, a noble statesman, who h«« managed wtiglity and delicate nejfociations, ingeniously illustrates (Mem- de 1'Acad. des Inscriptions, torn, xx, p. 147-184) the political system of
Clovis.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 307
or patrician; and after the dissolution of the CHAP.
western empire he might reign with the title
or at least with the authority, of king of the Romans.1* As a Roman, he had been educated in the liberal studies of rhetoric and jurispru- dence ; but he was engaged by accident and policy in the familiar use of the Germanic idiom. The independent barbarians resorted to the tribunal of a stranger, who possessed the singular talent of explaining, in their native tongue, the dictates of reason and equity. The diligence and affability of their judge rendered him popular, the impartial wisdom of his de- crees obtained their voluntary obedience, and the reign of Syagrius over the Franks and Bur- gundians, seemed to revive the original institu- tion of civil society .q In the midst of these peaceful occupations, Syagrius received, and boldly accepted, the hostile defiance of Clovis ; who challenged his rival in the spirit and almost in the language, of chivalry, to appoint the day, and the field/ of battle. In the time of
« s
0 M- Biet (in a Dissertation which deserved the prize of the Academy of Soissons, p- 178-226 has accurately defined the nature and extent of the kingdom of Syagrius, and his father; but he loo readily allows the slight evidence of DubJs (torn, ii, p. 54-57) to deprive him of Beauvais and Amiens-
* I may observe that Fredegarius, in his Epitome of Gregory ot Tours, (torn, ii, p. 398), has prudently substituted the name of Potriciut for the incredible title of Rex Romanorum.
* Sidcnius, (!• v, epist. 5, in torn, i, p. 794), who styles him the Sa- lon, the Amphion of the barbarians, addresses this imaginary king in the tone of friendship and equality. From such offices of arbitration, the crafty Dejoees had raised him himself to the throne of the Medet (Herodot. 1. i, c. 96-100.
r Campum sibi praeparari jussit. M- Biet (p. 226-251) has diligently ascertained this field of battle, at Nogent, a Benedictine abbey, about
toa
308 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. Caesar, Soissons would have poured forth a
XXXVIII
body of fifty thousand horse ; and such an
army might have been plentifully supplied with shields, cuirasses, and military engines, from the three arsenals, or manufactures, of the city.8 But the courage and numbers of the Gallic youth were long since exhausted ; and the loose hands of volunteers, or mercenaries, who marched under the standard of Syagrius, were incapable of .contending with the national valour of the Franks. , It would be ungene- rous, without some more accurate knowledge of his strength and resources, to condemn the rapid flight of Syagrius, who escaped, after the loss of a battle, to the distant court of Thou- louse. The feeble minority of Alaric could not assist, or protect, an unfortunate fugitive ; the pusillanimous' Goths were intimidated by the menaces of Clovis ; and the Roman king, after a short confinement, was delivered into the hands of the executioner. The Belgic ci- ties surrendered to the king of the Franks; and his dominions were enlarged towards the East by the ample diocess of Tongres,u which Clovis subdued in the tenth year of his reign.
ten miles to the north of Soissons. The ground was marked by a circle of pagan sepulchres ; and Clovis bestowed the adjacent lands of Lueil- ly and Coucy on the church of Rheims.
' See Caesar. Comment, de Bell. Gallic, ii, 4, in torn, i, p. 220, and the Notitiae, torn, i, p. I2C. The three Ft.bric<e of Soissons were Scuta- ria, Balistaria, and Clinabaria. The last supplied the complete armour of the heavy cuirassiers-
* The epithet must be confined to the circumstances ; and history cannot justify the French prejudice of Gregory, (I. ii, c. 27, in torn, ii, p. 175), ut Gothorum pavere mos est
• Dubos has satisfied me, (torn, i, p. 277-286), that Gregory of
Tours
* OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. . SOP
The name of the Alemanni has been absurdly CHAP derived from their imaginary settlement on the ^XXXFIL banks of the Leman lake/ That fortunate dis- Defeat and trict, from the lake to Avenche, and Mount Jura, was occupied by the Burgundians.y The nor- them parts of Helvetia had indeed been sub- dued by the ferocious Alemanni, who destroy- ed with their own hands the fruits of their con- quest. A province, improved and adorned by the arts of Rome, was again reduced to a savage wilderness; and some vestige of the stately Vin- donissa may still be discovered in the fertile and populous valley of the Aar." From the source of the Rhine, to its co'nflux with the Mein "and the Moselle, the formidable swarms of the Ale- manni commanded either side of the river, by the right of ancient possession, or recent vic- tory. They had spread themselves into Gaul,
Tours, his transcribers or his readers, have repeatedly confounded the German kingdom of Thuringia, beyond the Rhine, and the Gallic city of Toringia, on the'Meuse, which was more anciently the country of the Eburones, and more recently the diocese of Liege.
x Populi habitantes juxta Lemannum lacum, Alemanni dicuntur. Ser- viiis, ad Virgil. Georgic. iv, 278. Dom. Bouquet (torn, i, p. 817) has only alleged the more recent and corrupt text of Isidore of Seville.
* Gregory of Tours seuds St. Lupicinus inter ilia Jurensis desert i xecreta, qua?, inter Burgundiam Alamanniamque sitn, Aventicae adja- cent civitati, in torn, i, p. 648. M.de Watterville (Hist, de la Conside- ration Helvetique, torn, i, p. 9, 10) has accurately denned the Helve- tian limits of the dutchy of Alemanuia, and the Tranjurane Burgundy. They were commensurate with the diocess of Constance and Aveiiche, or Lausanne, and are still discriminated, in modern Switzerland, by the use of the German or French, language.
z See Guillimau. de Rebus Helveticis, 1. i, c. 3, p. 11, 12. Within the ancient walls of Vindonissa, the castle of Habsburgh, the abbey of Konigsfield, and the town of Bruck, have successively arisen. The philosophic traveller may compare the monuments of Roman conquests, of feudal or Austrian tyranny, of monkish superstition, and of industri- ous freedom. If he be truly a philosopher, he will applaud the merit and happiness of his own times.
310 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, over the modern provinces of Alsace and Lor- " raine; and their bold invasion of the kingdom of Cologne, summoned the Sal'ic prince to the de- fence of his Ripuarian allies. Clovis encoun- tered the invaders of Gaul in the plain of Tolbi- / ^ *
ac, about twenty-four miles from Cologne ; and the two fiercest nations of Germany were mu- tually animated by the memory of past exploits, and the prospect of future greatness. The Franks, after an obstinate struggle, gave way; and the Alemanni, raising a shout of victory, impetuously pressed their retreat. But the battle was restored by the valour, the conduct, and perhaps the piety of Clovis; and the event of the bloody day decided for ever the alterna- tive of empire or servitude. The last king of the Alemanni was slain in the field, and his peo- ple were slaughtered and pursued, till they threw down their arms, and yielded to the mercy of the conqueror. Without discipline it was impossible for them to rally; they had contemp- tuously demolished the walls and fortifications which might have protected their distress; and they were followed into the heart of their forests, by an enemy, not less active, or intrepid, than themselves. The great Theodoric congratulat- ed the victory of Clovis, whose sister Albofleda the king of Italy had lately married; but he mildly interceded with his brother in favour of the suppliants and fugitives, who had implored his protection. The Gallic territories, which were poessssed by the Alemanni, became the prize of their conqueror; and the haughty nation, in
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 31 I
vincible, or rebellious, to the arras of Rome ac- CHAP
xxxvi n knowledged the sovereignty of the Merovingian _
kings, who graciously permitted them to enjoy their peculiar manners and institutions, under the government of official, and, at length, of he- reditary dukes After the conquest of the western provinces, the Franks alone maintained their ancient habitations beyond the Rhine. They gradually subdued, and civilized, the ex- hausted countries, as far as the Elbe, and the mountains of Bohemia: and the peace of Europe was secured by the obedience of Germany.*
Till the thirteenth year of his age, Clovis con- tinned to worship the sods of his ancestors.1*
A. D 404)
His disbelief, or rather disregard, of Christiani- ty, might encourage him to pillage with less re- morse the churches of an hostile territory; but his subjects of Gaul enjoyed the free exercise of religious worship; and the bishops entertain- ed a more favourable hope of the idolater, than of the heretics. The Merovingian prince had contracted a fortunate alliance with the fair Clotilda, the niece of the king of Burgundy, who, in the midst of an A rian court, was edu-
» Gregory of Tours, (1. ii, 30, 87, in torn, ii, p. 176, 177, 182), the Gesta Francorum, (in torn, ii, p. S51), and the epistle of Theodoric, (Cassiodor. Variar. 1. ii, c. 41, in torn, iv, p. 4), represent the defeat of the Alemanni. Some of their tribes settled iu Rhaetia, under the pro- tection of Theodoric; whose successors ceded 1 he colony and their country to the grandson of Clovis. The state of the Alematini under the Merovingian kings, may be seen in Mascou, (Hist, of the Anci- ent Germans, xi, 8, &c. Annotation xxxvi), and Guilliinan, (de Reb. Helret. 1. ii, c. 10-12, p. 72-80).
b Clotilda or rather Gregory, supposes that Clovis worshipped the gods of Greece and Rome. The fact is incredible, and the mistake only shews how completely, in less than a century, the national religion of the Franks bad been abolished, aid even forgotten.
312 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CH AP. cated in the profession of the catholic faith. It
XXXVIII
was her interest, as well as her duty, to achieve the conversion* of a pagan husband '; and Clovis insensibly listened to the voice of love and reli- gion. He consented (perhaps such terms had been previously stipulated) to the baptism of his eldest son ; and though the sudden death of the infant excited some superstitious fears, he was persuaded, a second time, to repeat the dan- gerous experiment. In the distress of the bat- tle of Tolbiac, Clovis loudly invoked the god of Clotilda and the Christians; and victory dis- posed him to hear, with respectful gratitude, the eloquent11 Remigius,' bishop of Rheims, who forcibly displayed the temporal and spiritual advantages of his conversion. The king de- clared himself satisfied of the truth of the ca- tholic! faith; and the political reasons which might have suspended his public profession, were removed by the devout or loyal acclaina-
c Gregory of Tours relates the marriage and conversion of Clovis, (1. ii, c. 28-31, in torn, ii, p. 175-178). Even Fredegarius, or the name- less Epitomi*er, (in torn, ii, p. 398-400), the author of the Gesta Fran- corum, (in torn, ii, p. 548-552), and Aimoin himself, (1. i, c. 13, in torn, iii, p. 37-40), may be heard without disdain. Tradition might long pre- serve some curious cirsumstances of these important transactions.
d A traveller who returned from Rheims to Auvergue, had stolen a copy of bis Declamations from the secretary or Bookseller of the mo. dest archbishop, (Sidouius Apollinar. 1. ix, epist. 7). Four epistles of Remigius, which are still extant, (in torn, iv, p. 51, 52, 53), do not cor- respond with the splendid praise of Sidonius.
e Hincmar, one of the Buccessors of Remigius, (A. D. 845 882) has composed his life, (in torn, iii, p. 373-380). The authority of ancient MSS. of the Church of Rheims might inspire some confidence, which is destroyed, however, by the selfish and audacious fictions of Hincmat. It is remarkable enough, that Remigius, who was consecrated at the *g« of twenty-two, (A. D. 457), filled the episcopal chair twenty-few years. (Pagi Critica, in Baron, torn, ii, p. 384, 572).
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 313
tions of the Franks, who shewed themselves CHAP. alike prepared to follow their heroic leader, to * the field of battle, or to the baptismal font. The important ceremony wa« performed in the ca thedral of Rheims, with every circumstance of magnificence and solemnity, that could impress an awful sense of religion on the minds of its rude proselytes.' The new Constantine was im- mediately baptized, with three thousand of his warlike subjects; and their example was imi- tated by the remainder of the gentle barbarians, who, in obedience to the victorious prelate, adored the cross which they had burnt, and burnt the idols which they had formerly adored.1 The mind of Clovis was susceptible of trail sient fervour : he was exasperated by the pathe- tic tale of the passion and death of Christ; and, instead of weighing the salutary consequences of that mysterious sacrifice, he exclaimed, with indiscreet fury, — " Had I been present at the " head of my valiant Franks, I would have re- " venged his injuries."11 But the savage con- queror of Gaul was incapable of examining the
f A phial (the Saint e Ampoulle} of holy, or rather celestial, oil, was brought down by a white dove, for the baptism of Clovis, and it is « still used, and renewed, in the coronation of the kings of France. Hic- nar (he aspired to the primacy of Gaul) is the first author of this fable, (n torn, iii, p. 377), whose slight foundations the Abbe de Vertot (Me- imires de 1'Academie des Inscriptions, loin, ii, p. 619-633) has under- railed, with profound respect, and consummate dexterity.
8 Mitis depone colla, Sicamber : adora quod iucendisti, inreiule quod adoristi. Greg. Turon. 1. ii, c. 31, in torn, ii, p. 177.
h Siego ibidem cum Francis metis fuissem,injurias ejus viudicassem. This nsh expression, which Gregory has prudently concealed, is cele- brated Sy Fre'degarius, (Epitom. c. 21, in torn, ii, p. 400); Aimoib, (f • i, c. 16, n torn, iii, p. 40), and the Chroniques de St. Denys, (1. i, e. 20, iu ton. iii, p. 171), as an admirable effusion of Christian zeal.
314 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, proofs of a religion, which depends on the la-
^2. borious investigation of historic evidence, and
speculative theology. He was still more inca- pable of feeling the mild influence of the gospel, which persuades and purifies the heart of a ge- nuine convert. His ambitious reign was a per- petual violation of moral and Christian duties; his hands were stained with blood, in peace as well as in war; and as soon as Clovis had dis- missed a synod of the Gallican church, he calm- ly assassinated all the princes of the Merovin- gian race.1 Yet the king of the Franks might sincerely worship the Christian God, as a Being more excellent and powerful than his national deities ; and the signal deliverance and victory of Tolbiac encouraged Clovis to confide in the future protection of the Lord of Hosts. Martin, the most popular of the saints, had filled the western world with the fame of those miracles, which were incessantly performed at his holy sepulchre of Tours. His visible or invisible aid promoted the cause of a liberal and orthodox prince; and the profane remark of Clovis him- self, that St. Martin was an expensive friend, k need not be interpreted as the symptom of any permanent, or rational, sceptism. But earth,
'. Gregory, (1. ii, e. 40-43, in torn, ii, p. 183-185), after cooly relatiig the repeated crimes, and affected remorse, of Clovis, concludes, >er- haps undesignedly, with a lesson, which ambition will never Ix'ar • " His ita transactis . . . obit."
k After the Gothic victory, Clovis made rich offerings to St. Tfartin of Toun. He wislied to redeem his war-horse by the gift of ons hun- dred pieces of gold; but the enchanted steed could net move fum the stable till the price of bis redemption had been doubled. Th« mi'oete provoked the king to exclaim, Vere B. Martiuus est bonus it anxilio, •cd carus in negotio, (Gesta Francorum, in torn, ii, p. 554, 5/5).
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 3 It)
as well as heaven, rejoiced in the conversion of CHAP. the Franks. On the memorable day, when Clo- ^ vis ascended from the baptismal font, he alone, in the Christian world, deserved the name and prerogatives of a catholic king. The emperor Anastasius entertained some dangerous errors concerning the nature of the divine incarnation; and the barbarians of Italy, Africa, Spain, and Gaul, were involved in the Arian heresy. The eldest, or rather the only, son of the church, was acknowledged by the clergy as their law- ful sovereign, or glorious deliverer; and the arms of Clovis were strenuously supported by the zeal and favour of the catholic faction.1
Under the Roman empire, the wealth and ju- submit- risdiction of the bishops, their sacred character, Armori-
and perpetual office, their numerous dependants, popular eloquence, and provincial assemblies, tro°P84 had rendered them always respectable, and &c, sometimes dangerous. Their influence was augmented with the progress of superstition; and the establishment of the French monarchy may, in some degree, be ascribed to the firm alli- ance of an hundred prelates, who reigned in the discontented, or independent cities of Gaul. The slight foundations of the Armorican repub- lic had been repeatedly shaken, or overthrown ; but the same people still guarded their domestic fieedom; asserted the dignity of the Roman name ; and bravely resisted the predatory in-
1 See tlie epistle from Pope Anastasius to the royal convert (in torn. v, p. 50, 51). Avitus, bishop of Vienna, addressed Clovis on the name subject, (p. 49) ; and many of the Latin bishops would assure him of lh«r joy and attachment.
316 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, roads, and regular attacks, of Clovis, who la-
v v v VTI I
^ ^ boured to extend his conquests from the Seine
to the Loire. Their successful opposition intro- duced an equal and honourable union. The Franks esteemed the valour of the Armoricans,m and the Armoricans were reconciled by the re- ligion of the Franks. The military force which had been stationed for the defence of Gaul, con- sisted of one hundred different bands of cavalry or infantry; and these troops, while they assum- ed the title and privileges of Roman soldiers, were renewed by an incessant supply of the barbarian youth. The extreme fortifications, and scattered fragments, of the empire, were still defended by their hopeless courage. But their retreat was intercepted, and their commu nication was impracticable: they were abandon- ed by the Greek princes of Constantinople, and they piously disclaimed all connection with the Arian usurpers of Gaul. They accepted, without shame or reluctance, the generous capitulation, which was proposed by a catholic hero; and this spurious, or legitimate, progeny of the Roman legions, was distinguished in the succeeding age by their arms, their ensigns, and their peculiar dress and institutions. But the national strength was increased by these powerful and voluntary accessions; and the neighbouring kingdoms
m Instead of the ApCcpir^oi, an unknown people, who now appear in the text of Procopius, Hadrian de Valuis has restored the proper name of the ApjU«fti^oi ; and this easy correction has been almost universally approved. Yet an unprejudiced reader would naturally suppose, that Procopius mep.ns to describe a tribe of Germany in the alliance of Rome; and not a confederacy of Gallic cities, which had revolted from the empire.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 3 J 7
dreaded the numbers, as well as the spirit, of the CHAP.
XXXVIII
Franks. The reduction of the northern pro- f
vinces of Gaul, instead of being decided by the chance of a single battle, appears to have been slowly affected by the gradual operation of war and treaty ; and Clovis acquired each object of his ambition, by such efforts, or such conces- sions, as were adequate to its real value. His savage character, and the virtues of Henry IV, suggest the most opposite ideas of human na- ture: yet some resemblance may be found in in the situation of two princes, who conquered France by their valour, their policy, and the merits of a seasonable conversion.0
The kingdom of the Burgundians, which was The Bur- denned by the course of two Gallic rivers, the Warfdla Saone and the Rhone, extended from the forest A< D- 490' of Vosges to the Alps and the sea of Marseilles." The sceptre was in the hands of Gundobald. That valiant and ambitious prince had reduced the number of royal candidates by the death of two brothers, one of whom was the father of
n This important digression ofProcopius, (de Bell. Gothic. 1. i, c. 12, in torn, ii, p. 29-36), illustrates the origin of the French monarchy. Yet I must observe, I. That the Greek historian betrays an inexcusa- ble ignorance of the geography of the West. 2. That these treaties and privileges, which should leave some lasting traces, are totally invi- sible in Gregory of Tours, the Salic laws, &c.
0 Regnum circa Rhodauum ant Ararim cum proviucia Massiliensi retinebant. Greg. Turon. 1. ii, c. 32, in torn, ii, p. 178. The province of Marseilles, as far as the Durance, was afterwards ceded to the Ostro- goths : and the signatures of twenty-five bishops are supposed to repre- sent the kingdom of Burgundy, A. D. 519. (Coucil Epaon. in torn, iv, p. 104, 105). Yet I would except Vindonissa. The bishop, who lived under the pagan Alemanni, would naturally resort to tbe synods of the next Christian kingdom. Mascou (in his four first annotations) has ex- plained many circumstances relative to the Burgundian monarchy. ,»
318 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. Clotilda ;p but bis imperfect prudence still per-
•«* v "V "\7 I T
mitted Godegesil, the youngest of his brothers, to possess the dependent principality of Gene- va. The Arian monarch was justly alarmed by the satisfaction, and the hopes which seem- ed to animate his clergy and people, after the conversion of Clovis ; and Gundobald convened at Lyons an assembly of his bishops, to recon- cile, if it were possible their religious and poli- tical discontents. A vain conference was agi tated between the two factions. The Arians upbraided the catholics with the worship of three Gods : the catholics defended their cause by theological distinctions ; and the usual ar- guments, objections, and replies, were reverbe- rated with obstinate clamour ; till the king re- vealed his secret apprehensions, by an abrupt but decisive question, which he addressed to the orthodox bishops. " If you truly profess " the Christian religion, why do you not re- " strain the king of the Franks ? He has de- " clared war against me, and forms alliances " with my enemies for my destruction. A san- " guinary and covetuous mind is not the symp- " torn of a sincere conversion : let him shew his " faith by his works." The answer of Avitus, bishop of Vienna, w-ho spoke in the name of his brethren, was delivered with the voice and countenance of an angel. " We are ignorant of " the motives and intentions of the king of the
* Mascou, (Hist, of the Germans, xi, 10), who very reasonably dis- trusts the testimony of Gregory of Tours, has produced a paasage from .ivitus, (epist. v), to prove that Gundobald affected to deplore the tr* gic event, which his subjects affected to applaud.
Of THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 319
" Franks : but we are taught by scripture, CHAP. " that the kingdoms which abandon the divine *' law, are frequently subverted ; and that ene- " mies will arise on every side against those " who have made God their enemy. Return, " with thy people, to the law of God, and he " will give peace and security to thy domi- " nions." The king of Burgundy, who was not prepared to accept the condition, which the catholics considered as essential to the treaty, delayed and dismissed the ecclesiastical conference ; after reproaching his bishops, that Clovis, their friend and proselyte, had privately tempted the allegiance of his brother.*5
The allegiance of his brother was already se- victory of duced ; and the obedience of Godegesil, who J joined the royal standard with the troops of Geneva, more effectually promoted the success of' the conspiracy. While the Franks and Bur- gundians contended with equal valour, his sea- sonable desertion decided the event of the bat- tle ; and as Gundobald was faintly supported by the disaffected Gauls, he yielded to the arms of Clovis, and hastily retreated from the field, which appears to have been situated between Langres and Dijon. He distrusted the strength of Dijou, a quadrangular fortress, encompass- ed by two rivers, and by a wall thirty feet high, and fifteen thick, with four gates, and
q See the original conference, (in torn, iv, p. 99-102). Avitui, the principal actor, and probably the secretary of the meeting, was bishop of Vienna. A short account of his person and works may be found ia Dupin, (Bibliotheque Ecclesiastique, torn, v, p. 5-10).
320 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, thirty-three towers :r he abandoned to the pur " suit of Clovis the important cities of Lyons and Vienna; and Gundobald still fled with precipitation, till he had reached Avignon, at the distance of two hundred and fifty miles from the field of battle. A long seige, and an artful negociation, admonished the king of the Franks of the danger and difficulty of his en- terprise. He imposed a tribute on the Bur- gundian prince, compelled him to pardon and reward his brother's treachery, and proudly re- turned to his own dominions, with the spoils and captives of the southern provinces. This splendid triumph was soon clouded, by the in- i*yi telligence, that Gundobald had violated his re- cent obligations, and that the unfortunate Go-
o *
degesil, who was left at Vienna with a garrison of five thousand Franks,8 had been besieged, surprised, and massacred, by his inhuman brother. Such an outrage might have exaspe- rated the patience of the most peaceful sove- reign ; yet the conqueror of Gaul dissembled the injury, released the tribute, and accepted the alliance, and military service, of the king of Burgundy. Clovis no longer possessed those
'Gregory of Tours (1. iii, c. 19, in torn, ii, p. 197) indulges his genius, or rather transcribes some more eloquent writer in the description of Dijon ; a castle, which already deserved the title of a city. It depend- ed on the bishops of Langres, till the twelfth century, and afterwards became the capital of the dukes of Burgundy. Longuerue, Description de la France, part i, p- 280.
' The Epitotnizer of Gregory of Tours (in torn, ii, p. 401 has suppli- ed this number of Franks ; but he rashly supposes that they were cut in pieces by Gundobald. The prudent Burgundian spared the soldiers of Clovis, and sent these captives to the king' of the Visigoths,- who set- tled tliftn in the territory of Thoulouse
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 321
advantages which had assured the success of CHAP.
• ... XXX VII I
the preceding war ; and his rival, instructed by f^
adversity, had found new resources in the af- fections of his people. The Gauls or Romans applauded the mild and impartial laws of Gun- dobald, which almost raised them to the same level with their conquerors. The bishops were reconciled, and flattered by the hopes, which he artfully suggested, of his approaching con- version ; and though he eluded their accom- plishment to the last moment of his life ; his moderation secured the peace, and suspended the ruin, of the kingdom of Burgundy.1
I am impatient to pursue the final ruin of Final co,,_ that kingdom, which was accomplished under J"|;stu°fd the reign of Sigismorid, the son of Gundobald. by the The catholic Sigismond has acquired the ho- A™D. 532. nours of a saint and martyr ;u but the hands of the royal saint were stained with the blood of his innocent son, whom he inhumanly sacrific- ed to the pride and resentment of a stepmother. He soon discovered his error, and bewailed the irreparable loss. While Sigismond embraced the corpse of the unfortunate youth, he receiv- ed a severe admonition from one of his attend- ants.— " It is not his situation, O king ! it is
1 In this Burgun dian war 1 have followed Gregory of Tours, (I. ii, e. 32, 33, in torn, ii, p. 178, 170), whose narrative appears so incompatible with that of Procopius, (de Bell. Goth. 1. i, c. 12, in torn, ii, p. 31, 32), that some critics have supposed two different wars. The Abbe Duboc (Hist. Critique, &c. torn, ii, p. 126-162), has distinctly represented the causes and the events.
u See his life or legend, (in torn, iii, p. 402). A martyr! how strange- ly has that word been distorted from its original sense of a common witness. St, Sigismond was remarkable for the cure of fevers. ;
VOI. VI. V
322 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. " thine which deserves pity and lamentation/'
XXXVIII
i he reproaches ot a guilty conscience were alle- viated, however, by his liberal donations to the monastery of Agaunumor St. Maurice, Vallais ; which he himself had founded in honour of the imaginary martyrs of the Thebsean legion/ A full chorus of perpetual psalmody was instituted by the pious king; he assiduously practised the austere devotion of the monks : and it was his humble prayer, that Heaven would inflict in this world the punishment of his sins. His prayer was heard ; the avengers were at hand ; and the provinces of Burgundy were over- whelmed by an army of victorious Franks. After the event of an unsuccessful battle, Si- gismond, who wished to protract his life that he might prolong his penance, concealed him- self in the desert in a religious habit, till he was discovered and betrayed by his subjects, who solicited the favour of their new masters. The captive monarch, with his wife and two children, were transported to Orleans, and bu- ried alive in a deep well, by the stern command of the sons of Clovis ; whose cruelty might de- rive some excuse from the maxims and the ex- amples of their barbarous age. Their ambi- tion, which urged them to achieve the conquest
x Before the end of the fifth century, the church of St. Maurice, and his Thebitau legion, had rendered Agauuum a place of devout pilgrim- age. A promiscuous community of both sexes had introduced some deeds of darkness, which were abolished (A. D. 515) by the regular mo- nastery of Sigismond. Within fifty years, his angels of light, made a noc- turnal sally to murder their bishop, and his clergy. See in the Bibli- otlicque Raisonnee (torn, xxxvi, p. 435-438) the curious remark of a learned librarian of Geneva.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 323
of Burgundy, was inflamed, or disguised by fi- CHAP.
TT \T "V VI 1 1
lial piety : and Clotilda, whose sanctity did not '
consist in the forgiveness of injuries, pressed them to revenge her father's death on the family of his assassin. The rebellious Burgundians, for they attempted to break their chains, were still permitted to enjoy their national laws un- der the obligation of tribute and military ser- vice ; and the Merovingian princes peaceably reigned over a kingdom, whose glory and great- ness had been first overthrown by the arms of Clovis.y
The first victory of Clovis had insulted the The Go_
honour of the Goths. They viewed his rapid thic w*r» ... * r. A. D. SOT.
progress with jealousy and terror; and the
youthful fame of Alaric was oppressed by the more potent genius of his rival. Some dis- putes inevitably arose on the edge of their con- tiguous dominions ; and after the delays of fruitless negotiation, a personal interview of the two kings was proposed and accepted. This conference of Clovis and Alaric was held in a small island of the Loire, near Amboise. They embraced, familiarly conversed, and feasted to- gether ; and separated with the warmest pro- fessions of peace, and brotherly love. But their apparent confidence concealed a dark suspicion of hostile and treacherous designs ; and their mutual complaints solicited, eluded,
y Marius, bishop of Avenche, (Cbron. in torn, ii, p. 15), has marked the authentic dates, and Gregory of Tours (1. iii, c. 5, C, in torn, ii, p. 188, 189) has expressed the principal fact*, of the life of Sigismond, and the conquest of Burgundy. Procopius, (in torn, ii, p. 34), and Agathias, (in torn, ii, p. 40), shew their remote and imperfect know. ledge.
324 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, and disclaimed a final arbitration. At Paris,
which he already considered as his royal seat,
Clovis declared to an assembly of the princes and warriors, the pretence and the motive, of a Gothic war. " It grieves me to see that the " Arians still possess the fairest portion of Gaul. " Let us march against them with the aid of " God ; and, having vanquished the heretics, '• we will possess, and divide, their fertile pro- " vinces."1 The Franks, who were inspired by hereditary valour and recent zeal, applaud- ed the generous design of their monarch ; ex pressed their resolution to conquer or die, since death and conquest would be equally profit- able ; and solemnly protested that they would never shave their beards, till victory should ab- solve them from that inconvenient vow. The enterprise was promoted by the public or pri- vate, exhortations of Clotilda. She reminded her husband, how effectually some pious foundation would propitiate the Deity, and his servants : and the Christian hero, darting his battle-axe with a skilful and nervous hand,— " There, (said he), on that spot where my Fran- " cisca* shall fall, will I erect a church in ho- " nour of the holy apostles." This ostenta-
1 Gregory of Tours (1- ii, c. 37, in torn, ii, p. 181) inserts the short but persuasive speech of Clovis. Valde moleste fero, quod hi Ariani partem teneaot Galliarum, (the author of the Gesta lYancorum, in torn, ii, p. 553, adds the precious epithet of opt imam), eamus cum Dei adju. torio, et, superatis eis, redigamus terrain in ditionem nostram.
* Tune rex projecit a se in Directum Bipennem suam quod eat Frcut- eisca, &c. Gesta Franc, in torn ii, p. 554). The form, and use, of this weapon, are clearly described by Procopius, [(in torn ii, p. 37.) Exam- ples of its national appellation in Latin and French, may be found in the Glossary of Ducange, and the large Dictionnairc de Trevoux,
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 325
tious piety confirmed and justified the attach- CHAP. raent of the catholics, with whom he secretly ^ corresponded ; and their devout wishes were gradually ripened into a formidable conspira- cy. The people of Aquitain was alarmed by the indiscreet reproaches of their Gothic tyrants, who justly accused them of preferring the do- minion of the Franks ; and their zealous adhe- rent Quintianus, bishop of Rodez,b preached more forcibly in his exile than in his diocess. To resist these foreign and domestic enemies, who were fortified by the alliance of the Bur- gundians, Alaric collected his troops, far more numerous than the military powers of Clovis. The Visigoths resumed the exercise of arms, which they had neglected in a long and luxu- rious peace :c a select band of valiant and ro- bust slaves attended their masters to the field •* and the cities of Gaul were compelled to fur- nish their doubtful and reluctant aid. Theo- doric, king of the Ostrogoths, who reigned in Italy, had laboured to maintain the tranquillity of Gaul ; and he assumed, or affected for that
b It is singular enough, that some important and authentic facts should be found in a life of Quintianus, competed in rhyme, in the old Patois of Rouergue, (Duboi, Hist. Critique, &c. in torn, ii, p- 179).
c Quamvis fortitudini rcstrae confidentiam tribuat parentum vestro- rum innumerabilis multitude; qamvis Attilam potentem reminisca- mini Yisigotharum viribui inclinatum ; tamen quia populorum ferocia corda longa pace mollescunt, cavete subito in aleam mittere, quos con- slat tantis temporibus exercitia non habere. Such was the salutary, but fruitless, advice of peace, of reason, and of Theodoric, (Cassiodor. 1. iii, ep. 2).
* Montesquieu (Esprit des Loix, 1- XT, c. 14) mentions and approve* the law of the Visigoths, (1. ix, tit. 2, in torn, iv, p. 425), which obliged all masters to arm, and send, or lead, into the field, a tenth of their slaves.
326 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, purpose, the impartial character of a mediator.
But the sagacious monarch dreaded the rising
empire of Clovis and he was firmly engaged to support the national and religious cause of the Goths.
cloT°isyof The accidental, or artificial, prodigies, which A. D. 407. adorned the expedition of Clovis, were accept- ed by a superstitious age, as the manifest decla- ration of the Divine favour He marched from Paris ; and as he proceeded with decent rever- ence through the holy diocess of Tours, his anxiety tempted him to consult the shrine of St; Martin, the sanctuary, and the oracle of Gaul. His messengers were instructed to re- mark the words of the Psalm, which should happen to be chaunted at the precise moment when they entered the church. Those words most fortunately expressed the valour and vic- tory of the champions of Heaven, and the appli- cation was easily transferred to the new Joshua, the new Gideon, who went forth to battle against the enemies of the Lord.6 Orleans secured to the Franks a bridge on the Loire; but, at the distance ot forty miles from Poitiers, their pro- gress was intercepted by an extraordinary swell of the river Vigenna, or Vienne; and the oppo-
e This mode of divination, by accepting as an omen the first sacred words, which in particular circumstances should be presented to the eye or ear, was derived from the pagans; and the Psalter, or Bible, was substituted to the Poems of Homer and Virgil. From the fourth to the fourteenth century, these sor/« sanctorum, as they are styled, were repeatedly condemned by the decrees of councils, and repeatedly practised by kings, bishops, and saints. See a curious dissertation of the Abbe du Resnel, in the Memoires de I'Academies, torn. xix. p. 287- 810.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 327
site banks were covered by the encampment of CHAP
the Visigoths. Delay must be always danger WJ
ous to barbarians, who consume the country through which they march; and had Clovis pos- sessed leisure and materials, it might have been impracticable to construct a bridge, or to force a passage, in the face of a superior enemy. But the affectionate peasants, who were impatient to welcome their deliverer, could easily betray some unknown, or unguarded, ford: the merit of the discovery was enhanced by the useful in- terposition of fraud or fiction; and a white hart, of singular size and beauty, appeared to guide and animate the march of the catholic army. The counsels of the Visigoths were irresolute and distracted. A crowd of impatient warriors, presumptuous in their strength, and disdaining to fly before the robbers of Germany, excited Alaric to assert in arms the name and blood of the conqueror of Rome. The advice of the graver chieftains pressed him to elude the first ardour of the Franks; and to expect, in the southern provinces of Gaul, the veteran and victorious Ostrogoths, whom the king of Italy had already sent to his assistance. The deci- sive moments were wasted in idle deliberation ; the Goths too hastily abandoned, perhaps, an advantageous post ; and the opportunity of a se- cure retreat was lost by their slow and disorder- ly motions. After Clovis had passed the ford, as it is still named, of the Hart, he advanced with bold and hasty steps to prevent the escape of the enemy. His nocturnal march was direct ed by a flaming meteor, suspended in the air
.328 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, above the cathedral of Poitiers; and this signal, |* which might be previously connected with the orthodox succes.ssor of St. Hilary, was com- pared to the column of fire that guided the Is- raelites in the desert. At the third hour of the day, about ten miles beyond Poitiers, Clovis overtook, and instantly attacked, the Gothic army ; whose defeat was already prepared by terror and confusion. Yet they rallied in their extreme distress, and the martial youths, who had clamorously demanded the battle, refused to survive the ignominy of flight. The two kings encountered each other in single combat. Alaric fell by the hand of his rival; and the vic- torious Frank was saved by the goodness of his cuirass, and the vigour of his horse, from the spears of two desperate Goths, who furiously rode against him, to revenge the death of their sovereign. The vague expression of a moun- tain of the slain, serves to indicate a cruel, though indefinite, slaughter; but Gregory has carefully observed, that his valiant countryman Apollinaris, the son of Sidonius, lost his life at the head of the nobles of Auvergne. Perhaps these suspected catholics had been maliciously exposed to the blind assault of the enemy; and perhaps the influence of religion was suspended by personal attachment, or military honour.'
f After correcting the text, or excusing the mistake of Procopius, who places the defeat of Alaric near Carcassone, we may conclude, from the evidence wf Gregory, Fortunatus, and the author of the Gesta Francorum, that the battle was fought in campo Vocladensi, ou the banks of the Clain, about ten miles to the south of Poitiers. Clovis overtook and attacked the Visigoths near Vivonne, and the victory was decided near a village still named Champagne* St. Hilare. See the Dii- tertations of the Abb£ le Bceuf, torn i, p. 304-331.
(
I
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 329
Such is the empire of Fortune, (if we may still CHAP disguise our ignorance under that popular ^ name), that it is almost equally difficult to fore- Conquest see the events of war, or to explain their various tin bythe consequences. A bloody and complete victory *ra°kJ08 has sometimes yielded no more than the posses- sion of the field ; and the loss of ten thousand men has sometimes been sufficient to destroy, in a single day the work of ages. The decisive * , battle of Poitiers was followed by the conquest of Aquitain. Alaric had left behind him an in- fant son a bastard competitor, factibus nobles, and a disloyal people; and the remaining forces of the Goths were oppressed by the general con- sternation, or opposed to each other in civil dis- cord. The victorious king of the Franks pro- ceeded without delay to the siege of Angoul&me. At the sound of his trumpets the walls of the city imitated the example of Jericho, and' in- stantly fell to the ground ; a splendid miracle, which may be reduced to the supposition, that some clerical engineers had secretly undermin- ed the foundations of the rampart.8 At Bor- deaux, which had submitted without resistance, Clovis established his winter quarters ; and his prudent economy transported from Thoulouse the royal treasures, which were deposited in the capital of the monarchy. The conqueror penetrated as far as the confines of Spain ;h rc-
6 Angouleme is in the road from Poitiers to Bordeaux ; and although Gregory delays the siege, I can more readily believe that he confounded the order of history, than that Clovis neglected the rules of war.
h Pyrenaeos monies usque Pernianum subjecit ; is the expression of Korico, which bettays his recent date ; since Perpignan did not exist
before
330 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, stored the honours of the catholic church ; fixed
*X"X "X V 1 1 1
in Aquitain a colony of Franks ;l and delegated
to his lieutenants the easy task of subduing, or extirpating, the nation of the Visigoths. But the Visigoths were protected by the wise and powerful monarch of Italy. While the balance was still equal, Theodoric had perhaps delayed the march of the Ostrogoths ; but their strenu- ous efforts successfully resisted the ambition of Clovis ; and the army of the Franks, and their Burgundian allies, was compelled to raise the siege of Aries, with the loss, as it is said, of thirty thousand men. These vicissitudes in- clined the fierce spirit of Clovis to acquiesce in an advantageous treaty of peace. The Visi- goths were suffered to retain the possession of Septimania, a narrow tract of sea-coast, from the Rhone to the Pyrenees ; but the ample pro- vince of Aquitain, from those mountains to the Loire, was indissolubly united to the kingdom of France.k
before the tenth century, (Marca Hispanica, p. 458). This florid and fabulous writer, (perhaps a monk of Amiens ; see the Abbe le Bccuf, Mem. de 1' Academic, torn, xvii, p. 228-245), relates, iu the allegorical character of a shepherd, the general history of his countrymen the Franks ; but his narrative ends with the death of Clovis.
1 The author of the Gesta Francorum positively affirms, that Clovii fixed a body of Franks in the Saintongue and Bourdelois : and he is not injudiciously followed by Rorico, electos milites, atque fortissimos, cum parvulis, atque mulieribus. Yet it should seem that they soon mingled with the Romans of Aquitain, till Charlemagne introduced a more numerous and powerful colony, (Dubos Hist. Critique, torn, ii, p. 215).
k In the composition of the Gothic war, I have used the following .materials, with due regard to their unequal value. Four epistles from Theodoric king of Italy, (Cassiodor. 1. iii, epist. 1-4, in torn, iv, p. 3-5 ;) Procopius, (de Bell. Goth. 1. i, c. 12, in torn, ii, p- 32, 33) ; Gregory of Tours, (1- ii, c. 35, 36, 37, in torn, ii, p. 181-183 ; Jornandes, (de Reb.
GcticU,
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 331
After the success of the Gothic war, Clovis CHAP. accepted the honours of the Roman consulship. The emperor Anastasius ambitiously bestowed on the most powerful rival of Theodoric, the title and ensigns of that eminent dignity ; yet, A< D; 510' from some unknown cause, the name of Clovis has not been inscribed in the Fasti either of the East or West.1 On the solemn day, the mo- narch of Gaul, placing a diadein on his head, was invested in the church of St. Martin, with a purple tunic and mantle. From thence he proceeded on horseback to the cathedral of Tours ; and, as he passed through the streets, profusely scattered, with his own hand, a do- native of gold and silver to the joyful multi- tude, who incessantly repeated tkeir acclama- tions of Consul and Augustus. The actual, or legal, authority of Clovis, could not receive any new accessions from the consular dignity. It was a name, a shadow, an empty pageant : and if the conqueror has been instructed to claim the ancient prerogatives of that high office, they must have expired with the period of its an-
Geticis, c. 58, in torn, ii, p. 28) ; Fortunatus, (in Vit. St. Hilarii, in turn, iii, p. 380); Isidore, (in Chron. Goth, in torn, ii, p. 702); the Epitome of Gregory of Tours, (in torn, ii, p. 401) j the author of the Gesta Francoruni, (in torn, ii, p. 553-555) ; the Fragments of Fredega- rius, (in torn, ii, p. 463) ; Aimoin (1. i, c. 20, in torn, iii, p. 41, 42), and Rorico, (1. iv, in torn, iii, p. 14-19).
1 The Fasti of Italy would naturally reject a consul, the enemy of their sovereign ; but any ingenious hypothesis that might explain the silence of Constantinople and Egypt, (the chronicle of Marcellinus, and the Paschal), is overturned by the similar silence of Marius bishop of Avenche, who composed his Fasti in the kingdom of Burgundy. If '• the evidence of Gregory of Tours were less weighty and positive, (1. h, c. 38, in torn- ii, p. 183), I could believe that Clovis, like Odoacer, re- ceived the lasting title and honours of Patrician, (Pagi Critica, torn, ii, p. 474, 492).
332 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, nual duration. But the Romans were dispos-
* V V V \TI f T
......... ed to revere, in the person of their master, that
antique title which the einperors condescend to assume : the barbarian himself seemed to con- tract a sacred obligation to respect the majesty of the republic ; and the successors of Theo- dosius, by soliciting his friendship, tacitly for- gave, and almost ratified the usurpation of Gaul.
Final esta- Twenty-five years after the death of Clovis, important concession was more formally
French declared, in a treaty between his sons and the
monarchy * . . • _,
in Gaul, emperor Justinian. I he Ostrogoths of Italy, 3f* unable to defend their distant acquisitions, had resigned to the Franks the cities of Aries and Marseilles : of Aries, still adorned with the seat of a pretorian prefect, and of Marseilles," enriched by the advantages of trade and navi-' gation." This transaction was confirmed by the imperial authority; and Justinian, gene- rously yielding to the Franks the sovereignty of the countries beyond the Alps, which they already possessed, absolved the provincials from their allegiance; and established, on a more lawful, though not more solid, foundation, the throne of the Merovingians." From that era, they enjoyed the right of celebrating at Aries
m Under the Merovingian kings, Marseilles still imported from the East, paper, wine, oil, linen, silk, precious stones, spices, &c. The Gauls, or Franks, traded to Syria, and the Syrians were established in Gaul- See M. de Guignes, Mem. de 1'Academie, torn, xxxvii, p. 171- 475.
" Ou y«f WOTS ft>»VT» PaXXiac' £w fa> a«-<J>aXEi xwm«-fl«i tywyst, f*" "** *uT«*j*TOf«f TO ijyov Ewiaxpfayic-fcVTo; TUTO yi. Thin strong declaration of Procopius, (de Bell. Gothic. 1. iii, cap. 33, in torn ii, p^ 41), would al- most suffice to justify the Abbe Dubos.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 333
the games of the Circus; and by a singular CHAP. privilege, which was denied even to the Per- sian monarch, the gold coin, impressed with their name and image, obtained a legal currency in the empire.0 A Greek historian of that age has praised the private and public virtues of the Franks, with a partial enthusiasm, which cannot be sufficiently justified by their domes tic annals.p He celebrates their politeness and urbanity, their regular government, and ortho- dox religion; and boldly asserts that these barbarians could be distinguished only by their dress and language from the subjects of Rome. Perhaps the Franks already displayed the so- cial disposition, and lively graces, which in every age have disguised their vices, and some- times concealed their intrinsic merit. Perhaps Agathias, and the Greeks, were dazzled by the rapid progress of their arms, and splendour of their empire. Since the conquest of Burgun- dy, Gaul, except the Gothic province of Septi- mania, was subject, in its whole extent, to the
sons of Clo vis. They had extinguished the Ger-
' - . < - -
0 The Franks, who probably used the mints of Treves, Lyons, and Ariel, imitated the coinage of the Roman emperors of seventy-two solidi, or pieces, to the pound of gold. But as the Franks established only a decuple proportion of gold and silver, ten shillings will be a suf- ficient valuation of the solidus of gold. It was the common standard of the barbaric fines, and contained forty denarii, or silver threepences. Twelve of these denarii made a solidus or shilling, the twentieth part of the ponderal and numeral litre, or pound of silver, which has been so strangely reduced in modern France. See Le Blanc Traite Historique des Monneyes de France, p. 37-43, &c.
p Agathias, in torn, ii, p. 47. Gregory of Tours exhibits a very diffe- rent picture. Perhaps it would not be easy, within the name historical space, to find more vice and leu virtue. We are continually chocked by the union of savage and cerrupt manners.
334 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, man kingdom of Thuringia, and their vaffue do-
\XXVIII
'„„„ minion penetrated beyond the Rhine, into the
heart of their native forests. The Alemanni, and Bavarians, who had occupied the Roman provinces of Rhaetia and Noricum.'to the south of the Danube, confessed themselves the hum- ble vassals of the Franks ; and the feeble bar- rier of the Alps was incapable of resisting their ambition. When the last survivor of the sons of Clovis united the inheritance and conquests of the Merovingians, his kingdom extended far beyond the limits of modern France. Yet modern France, such has been the progress of arts and policy, far surpasses in wealth, popu- lousness, and power, the spacious but savage realms of Clotaire or Dagobert.q
Political The Franks, or French, are the only people of- Europe who can deduce a perpetual succes- sion from the conquerors of the western em- pire. But their conquest of Gaul was follow- ed by ten centuries of anarchy and ignorance. On the revival of learning, the students who had been formed in the schools of Athens and Rome, disdained their barbarian ancestors ; and a long period elapsed before patient labour could provide ]the requisite materials to satisfy, or rather to excite, the curiosity of more en- lightened times/ At length the eye of criti-
•> M. de Foncemagne has traced, in a correct and elegant ditsertatiou, (Mem. de 1' Academic, torn, viii, p- 505-528), the extent and limits of the French monarchy.
' The Abb6 Dubos (Histoire Critique, torn, i, p. 29-3G) has truly and agreeably represented the slow progress of these studies ; and he ob- i, that Gregory of Tours was only once printed before the year
1560
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 335
cisin and philosophy was directed to the ant CHAP. quities of France ; but even philosophers have been tainted by the contagion of prejudice and passion. The most extreme and exclusive sy- stems of the personal servitude of the Gauls, or of their voluntary and equal alliance with the Franks, have been rashly conceived, and obsti- nately defended : and the intemperate disput- ants, have accused each other of conspiring against the prerogative of the crown, the dig- nity of the nobles, or the freedom of the people. Yet the sharp conflict has usefully exercised the adverse powers of learning and genius ; and each antagonist, alternately vanquished and victorious, has extirpated some ancient er- fors, and established some interesting truths. An impartial stranger, instructed by their dis- coveries, their disputes, and even their faults, may describe, from the same original materials, the state of the Roman provincials, after Gaul had submitted to the arms and laws of the Me- rovingian kings.'
1560. According to the complaint of Heineccius, (Opera, torn, iii, Sylloge, iii, p. 248, &c«), Germany received with indifference and con- tempt the codes of barbaric laws, which were, published by Heroldus, Lindenbrogius, &c. At present those laws, (as far as they relate to Gaul), the history of Gregory of Tours, and all the monuments of the Merovingian race, appear in a pure and perfect state, in the first four volumes of the historians of France.
* lu the space of thirty years, (1728-1765), this interesting subject has been agitated by the free spirit of the Count de Boulainvilliers, (Memoires Historiques sur 1'Etat de la France, particularly torn, i, p. 15-49); the learned ingenuity of the Abbe Dubos, (Histoire Critique de 1'Establissement de la Monarchie Fraucoise dans les Gauls, 2 vols in 4to) ; the comprehensive genius of the president de Montesquieu, (Es- prit ties Luix, particularly I. xxviii, xxx, xxxi), and the good sense and diligence of the Abbe de Mably, (Observations sur 1'Histoire de France, 2 rwls. 12mo).
336 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. The rudest, 'or the most servile, condition of ^ human society, is regulated, however, by some Laws of fixed and general rules. When Tacitus sur- * veyed the primitive simplicity of the Germans, he discovered some permanent maxims, or cus- toms of public and private life, which were preserved by faithful tradition, till the intro- duction of the art of writing, and of the Latin tongue1 Before the election of the Merovin- gian kings, the most powerful tribe, or nation, of the Franks, appointed four venerable chief- tains to compose the Salic laws :u and their la- bours were examined and approved in three successive assemblies of the people. After the baptism of Clovis, he reformed several articles that appeared incompatible with Christianity : the Salic law was again amended by his sons ; and at length, under the reign of Dagobert, the code was revised and promulgated in its actual form, one hundred years after the establish- ment of the French monarchy. Within the same period, the customs of the Hipuarians were transcribed and published : and Charle- magne himself, the legislator of his age and country, had accurately studied the two natio-
* I have derived much instruction from two learned works of Heinec- eius, the History, and the Elements, of the Germanic law. In a judici- ous preface to the Element!, he considers, and tries to excuse, the de- fects of that barbarous jurisprudence.
" Latin appears to have been the original language of the Salic law. It was probably composed in the beginning of the fifth century, be- fore the era (A. D. 421) of the real or fabulous Pharamond. The pre- face mentions the four. Cantons which produced the four legislators; and many provinces, Franconia, Saxony, Hanover, Brabant, &c- hare claimed them as their own. See an excellent Dissertation of Feinec- ciut, de Lege Salica, torn, iii, Sylloge iii, p. 247-267.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 337
nal laws, which still prevailed among the CHAP.
^* *v •v v* 1 1 T
Franks* The same care was extended to their
vassals ; and the rude institutions of the Ale- manni and Bavarians were diligently compiled and ratified by the supreme authority of the Merovingian kings. The Visigoths and J3ur- gundians, whose conquests in Gaul preceded those of the Franks shewed less impatience to at- tain one of the principal benefits of civilized soci- ety. Euric was the first of the Gothic princes who expressed in writing the manners and customs of his people ; and the composition of the Bur- gundian laws was* a measure of policy rather than of justice ; to alleviate the yoke, and re- gain the affections, of their Gallic subjects/ Thus, by a singular coincidence, the Germans framed their artless institutions, at a time when the elaborate system of Roman jurispru- dence was finally consummated. In the Salic aws, and the Pandects of Justinian, we may compare the first rudiments, and the full matu- rity, of civil wisdom; and whatever prejudices may be suggested in favour of barbarism, our calmer reflections will ascribe to the Romans the superior advantages, not only of science and
x Eginhard, in Vit. Caroli Magni, c, 29, in torn, v, p. 100. By these two laws, most critics understand the Salic and the Ripuarian. The former extended from the Carbonarian forest to the Loire, (torn- ir, p. 151) ; and the latter might be obeyed from the same forest to the Rhine, (torn, iv, p. 222).
r Consult the ancient and modern prefaces of the several Codes, in the fourth rolume of the Historians of France. The original prologue to tho Salic law, expresses (though in a foreign dialect) the genuine spi- rit of the Franks more forcibly than the ten books of Gregory of Tour*.
VOI. VI Z
338 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, reason, but of humanity and justice. Yet the
XXXVIII .
laws of the barbarians were adapted to their
wants and desires, their occupations and their capacity; and they all contributed to preserve the peace, and promote the improvements, of the society for whose use they were originally established. The Merovingians, instead of im- posing an uniform rule of conduct on their vari- ous subjects, permitted each people, and each family of their empire, freely to enjoy their do- mestic institutions ;z nor were the Romans ex- cluded from the common benefits of this legal toleration.* The children embraced the law of their parents, the wife that of her husband, the freedman that of his patron; and, in all cases, where the parties were of different nations, the plaintiff, or accuser, was obliged to follow the tribunal of the defendant, who may always plead a judicial presumption of right or inno- cence. A more ample latitude was allowed, if every citizen, in the presence of the judge, might declare the law under which he desired to live, and the national society to which he chose to belong. Such an indulgence would
1 The Ripuarian law declares, and defines, this indulgence in favour of the plaintiff, (tit. xxxi, in torn, iv, p. 240) ; and the same toleration is uuderstood, or expressed, in all the Codes, except that of the Visi- goths of Spain. Tanta diversitas Jegura (says Agobard, in the ninth century) quanta non soluai in regionibus, aut civitatibus, sed etiam in multis domibus habetur. Nam plerumque contingit ut situul cant aut aedeant quinque homines, et nullus eorum communem legem cum altero habeat, (in torn, vi, p. 356). He foolishly proposes to introduce an uniformity of law, as well as of faith.
* Inter Romanos negotia cansarum Romanis legibus praecipimus ter nimari. Such are the words of a general constitution promulgated bj Clotaire, the sou of Clovjs, and sole monarch of the Franks, (in torn, if, p. 116), about the year 560.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 339
abolish the partial distinctions of victory; and J^vm
the Roman provincials might patiently acqui- ~ —
esce in the hardships of their condition ; since it depended on themselves to assume the privi- lege, if they dared to assert the character, of free and warlike barbarians.*
When justice inexorably requires the death of Pecuniary a murderer, each private citizen is fortified by homicide, the assurance, that the laws, the magistrate, and the whole community, are the guardians of his personal safety. But in the loose society of the Germans, revenge was always honourable, and often meritorious; the independent warrior chastised, or vindicated with his own hand, the injuries which he had offered, or received; and ne had only to dread the resentment of the sons, and kinsmen, of the enemy, whom he had sacri- ficed to his selfish or angry passions. The ma- gistrate, conscious of his weakness, interposed, not to punish, but to reconcile; and he was sa- tisfied if he could persuade, or compel, the con- tending parties to pay, and to accept, the mode- rate fine which he had ascertained, as the price
b This liberty of choice has been aptly deduced (Esprit des Loix, 1. xxviii, 2) from a constitution of Lothairel, (Leg. Langobard, 1. ii, tit Ivii, in Codex Lindebrog. p. 664) ; though the example is too recent and partial. From a various reading in the Salic law, (tit. xlir, not xlv), the Abbe" de Mably (torn, i, p. 290-293) has conjectured, that, at first, a barbarian only, and afterwards any man, (consequently a Roman), might live according to the law of the Franks. I am sorry to offend this ingenius conjecture by observing, that the stricter sense (barbarumj is expressed in the reformed copy of Charlemagne ; which is confirmed by the Royal and Wolfeubuttle MSS. The looser interpretation (homi- nemj is authorized by Fiilda, from whose MS. Heroldus published his edition. See the four original texts of the Salic law. in torn, iv, p. 147, 173, 196, 220
340 THE DECLINB AND FALL
CHAP, of blood.' The fierce spirit of the Franks would ^ have opposed a more rigorous sentence; the same fierceness despised these ineffectual re- straints: and when their simple manners had been corrupted by the wealth of Gaul, the pub- lic peace was continually violated by acts of hasty or deliberate guilt. In every just govern- ment, the same penalty is inflicted, or at least is imposed, for the murder of a peasant, or a prince. But the national inequality established by the Franks, in their criminal proceedings, was the last insult and abuse of conquest.4 In the calm moments of legislation they solemnly pronounced, that the life of a Roman was of smaller value than that of a barbarian. The Antrustion* a name expressive of the most illus- trious birth or dignity among Xhe Franks, was- appreciated at the sum of six hundred pieces of gold; while the noble provincial, who was ad- mitted to the king's table, might be legally mur- dered at the expence of three hundred pieces.
c In the heroic times of Greece, the guilt of murder was expiated by a pecuniary satisfaction to the family of the deceased, (Feithius Anti- quitat. Homeric. 1. ii, c. 8;. Heineccius, in his preface to the Elements of the Germanic Law, favourably suggests, that at Rome and Athens Homicide was only punished with exile. It is true; but exile was « capital . punixh meut for a citizen of Rome or Athens.
d This proportion is fixed by the Salic, (tit. xliv, in tom. iv, p. 147), and the Ripuarian, (tit. vii, xi, xxxvi, in tom. iv, p. 237, 241), laws ; but the latter does not distinguish any difference of Romans. Yet the orders of the clergy are placed above the Franks themselves, and the Burgundians and Alemanui between the Franks and the Romans.
e The Autrustiones, qui in truste DominicA, sunt, leudi, Jiileles, un- doubtedly represent the first order of Franks ; hut it is a question whe- ther their rank was personal, or hereditary. The Abb£ de Mably (tom. i, p. 3S4-347) is not displeased to mortify the pride of birth, (Esprit, 1. xxx, c. 25), by dating1 the origin of French nobility from the reign of Clotaire II, (A . D. 616).
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 341
Two hundred were deemed sufficient for a Frank CHAP. of ordinary condition ; but the meaner Ro- mans were exposed to disgrace and danger by a trifling compensation of one hundred, or even fifty, pieces of gold. Had these laws been re- gulated by any principle of equity or reason, the public protection should have supplied in just proportion the want of personal strength. But the legislator had weighed in the scale, not of j ustice, but of policy, the loss of a soldier against that of a slave ; the head of an insolent and rapacious barbarian was guarded by an heavy fine ; and the slightest aid was afforded to the most defenceless subj ects. 'Time insensibly abated the pride of the conquerors, and the pa- tience of the vanquished ; and the boldest citizen was taught by experience, that he might suffer more injuries than he could inflict. As the manners of the Franks became less ferocious, their laws were rendered more severe; and the Merovingian kings attempted to imitate the im- partial rigour of the Visigoths and Burgundi- ans.f Under the empire of Charlemagne, murder was universally punished with death ; and the use of capital punishments has been li- berally multiplied in the jurisprudence of mo- dern Europe.8
f Sec the Burguiulian laws, (tit. ii, in tom. iv, p. 257); the Code of the Visigoths, (I. vi, tit. v, tom. iv, p. 384), and the constitution of Childebert, not of Paris, but most evidently of Anstrasia, (in tom. ir, p. 112). Their premature severity was sometimes rash and excenive. Childebert condemned not only murderers but robbers: quomodo line lege involuvit, sine lege moriatur; and even the negligent jndfe was in- volved in the same sentence. The Visigoths abandoned an unsuccess- ful surgeon to the family of his deceased patient, ut quod de eo facer* roluerint habeant potcstatem, (1. xi, tit. i, in torn, iv, p. 435).
> See in the sixth volume of the works of Heineccius, the Element*
Juris
342 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. The civil and military professions, which had
., been separated by Constantine, were again
judgments united by the barbarians. The harsh sound of the Teutonic appellations was mollified into the Latin titles of Duke, of Count, or of Prefect; and the same officer assumed, within his district, the command of the troops, and the administra- tion of justice.11 But the fierce and illiterate chieftain was seldom qualified to discharge the duties of a judge, which require all the faculties of a philosophic mind, laboriously cultivated by experience and study; and his rude ignorance was compelled to embrace some simple, and vi- sible, methods of ascertaining the cause of jus- tice. In every religion, the Deity has been in- voked to confirm the truth, or to punish the falsehood, of human testimony; but this power- ful instrument was misapplied and abused, by the simplicity of the German legislators. The par- , ty accused might justify his innocence, by pro- ducing before their tribunal a number of friendly witnesses, who solemnly declared their belief, or assurance, that he was not guilty. According to the weight of the charge, this legal number of compurgatorswas multiplied ; seventy- two voices were required to absolve an incendiary, or as- sassin: and when the chastity of a queen of France was suspected, three hundred gallant nobles swore, without hesitation, that the infant
Juris Germanici, 1. ii, p. ii, N°. 261, 263, 280-283. Yet some restiges of these pecuniary compositions for murder have been traced in Ger- many, as late as the sixteenth century.
h The whole subject of the Germanic judges, and their jurisdiction, M copiously treated by the Heineccius, (Element. Jur. Germ 1. iii, N°. 1-72). I cannot find any proof, that, under the Merovingvau race, th* tccAini, or assessors, were chosen by the people.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 343
prince had been actually begotten by her de- CHAP.
ceased husband.1 The sin and scandal of mani- ^^
fest and frequent perjuries engaged the magis- trates to remove these dangerous temptations; and to supply the defects of human testimony, by the famous experiments of fire and water. These extraordinary trials were so capriciously contrived, that, in some cases, guilt, and inno- cence in others, could not be proved without the interposition of a miracle. Such miracles were readily provided by fraud and credulity; the most intricate causes were determined by this easy and infallible method; and the turbu- lent barbarians, who might have disdained the sentence of the magistrate, submissively acqui- sced in the judgment of God.k SIS.
But the trials by single combat gradually ob- tained superior credit and authority, among a warlike people, who could not believe, that a brave man deserved to suffer, or that a coward deserved to live. Both in civil and criminal proceedings, the plaintiff, or accuser, the de- fendant, or even the witness, were exposed to
1 Gregor. Turon. 1. viii, c. 9, in tom. ii, p. 316. Montesquieu ob- serves, (Esprit des Loix, 1. xxviii, c. 13), that the Salic law did not ad- mit these negative proqfs so universally established in the bai baric codes. Yet this obscure concubine, (Fredegundis), who became the wife of the grandson of Clovis, must have followed the Salic law.
k Muratori, in the Antiquities of Italy, has given two Dissertations (xxxviii. xxxix) on the judgments of God. It was expected, that fire would not burn the innocent ; and that the pure element of water would not allow the guilty to sink into its bosom.
1 Montesquieu (Esprit des Loix, 1, XXvih, c. 17) has condescended to explain and excuse " la maniere de penserde nos peres,"on the subject of judicial combats. He follows this strange institution from the age of Gundobald to that of St. Lewis j and the philosopher is sometime* lost in the legal antiquarian.
344 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, mortal challenge from the antagonist who was
XXXVIII
destitute of legal proofs; and it was incumbent
on them either to desert their cause, or publicly to maintain their honour, in the lists of battle. They fought either on foot or on horseback, ac- cordins: to the custom of their nation;"1 and the decision of the sword, or lance, was ratified by the sanction of heaven, of the judge, and of the * people. This sanguinary law was introduced into Gaul by the Burgundians; and their legis- lator Gundobald" condescended to answer the complaints and objections of his subject Avitus. " Is it not true," said the king of Burgundy to the bishop, " that the event of national wars, *' and private combats, is directed by the judg- _" ment of God; and that his providence awards " the victory to the juster cause?" By such pre- vailing arguments, the absurd and cruel prac- tice of judicial duels, which had been peculiar to some tribes of Germany, was propagated and established in all the monarchies of Europe, from Sicily to the Baltic. At the end of ten centuries, the reign of legal violence was not to- tally extinguished; and the ineffectual censures of saints, of popes, and of synods, may seem to prove, that the influence of superstition is" weak-
m In a memorable duel at Aix-la- Chapelle, (A. l>. 820), before the emperor Lewis the Pious, his biographer observes, secuadum legein propriam, utpote qnia uterque Gothus erat, equestri pugnu congressus est, (Vit. Lud. Pii, c. 33, iu torn, vi, p. 103). F.rmoldus Nigellus, (I. iii, 543-628, in torn, vi, p. 48-50), who describes the duel, admires the or* nova of fighting on horseback, which was unknown to the Franks.
n Iu this original edict, published at Lyons, (A. D. 501), Gundobald establishes and justifies the use of judicial combat, (Leg. Burgund. tit. xlr, in torn, ii, p. 267, 268). Three hundred years afterwards, Agobard, bishop of Lyons solicited Ltwis the Pious to abolish the law of an Arian tyrant, (in torn, vi, p. 356-358). He relates the conversation of Gundobald and Avitus.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 345
ened by its unnatural alliance with reason and CHAP.
'Vv -v \r mj *
humanity. The tribunals were stained with the blood, perhaps of innocent and respectable ci- tizens; the law, which now favours the rich, then yielded to the strong; and the old, the fee- ble, and the infirm, were condemned, either to renounce their fairest claims and possessions, sustain the dangers of an unequal conflict,0 or to trust the doubtful aid of a mercenary cham- pion. This oppressive jurisprudence was im- posed on the provincials of Gaul, who complain- ed of any injuries in their persons and property. Whatever might be the strength, or courage, of individuals, the victorious barbarians excelled in the love and exercise of arms; and the van- quished Roman was unjustly summoned to re- peat, in his own person, the bloody contest, which had been already decided against his country.1*
A devouring host of one hundred and twenty Division 0 thousand Germans had formerly passed the [^,dsbabryba Rhine under the command of Ariovistus. One »-ians. third part of the fertile lands of the Sequani was
• " Accidit, (says Agobard), ut non solnm valentes viribus, sed etiam " infirmi et senes lacessantur ad pugoam, etiam pro vilissimis rebus. " Quibus foralibus certaminibus contingunt bomicidia injusta; et cru- deles ac pervcrsi eventus judiciorum " Like a prudent rhetorician, he suppresses the legal privilege of hiring champions.
f Montesquieu, (Epri( des Loix, xxviii, c. 14), who understands u-hy the judicial combat was admitted by the Vurgundians, Ripuarians, Alemanni, Bavarians, Lombards, Thuriugians, Prisons, and Saxons, is satisfied (and Agebard seems to countenance the assertion) that it was not allowed by the Salic law. Yet the same custom, at least in cases of treason, is mentioned by Ermoldus Nigellus, (1 iii, 543, in torn, vi, p.- 48), and the anonymous biographer of Lewis the Pious, (c. 46, in torn, vi, p. 112), as the " mos autiquus Francorum, more Francis so- lit o," Sec. expressions too general to exclude the noblest of their tribes.
346 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, appropriated to their use; and the conqueror er soon repeated his oppressive demand of another third, for the accommodation of a new colony of twenty-four thousand barbarians, whom he had invited to share the rich harvest of Gaul.q At the distance of five hundred years, the Visigoths and Burgundians, who revenged the defeat of Ariovistus, usurped the same une- qual proportion of two thirds of the subject lands. But this distribution, instead of spread- ing, over the province, may be reasonably con- fined to the peculiar districts, where the vic- torious people had been planted by their own choice, or by the policy of their leader. In these districts, each barbarian was con- nected by the ties of hospitality with some Roman provincial. To this unwelcome guest, the proprietor was compelled to abandon two thirds of his patrimony: but the German, a shepherd, and a hunter, might sometimes con- tent himself with a spacious range of wood and pasture, and resign the smallest, though most valuable, portion, to the toil of the industrious husbandmen/ The silence of ancient and au- thentic testimony has encouraged an opinion, that the rapine of the Franks was not moderat-
i Caesar de Bell. Gall. 1. i, c. 31, in torn, i, p. 213.
' The obscure hiuts of a division of lands occasionally scattered in the laws of the Burgundians, (tit. liv. N°. 1, 2, in torn, iv, p. 271, 272), and Visigoths, (1. x, tit. i, N°. 8, 9, 16, in torn, iv, p. 428, 429, 430), are skilfully explained by the president Montesquieu, (Esprit des Loix, 1. xxx, c. 7, 8, 9). I shall only add, that, among the Goths, the division seems to have been ascertained by the judgment of the neighbourhood; that the barbarians frequently usurped the remaining third ; and that the Romans might recover their right, unless they were barred by ft prescription of fifty years.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 347
ed, or disguised, by the forms of a lesral divi CHAP.
• . xxxviii sion ; that they dispersed themselves over the „„
provinces of Gaul, without order or controul ; and that each victorious robber, according to his wants, his avarice, and his strength measur- ed with his sword the extent of his new inhe- ritance. At a distance from their sovereign, the barbarians might indeed be tempted to ex- ercise such arbitrary depredation ; but the firm and artful policy of Clovis must curb a licen- tious spirit, which would aggravate the misery of the vanquished, whilst it corrupted the union and discipline of the conquerors. The memo- rable vase of Soissons is a monument, and a pledge, of the regular distribution of the Gallic spoils. It was the duty, and the interest, of Clovis, to provide rewards for a successful army, and settlements for a numerous people ; without inflicting any wanton or superfluous injuries, on the loyal catholics of Gaul. The ample fund, which he might lawfully acquire, of the imperial patrimony, vacant lands, and Gothic usurpations, would diminish the cruel necessity of seizure and confiscation ; and the humble provincials would more patiently ac- quiesce in the equal and regular distribution of their loss.5
The wealth of the Merovingian princes con- sisted in their extensive domain. After the con-
* It is singular enough, that the president de Montesquieu, (Esprit des Loix, 1. xxx, c. 7), and the Abbe de Mably, (Observations, torn, i, p, 21, 22), agree in this strange supposition of arbitrary and private la- pine. The Count de Boulainvillkn. (Etat de la France, torn, i, p. 22, S3) shews a strong understanding, through a cloud of ignorance and prejudice.
348 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, quest of Gaul, they still delighted in the rustic ^ simplicity of their ancestors ; the cities" were Domain abandoned to solitude and decay ; and their coins, their charters, and their synods, are still inscribed with the names of the villas, or rural palaces, in which they successively resided. One hundred and sixty of these palaces, a title which need not excite any unseasonable ideas of art or luxury, were scattered through the provinces of their kingdom ; and if some might claim the honours of a fortress, the far greater part could be esteemed only in the light of pro- fitable farms. The mansion of the long-haired kings was surrounded with convenient yards, and stables, for the cattle and the poultry ; the garden was planted with useful vegetables ; the various trades, the labours of agriculture, and even the arts of hunting and fishing, were exercised by servile hands, for the emolument of the sovereign ; his magazines were filled with-corn and wine, either for sale or consump- tion ; and the whole administration was con- ducted by the strictest maxims of private eco- nomy.1 This ample patrimony was appropri- ated to supply the hospitable plenty of Clovis, and his successors ; and to reward the fidelity of their brave companions, who, both in peace
1 See the rustic edict, or rather code, of Charlemagne, which con- tains seventy distinct and minute regulations of that great monarch (in torn, v, p. 652-657). He requires an account of the horns and skins of the goats ; allows his fish to be sold ; and carefully directs, that the larger villas (Copitanem) shall maintain one hundred hens and thirty geese ,• and the smaller ( Mansionales ) fifty heus and twelve gee**. Mabillion (de Be Diplomatic!) has invested the names, the number and the situation of ths Merovingian villas.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. . 349
and war, were devoted to their personal ser- CHAP
•v v -v TTJ » f
vice. Instead of an horse, or a suit of armour, J^ ™*
each companion, according- "to his rank or merit, or favour, was invested with a benefice, the pri- mitive name, and most single form, of the feudal possessions. These gifts might be resumed at the pleasure of the sovereign : and his feeble prerogative derived some support from the in- fluence of his liberality. But this dependent tenure was gradually abolished" by the inde- pendent and rapacious nobles of France, who established the perpetual property, and here- ditary succession, of their benefices ; a revolu- tion salutary to the earth, which had been in- jured, or neglected, by its precarious masters/ Besides these royal and beneficiary estates, a large proportion had been assigned, in the di- vision of iGraul, of allodial Salic lands : they were exempt from tribute, and the Salic lands were equally shared among the male descend- ants of the Franks/
In the bloody discord, and silent decay of the Private Merovingian line, a new order of tyrants arose, tui0n'spa~ in the provinces, who, under the appellation of Seniors, or Lords, usurped a right to govern,
u From a passage of the Burgundian lay, (tit- i. Nc. 4, in torn, ir, p. 257), it is evident, that a deserving son might expect to hold the lands which his father had received from the royal bounty of Gundobald. The Bnrgundians would firmly maintain their privilege, and their ex- ample might encourage the beneficiaries of France.
" The revolutions of the benefices and fiefs are clearly fixed by the Abbe de Mably. His accurate distinction of times gives him a merit to which even Montesquieu is a stranger.
* See the Salic law, (lit. Ixii, in torn, ir, p. 156) The origin and na- ture of those Salic lands, which in times of ignorance perfectly under- stood, now perplex our most learned and sagacioui critics.
350 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, and a license to oppress, the subjects of their
„ peculiar territory. Their ambition might be
checked by the hostile resistance of an equal : but the laws were extinguished ; and the sacri- legious barbarians, who dared to provoke the vengeance of a saint or bishop,* would seldom respect the landmarks of a profane and defence- less neighbour. The common, or public, rights of nature, such as they had always been deemed by the Roman jurisprudence,* were severely re- strained by the German conquerors, whose amusement, or rather passion, was the exercise of hunting. The vague dominion which MAN has assumed over the wild inhabitants of the earth, the air, and the waters, was confined to some fortunate individuals of the human spe- cies. Gaul was again overspread with woods ; and the animals, who were reserved for the use, or pleasure, of the lord, might ravage, with im- punity, the fields of his industrious vassals. The chace was the sacred privilege of the no- bles, and their domestic servants. Plebeian transgressors were legally chastised with stripes and imprisonment ;b but in an age which admitted a slight composition for the life of a citizen, it
z Mauy of the two hundred and six miracles of St. Martin (Greg- Turon. in Maxima Bibliotlieca Patrsm, torn, xi, p. 296-932) were re- peatedly performed to punish sacrilege. Audite haeec omnes, (exclaims the bishop of Tours), potestatem hahentes, after relating, how §ome horses run mad, that had been turned into a sacred meadow.
* Heinec. Element. Jur. German. 1. ii, p. 1, N°. 8
b Jonas, bishop of Orleans, (A. B. 821-826 ; Care, Hist. Litteraria, p.
443) censures the legal tyranny of the nobles. Pro feris, quas cura
kominum non aluit, sed Deus in commune mortalibus ad utcndum con-
ressit,pauperes a potentioribus spoliantur, flagellanlur, ergastulis, de-
truduntur,
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
was a capital crime to destroy a staff or a wild CHAP.
X \ X V T 1 1
bull within the precincts of the royal forests.'
According to the maxims of ancient war the Personal conqueror became the lawful master of the8" enemy whom he had subdued and spared ;d and the fruitful cause of personal slavery, which had been almost suppressed by the peaceful sovereignty of Rome, was again re- vived and multiplied by the perpetual hostili- ties of the independent barbarians. The Goth, the Burgundian, or the Frank, who returned from a successful expedition, dragged after him a long train of sheep, of oxen, and of hu- man captives, whom he treated with the same brutal contempt. The youths of an elegant form and ingenuous aspect, were set apart for the domestic service; a doubtful situation, which alternately exposed them to the favour- able, or cruel, impulse of passion. The useful mechanics and servants, (smiths, carpenters, tailors, shoemakers, cooks, gardeners, dyers, and workmen in gold and silver, &c.) employ-
truduntnr, et inulta alia patiuntur. Hoc mini qui faciunt, lege mundi ce facere juste posse contendant. De Institutione Laicorum, 1. ii, c. 23, apud Tbomassin, Discipline de 1'Eglise, torn, iii, p. 1348.
c On a mere suspicion, Chundo, a chamberlain of Go-itran, king of Burgundy, was stoned to death, (Greg. Turon. I. x, c. 10, in torn, ii, p. 369). John of Salisbury (Policrat. 1. i, c. 4) asserts the rights of na- ture, and exposes the cruel practice of the twelfth century- See Hein- eccius, Elem. Jur. Germ. 1. ii, p. 1, N°. 51-57.
d The custom of enslaving prisoners of war was totally extinguished in the thirteenth century, by the prevailing influence of Christianity ; but it might be proved, from frequent passages of Gregory of Tourt, &c. that it was practised, without censure, under the Merovingian /ace; and even Grotius himself, (de Jure Belli et Pacis 1. iii, c- 7), a« well as his commentator Barbeyrac, have laboured to reconcile it with the laws of nature and reason.
352 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, ed their skill for the use, or profit, of their ^ master. But the Roman captives who were destitute of art, but capable of labour, were condemned, without regard to their former rank, to tend the cattle, and cultivate the lands, of the barbarians. The number of the here- ditary bondsmen, who were attached to Ihe Gallic estates, was continually increased by new supplies ; and the servile people, accord- ing to the situation and temper of their lords, was sometimes raised by precarious indul- gence, and more frequently depressed by ca- pricious despotism.6 An absolute power of life and death was exercised by these lords ; and when they married their daughters, a train of useful servants, chained on the waggons to pre- vent their escape, was sent as a nuptial present into a distant country/ The majesty of the Roman laws protected the liberty of each ci- tizen against the rash effects of his own dis- tress, or despair. But the subjects of the Mero- vingian kings might alienate their personal freedom ; and this act of legal suicide, which was familiarly practised, is expressed in terms most disgraceful and afflicting to the dignity of
* The state, profession*!, &c. of the German, Italian, and Gallic slaves, during the middle ages, are explained by Heineccius, (Flement. Jur. Germ. 1. i, N°. 28-47); Muralori, (Dissertat. xiv, xv) ; Ducange, (Gloss, sub voce Servi), and the Abbe de Mably, (Observations, toin. ii, p. 3, &c. p. 237, &c.
f Gregory of Tours (I. vi, c. 45, in torn, ii, p. 289) relates a memora- ble example, in which Childcric only abused the private rights of a master. Many families, which belonged to his domus Ji.icaits in th neighbourhood of Paris, were forcibly sent away into Spain.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. ' 353
human nature.8 The example of the poor, CHAP. who purchased life by the sacrifice of all that can render life desirable, was gradually imitat- ed by the feeble and the devout, who, in times of public disorder, pusillanimously crowded to shelter themselves under the battlements of a powerful chief, and around the shrine of a po- pular saint. Their submission was accepted by these temporal, or spiritual, patrons; and the hasty transaction irrecoverably fixed their own condition, and that of their latest posterity. From the reign of Clovis, during five successive centuries, the laws and manners of Gaul uni- formly tended to promote the increase, and to confirm the duration, of personal servitude. Time and violence almost obliterated the inter- mediate ranks of society ; and left an obscure and narrow interval between the noble and the slave. This arbitrary and recent division has been transformed by pride and prejudice into a national distinction, universally established by the arms and the laws of the Merovingians. The nobles, who claimed their genuine, or fa- bulous, descent, from the independent and vic- torious Franks, have asserted and abused, the indefeasible right of conquest, over a prostrate crowd of slaves and plebeians, to whom they
B Licentiara liabeatis tnibi qualemcunquc Toluerilis disciplinam po- nere : vel venumdare, aut quod robis placuerit de me facere. Marcu'f. Formul. 1. ii, 28, in torn, iv, p. 497. The Formula of Lindenbrogius, (p. 559), and that of f njou, (p. 565), are to the same effect. Gregory of Tours (I. vii, c. 45, in torn, ii, p. 311) speaks of many persons, who •iolil themselves for bread, in a great famine-
voi. vi. A a
354 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, imputed the imaginary disgrace of a Gallic, or *!L~L! Roman, extraction.
Example The general state and revolutions of France, a vergue. name which was imposed by the conquerors, may be illustrated by the particular example of a pro- vince, a diocess, or a senatorial family. Auvergne had formerly maintained a just pre-eminence among the independent states and cities of Gaul. The brave and numerous inhabitants displayed a singular trophy ; the sword of Caesar himself, which he had lost when he was repulsed before the wall of Gergovia.h As the common offspring of Troy, they claimed a fraternal alliance with the Romans ;! and if each province had imitated the courage and loyalty of Auvergne, the fall of the western empire might have been prevented, or delayed. They firmly maintained the fideli- ty which they had reluctantly sworn to the Vi- sigoths; but when their bravest nobles had fallen in the battle of Poitiers, they accepted, without resistance, a victorious and catholic so- vereign. This easy and valuable conquest was achieved, and possessed, by Theodoric, the eldest son of Clovis: but the remote province was separated from his Austrasian dominions, by the intermediate kingdoms of Soissons, Paris,
h When Caesar saw it, he laughed, (Plutarch, in Caesar, iu torn, i, p 409) : yet he relates his unsuccessful siege of Gergovia, with less frank- ness than we might expect from a great man to whom victory was fa- miliar. He acknowledges, however, that in one attack he lost forty- six centurions and seven hundred men, (de Bell. Gallico, 1. vi, c. 44 53, in torn, i, p. 370-272.
' Audebant se quondam fratres Latio dicere, et sanguine al> Iliaco populos computare, (Sidou. Apollinar. 1. vii, epist. 7, in torn. i. p. 7fc9). I am not informed of the degrees and circumstances of this fabulous pedigree.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 355
and Orleans, which formed, after their father's CHAP. death, the inheritance of his three brothers. The king of Paris, Childebert, was tempted by the neighbourhood and beauty of Auvergne.k The upper country, which rises towards the south into the mountains of the Cevennes, pre- sented a rich and various prospect of woods and pastures; the sides of the hills were clothed with vines; and each eminence was crowned with a villa or castle. In the Lower Auvergne, the river Allier flows through the fair and spa- cious plain of Limagne; and the inexhaustible fertility of the soil supplied, and still supplies, without any interval of repose, the constant re- petition of the same harvests.1 On the false re- port that their lawful sovereign hdd been slain in Germany, the city and diocess .of Auvergne were betrayed by the grandson of Sidonius Apollinaris. Childebert enjoyed this clandes- tine victory; and the free subjects of Theodoric threatened to desert his standard, if he indulged his private resentment, while the nation was en- gaged in the Burgundian war. But the Franks of Austrasia soon yielded to the persuasive elo- quence of their king. " Follow me," said The- odoric, "into Auvergne: I will lead you into a
k Eitber the first, or second, partition among the sons of Clovis, had given Berry to Childebert, (Greg. Turon. 1. iii, c. 12, in torn, ii, p. 192). Velim (said he) Arvernam I^cmanem, quae, tanta jocunditatis gratia re- fulgere dicitur oculis cernere, (1. iii, c. 9, p. 191). The face of the country was concealed by a thick fog, when the king of Paris made his entry into Clermont.
1 For the description of Auvergne, see Sidonius, (1. iv, epist. 21, in torn, i, p. 793), with the notes of Savaron and Sirmond, (p. 279 and 51 of their respective editions). Boulaiovilliers, Etat de la France, torn, ii, p. 242 268), and the Abbe de la Longuerue, (Description de la France, part i, p. 132-139).
356 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. " province, where you may acquire gold, silver "^ u slaves, cattle, and precious apparel, to the full " extent of your wishes. I repeat my promise; " 1 give you the people, and their wealth, as " your prey; and you may transport them at "pleasure into your own country." By the ex- ecution of this promise, Theodoric justly for- feited the allegiance of a people, whom he de- voted to destruction. His troops reinforced by the fiercest barbarians of Germany,"1 spread de* solation over the fruitful face of Auvergne; and two places only, a strong castle, and a holy shrine, were saved, or redeemed, from their li- centious fury. The castle of Meroliac* was seated on a lofty rock, which rose an hundred feet above the surface of the plain ; and a large reservoir of fresh water was inclosed, with some arable lands, within the circle of its fortifications. The Franks beheld with envy and despair, this impregnable fortress: but they surprised a party of fifty stragglers: and, as they were oppressed by the number of their captives, they fixed, at a trifling ransom, the alternative of life or death for these wretched victims, whom the cruel bar- barians were prepared to massacre on the re- fusal of the garrison. Another detachment pe-
m Furorem gentium, quse de ulteroire Rheni annis parte venerent, superare non poterat, (Greg. Turon. 1. iv, c. 50, in torn, ii, 229), was the excuse of another king of Austrasia, (A. D. 574), for the ravage* which his troops committed in the neighbourhood of Paris.
n From the name and situation, the Benedictine editors of Gregory of Tours, (in torn, ii, p. 192), have fixed this fortress at a place named Cmttel Merliac, two miles from Mauriac, in the Upper Auvergne. In thit description, 1 translate iitfra as if I read infra; the two prepositions •re perpetually confounded by Gregory, or hit transcribers ; and the fc'.'Bse must always decide.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 357
netrated as far as Brivas, or Brioude, where the CHAP. inhabitants, with their valuable effects, had ^ taken refuge in the sanctuary of St. Julian. The doors of the church resisted the assault; but a daring soldier entered through a window of the choir, and opened a passage to his com- panions. The clergy and people, the sacred and the profane spoils, were rudely torn from the altar; and the sacrilegious division was made at a small distance from the town of Brioude. But this act of impiety was severely chastised by the devout son of Clovis. He punished with death the most attrocious offenders ; left their se- cret accomplices to the vengeance of St. Julian; released the captives; restored the plunder; ^nd extended the rights of sanctuary, five miles round the sepulchre of the holy martyr.0
Before the Austrasian army retreated from Au. gtory Of i vergne, Theodoric exacted some pledges of the Attmlo»- future loyalty of a people, whose just hatred could be restrained only by their fear. A select band of noble youths, the sons of the principal senators, was delivered to the conqueror, as the hostages of the faith of Childebert, and of their countrymen. On the first rumour of war, or conspiracy, these guiltless youths were reduced to a state of servitude; and one of them, Atta- ins,9 whose adventures are most particularly re-
0 See these revolutions, and wars, of Auvergne in Gregory of Touit, (1. ii, c. 37, in torn, ii, p. 183, and 1. iii, c. 9, 12, 13, p. 191, 192, de Miraculis St. Julian, c. 13, in tom. in ii, p. 466). He frequently betrays his extraordinary attention to his native country.
p The story of Attalus is related by Gregory of Tours, (1. iii, c. 16, in torn, ii, p. 193-195). His editor, the P. Ruinart, confounds this At talus, who was a youth (puer) in the year 532, with a friend of Sido-
niui
358 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, lated, kept his master's horses in the diocess of _ Treves. After a painful search, he was disco- vered, in this unworthy occupation, by the emis- saries of his grandfather, Gregory bishop of Langres; but his offers of ransom were sternly rejected by the avarice of the barbarian, who required an exorbitant sum of ten pounds of gold for the freedom of his noble captive. His deliverance was effected by the hardy stratagem of Leo, a slave belonging to the kitchens of the bishop of Langres.q An unknown agent easily introducedhim into the same family. The bar- barian purchased Leo for the price of twelve pieces of gold; and was pleased to learn, that he was deeply skilled in the luxury of an episcopal table. "Next Sunday," said the Frank, " I shall " invite my neighbours and kinsmen. Exert " thy art, and force them to confess, that they " have never seen, or tasted, such an entertain- " ment even in the king's house." Leo assured him, that if he would provide a sufficient quantity of poultry, his wishes should be satisfied. The master, who already aspired to the merit of ele- gant hospitality, assumed, as his own, the praise which the voracious guests unanimously bestow- ed on his cook ; and the dextrous Leo insensibly
niut of the same name, who was count of Autun, fifty or sixty years before. Such an error, which cannot be imputed to ignorance, it ex. cused, in some degree, by its own magnitude.
* This Gregory, the great grandfather of Gregory of Tour*, (in toin. ii, I». 197, 490), lived ninety-two years ; of which he passed forty as Count of Autun, and thirty-two as bishop of Langres. According to the poet Fortunatus, he displayed equal merit in these different station* Nobilis antiqua decurreus prole parentum, Nobilior gcstis, nunc super astra maiict. Arbiter ante forox, dein pius ipse sacerdos, Quos domuit jurtex, fiuvet anmore patris.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 359
acquired the trust and management of his house- CHAP.
V V V y *a y
hold. After the patient expectation of a whole , rfff
year, he cautiously whispered his design to At- talus, and exhorted him to prepare for flight in the ensuing night. At the hour of midnight, the intemperate guests retired from table; and the Frank's son-in-law, whom Leo attended to his apartment with a nocturnal potation, conde- scended to jest on the facility with which he might betray his trust. The intrepid slave, after sustaining this dangerous raillery, entered his master's bed-chamber; removed his spear and shield; silently drew the fleetest horses from the stable; unbarred the ponderous gates; and excited Attalus to save his life and liberty by incessant diligence. Their apprehensions ur- ged them to leave their horses on the banks of the Meuse;r they swam the river, wandered three days in the adjacent forest, and subsisted only by the accidental discovery of a wild plum- tree. As they lay concealed in a dark thicket, , they heard the noise of horses ; they were terri- fied by the angry countenance of their master, and they anxiously listened to his declaration, that, if he could seize the guilty fugitives, one of them he would cut in pieces with his sword, and would expose the other on a gibbet. At length, Attalus, and his faithful Leo, reached the friendly habitation of a presbyter of Rheims, who recruited their fainting strength with bread and wine, concealed them from the search of
' As M. de Valois, and the P. Ruiuart, are determined to change the Moiellaof the text into MOOT, it becomes me to acquiesce in the altera- tion. Yet, after some examination of the topography, I could defend the common reading.
360 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, their enemy, and safely conducted them, beyond
tne limits of the Austrasian kingdom, to the episcopal palace of Langres. Gregory embraced his grandson with tears of joy, gratefully deli- vered Leo, with his whole family from the yoke of servitude, and bestowed on him the property of a farm, where he might end his days in hap- piness and freedom. Perhaps this singular ad- venture, which is marked with so many circum- stances of truth and nature, was related by At- talus himself, to his cousin, or nephew, the first historian of the Franks. Gregory of Tours' was born about sixty years after the death of Sidoni- us Apollinaris ; and their situation was almost similar, since each of them was a native of Au- vergne, a senator, and a bishop. The difference of their style and sentiments may, therefore, ex- press the decay of Gaul ; and clearly ascertain how much, in so short a space, the human mind had lost of its energy and refinement.1 Privilege* We are now qualified to despise the opposite, manhse f° an(^> PernaPs> artful, misrepresentations, which
Gaul.
* The parents of Gregory (Gregorius Florentius Georgius) were o( noble extraction, (natalibus . . . illuttresj, and they possessed large ei- tates (latif undid) both in Auvergne and Burgundy. He was born in the year 539, was consecrated bishop of Tours in 573, and died in 593, or 595, soon after he had terminated his history. See his life by Odo, ab- bot of Clugny, (in torn, ii, p. 129-135), and a new Life in the Memoires de PAcademie, &c. torn, xxvi, p. 698 637.
' Decendente atque immu potius pereunte ab urbibus Gallicanis liber- mliurn cultura literanum, &c. (in praefat. in torn, ii, p 137), is the com- plaint of Gregory himself, which he fully verifies by his own work. His style is equally devoid of elegance and simplicity. In a conspicuous sta- tion he still remained a stranger to his own age and country ; and in a prolix work (the five last books contain ten years) he has omitted al- most every thing that posterity desires to learn' I have tediously ac- quired, by a painful perusal, the right of pronouncing this unfavourable
sentence.
OR THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 361
have softened, or exaggerated, the oppression of CHAP.
the Romans of Gaul under the reign of the Me-
rovingians. The conquerors never promulgated any universal edict of servitude, or confiscation : but a degenerate people, who excused their weakness by the specious names of politeness and peace, was exposed to the arms and laws of the ferocious barbarians, who contemptuously in- sulted their possessions, their freedom and their safety. Their personal injuries were partial and irregular ; but the great body of the Ro- mans survived the revolution, and still pre- served the property, and privileges, of citizens. A large proportion of their lands was exacted for the use of the Franks : but they enjoyed ^he remainder, exempt from tribute ;u and the same irresistible violence which swept away the arts and manufactures of Gaul, destroyed the elaborate and expensive system of imperial despotism. The provincials must frequently deplore the savage jurisprudence of the Salic or Ripuarian laws ; but their private life, in the important concerns of marriage, testaments, or inheritance, was still regulated by the Theodo- sian Code; and a discontented Roman might freely aspire, or descend, to the character and title of a barbarian. The honours of the state were accessible to his ambition : the education and temper of the Romans more peculiarly qua- lified them for the offices of civil government ; and, as soon as emulation had rekindled their
" The Abbfc de Mably (torn, i, p. 247-267) b«s diligently confirmed thin opinion of the president de Montesquieu, (Esprit d«s Loiv, 1. x»,
«>62 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, military ardour, they were permitted to march rf in the ranks, or even at the head, of the victo- rious Germans. I shall not attempt to enume- rate the generals and magistrates, whose names* attest the liberal policy of the Merovingians. The supreme command of Burgundy, with the title of Patrician, was successively intrusted to the three Romans ; and the last, and most pow- erful, Mummolus/ who alternately saved and disturbed the monarchy, had supplanted his father in the station of count of Autun, and left a treasure of thirty talents of gold, and two hundred and fifty talents of silver. The fierce and illiterate barbarians were excluded during several generations, from the dignities, an^ even from the orders, of the church.1 The clergy of Gaul consisted almost entirely of na- tive provincials ; the haughty Franks fell pros- trate at the feet of their subjects, who were dignified with the episcopal character; and the power and riches which had been lost in war, were insensibly recovered by superstition.* In
x See DnboB, Hist. Critique de la Monarchic Franchise, torn, ii, 1. ri, c. 9, 10. The French antiquarians establish as a principle, that the Romans and barbarians may be distinguished by their names. Their names undoubtedly form a reasonable presumption ; yet in reading Gre- gory of Tours, I hare observed Gondulphus, of senateriau or Roman extraction, 1. v, c. 11, in torn, ii, p. 273), and Claudius, a barbarian, (I. rii, c. 29, p. 303).
* Eunius Mummolus is repeatedly mentioned by Gregory of Tours, from the fourth (c. 42, p. 224) to the seTenth (c. 40, p. 310) book. The computation by talents is singular enough ; but if Gregory attach- ed any meaning to that obsolete word, the treasures of Mummolui must have exceeded 100,0001. sterling.
1 See Fleury, Discours iii, sur 1'Histoire Ecclesiastique.
* The bishop of Tours himself has recorded the complaint of Chilpe- rie, the grandson of Cloris. Ecce pauper remausit Fiscus nosier ; ecce
diritite
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 363
all temporal affairs, the Theodosian Code was CHAP.
the universal law of the clergy ; but the barba-
ric jurisprudence had liberally provided for their personal safety : a sub-deacon was equi- valent to two Franks ; the antrustion, and priest, were held in a similar estimation ; and the life of a bishop was appreciated far above the com- mon standard, at the price of nine hundred pieces of gold.1 The Romans communicated to their conquerors the use of the Christian re- ligion and Latin language :c but their language and their religion had alike degenerated from the simple purity of the Augustan, and Apostolic, age. The progress of superstition and barbar- ism was rapid and universal : the worship of the saints concealed from vulgar eyes the God of the Christians ; and the rustic dialect of pea- sants and soldiers was corrupted by a Teutonic idiom and pronunciation. Yet such inter- course of sacred and social communion eradi- cated the distinctions of birth and victory ; and the nations of Gaul were gradually con-
divitite nostrae ad occlesias sunt trauslatae : nulli penitus nisi soli Epis- copi regnant, (1. vi, c. 46, in torn, ii, p. 291).
b See the Ripuarian Code, (tit. xxxvi, in torn, iv, p. 241). The Salic law dues not provide for the safety of the clergy, and we might suppose on the behalf of the more civilized tribe, that they had not foreseen such an impious act as the murder of a priest. Yet Praetextatus, arch- bishop of Rouen, wan assassinated by the order of Queen Fredeguudis before the altar, (Greg. Turon. 1. viii, c. 31, in torn, ii, p. 326\
c M. Bonamy (Mem. de 1' Academic des Inscriptions, torn, xxiv, p. 582-670) has ascertained the Lingua Rotnana Rustica, which, through the medium of the Romance, has gradually been polished into the ac- tual form of the French language. Under the Carlovingian race, the kings and nobles of France still understood the dialect of their German ancestoTs.
' .<•:•<
364 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, founded under the name and government of the MX™ Franks.
Anarchy The Franks, after they mingled with their Franks. Gallic subjects, might have imparted the most valuable of human gifts, a spirit, and system, of constitutional liberty. Under a king here- ditary but limited, the chiefs and counsellors might have debated, at Paris, in the palace of the Caesars : the adjacent field, where the em- perors reviewed their mercenary legions, would have admitted the legislative assembly of free- men and warriors ; and the rude model, which had been sketched in the woods of Germany/ might have been polished and improved by the civil wisdom of the Romans. But the careless barbarians, secure of their personal indepen- dence, disdained the labour of government : the annual assemblies of the month of March were silently abolished ; and the nation was separat- ed, and almost dissolved, by the conquest of Gaul.e The monarchy was left without any regular establishment of justice, of arms, or of 1 revenue. The successors of Clovis wanted re- solution to assume, or strength to exercise, the legislative and executive powers, which the peo- ple had abdicated : the royal prerogative was distinguished only by a more ample privilege of rapine and murder; and the love of freedom, so often invigorated and disgraced by private
d Ce beau systcme a £te trove dans les bois. Montesquieu, Esprit <ies Loix, 1. xi, c. 6.
e See the Abb6 de Mably, Observation*, &c. torn, i, p. 34-36. It should seem that the institution of national assemblies, which we coeval with the French nation, have never been congenial to its temper.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 3 60
ambition, was reduced, amone the licentious CHAP.
"X "v x v 1 1 1
Franks, to the contempt of order, and the de- sire of impunity. Seventy-five years after the death of Clovis, his grandson, Gontran, king of Burgundy, sent an army to invade the Gothic possessions of Septimania, or Lauguedoc. The troops of Burgundy, Berry, Auvergne, and the adjacent territories, were excited by the hopes of spoil. They marched, without disci- pline, under the banners of German, or Gallic, counts ; their attack was feeble and unsuccess- ful ; but the friendly and hostile provinces were desolated with indiscriminate rage. The corn fields, the villages, the churches themselves, were consumed by fire; the inhabitants were massacred or dragged into captivity ; and, in the disorderly retreat, five thousand of these inhuman savages were destroyed by hunger or intestine discord. When the pious Gontran re- proached the guilt, or neglect of their leaders ; and threatened to inflict not a legal sentence, but instant and arbitrary execution ; they accused the universal and incurable corruption of the people. " No one," they said, " any longer " fears or respects his king, his duke, or his " count. Each man loves to do evil, and " freely indulges his criminal inclinations. The " most gentle correction provokes an immediate " tumult, and the rash magistrate, who pre- " sumes to censure or restrain his seditious " subjects, seldom escapes alive from their re- " venge."1 It has been reserved for the same
1 Gregory of Toon (1. viii, c. 30, in torn, ii, p. 325, 326) relates, with
milch
366 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, nation to expose, by their intemperate vices, the
XXXVIII .
most odious abuse of freedom; and to supply its loss by the spirit of honour and humanity, which now alleviates and dignifies their obedi- ence to an absolute sovereign.
O
JortJof" ^ne Visigoths had resigned to Clovis the great- Spain, est part of their Gallic possessions; but their loss was amply compensated by the easy con- quest, and secure enjoyment, of the provinces of Spain. From the monarchy of the Goths, which soon involved the Suevic kingdom of Gal- licia, the modern Spaniards still derive some national vanity: but the historian of the Roman Empire is neither invited, nor compelled to pur- sue the obscure and barren series of their an- nals.8 The Goths of Spain were separatee from the rest of mankind, by the lofty ridge of the Pyrenaean mountains: their manners and institutions, as far as they were common to the Germanic tribes, have been already explained. 1 have anticipated, in the preceding chapter, the most important of their ecclesiastical events, the fall of Arianism, and the persecution of the Jews: and it only remains to observe some in- teresting circumstances, which relate to the ci-
much indifference, the crimes, the reproof, and the apology. Nullus Regein mctuit, nullus Ducem, nuIIusComitem reveretur,- et si fortassis alicui ista displicent, etea, pro longaevitate vitae restrse, emendare cona- tur, statim seditioin populo, statim tumult us exoritur, et in tautum un- usquisque contra seniorem, Saeva intentione grassatiir, ut vix se credat evadere, si tandem silere nequiverit.
6 Spain in these dark ages, has been peculiarly unfortunate. The Franks had a Gregory of Tours ; the Saxons, or Angles, a Bede ; the Lombards, a Paul VVarnefrid, &c. bnt the history of the Visigoths is con- tained in the short and imperfect chronicles of Isidore of Seville, and John of Biciar.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 367
vil and ecclesiastical constitution of the Spanish CHAP. i • T xxxvn
kingdom.
C> , +++•+++**++
After their conversion from idolatry or here-
sy, the Franks and the Visigoths, were disposed biles of to embrace, with equal submission, the inherent Spain- evils and the accidental benefits, of superstition. But the prelates of France, long before the ex- tinction of the Merovingian race, had degene- rated into fighting and hunting barbarians. They disdained the use of synods; forgot the laws of temperance and chastity; and preferred the indulgence of private ambition and luxury, to the general interest of the sacerdotal pro- fession.11 The bishops of Spain repected them- selves, and were respected by the public; their indissoluble union disguised their vices, and con- firmed their authority; and the regular discipline of the church introduced peace, order, and sta- bility, into-the government of the state. From the reign of Recared, the first catholic king, to that of Witiza, the immediate predecessor of the un- fortunate Roderic, sixteen national councils were successively convened. The, six metro- politans,Toledo, Seville, Merida, Braga, Tarra- gona, and Narbonne, presided according to their respective seniority ; the assembly was compos- ed of their suffragan bishops, who appeared in person, or by their proxies; and a place was as- signed to the most holy or opulent of the Spa- nish abbots. During the first three days of the
h Such are the complaints of St. Boniface, the apo»tle of Germany, and the reformer of Gaul, (in torn, iv, p. 94). The fourscore years, which he deplores, of license and corruption, would seem to insinuate, that the barbarians were admitted into the clergy about the year 660.
368 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, convocation, as long as they agitated the ecclcsi-
„„! astical questions of doctrine and discipline,
the profane laity was excluded from their de- bates; which were conducted, however, with decent solemnity. But on the morning of the fourth day, the doors were thrown open for the entrance of the great officers of the palace, the dukes and counts of the provinces, the judges of the cities, and the Gothic nobles ; and the de- crees of heaven were ratified by the consent of the people. The same rules were observed in the provincial assemblies, the annual synods which were empowered to hear complaints, and to redress grievances; and a legal government was supported by the prevailing influence of the Spanish clergy. The bishops, who in each vy volution, were prepared to flatter the victorious, and to insult the prostrate, laboured with dili- gence and success, to kindle the flames of per secution, and to exalt the mitre above the crown. Yet the national councils of Toledo, in which the free spirit of the barbarians was tem- pered and guided by episcopal policy, have es- tablished some prudent laws for the common benefit of the king and people. The vacancy of the throne was supplied by the choice of the bishops and palatines: and, after the failure of the line of Alaric, the regal dignity was still li- mited to the pure and noble blood of the Goths. The clergy, who anointed their lawful prince, always recommended, and sometimes practised, the duty of allegiance ; and the spiritual cen- sures were denounced on the heads of the iinpi-
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 369
ous subjects, who should resist his authority, CHAP. conspire against his life, or violate by aninde- JJJJJJJ cent union, the chastity even of his widow. But the monarch himself, when he ascended the throne, was bound, by a reciprocal oath to God and his people, that he would faithfully ex- ecute his important trust. The real or imagi- nary faults of his administration were subject to the controul of a powerful aristocracy; and the bishops and palestines were guarded by a fundamental privilege, that they should not be degraded, imprisoned, tortured, nor punished with death, exile or confiscation, unless by the free and public judgment of their peers.1
One of these legislative councils of Toledo code of examined and ratified the code of laws which g0f Jlsl~ had been compiled by a succession of Gothic kings, from the fierce Euric, to the devout Egica. As long as the Visigoths themselves were satis- fied with the rude customs of their ancestors, they indulged their subjects of Aquitain and Spain in the enjoyment of the Roman law. Their gradual improvement in arts, in policy, and at length in religion, encouraged them to imitate, and to supersede, these foreign insti- tutions and to compose a code of civil and cri- minal jurisprudence, for the use of a great and united people. The same obligations, and the
1 The acts of the councils of Toledo are still the most authentic re- cords of the church and constitution of Spain. The following passages are particularly important, (iii, 17, 18; iv, 75 ; v, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8; ri, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18 ; vii, 1 ; xiii, 2, 3, 6). I have found Mascou, (Hut. of the ancient Germans, xv, 29, and Annotations, xxvi and xxxiii), and Fcrreras, (Hist. Generate de PEspagne, torn, ii), very useful aud accu- rate guides
VOL. vi. B b
370 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, same privileges, were communicated to the na- 11 tions of the Spanish monarchy : and the con- querors, insensibly renouncing the Teutonic idiom, submitted, to the restraints of equity, and exalted the Romans to the participation of freedom. The merit of this impartial policy was enhanced by the situation of Spain, under the reign of the Visigoths. The provincials were long separated from their Arian masters by the irreconciliable difference of religion. After the conversion of Recard had removed the prejudices of the catholics, the coasts, both of the Ocean and Mediterranean, were still possessed by the eastern emperors; who secret- ly excited a discontented people to reject the yoke of the barbarians, and to assert the name and dignity of Roman citizens. The allegiance of doubtful subjects is indeed most effectually secured by their own persuasion, that they ha- zard more in a revolt, than they can hope to ob- tain by revolution; but it has appeared so na- tural to oppress those whom we hate and fear, that the contrary system well deserves the praise of wisdom and moderation/ Revoiu- While the kingdoms of the Franks and Visi- Britain. goths were established in Gaul and Spain, the Saxons achieved the conquest of Britain, the tKirtl great dioc€s¥"£tftKe]prefecture of the West.
k The Code of the Visigoths, regularly divided into twelve books, has been correctly published by Dom Bouquet, (in torn, iv, p. 273-460). It has been treated by the president de Montesquieu (Esprit des Loix. 1. xxviii, c. 1) with excessive severity. I dislike the style ; I detest the superstition ; but I shall presume to think, that the civil jurispru- dence displays a more civilized and enlightened state of society, than that of the Burguudiani, or even of the Lombards.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 37 1
Since Britain was already separated from the CHAP.
Roman empire, I might, without reproach, de- „„ „
cline a story familiar to the most illiterate, and obscuretpthe most J[e^rae3".~^n5jr rea9ers. The saxons, who excelled in the use of the oar, or the battle-axe, were ignorant of the art which could alone perpetuate the fame of their ex- ploits; the provincials, relapsing into barbarism, neglected to describe the ruin of their country ; and the doubtful tradition was almost extin- guished, before the misisonaries of Rome re- stored the light of science and Christianity. The declamations of Gildas, the fragments, or fables, of Nennius, the obscure hints of the Sax- on laws and chronicles, and the ecclesiastical tales of the venerable Bede,1 have been illustra- ted by the" diligence, amTsometimes embellished by the fancy, of succeeding writers, whose works I am not ambitious either to censure or to transcribe."1 Yet the historian of the empire may be tempted to pursue the revolutions of a Roman province, till it vanishes from his sight ; and an Englishman may curiously trace the es- tablishment of the barbarians, from whom he derives his name, his laws, and perhaps his origin.
1 See Gildas de Excidio Britain*, c. 11-25, p 4-9, dit. Gale .- Nenni- us Hist. Britonum, c. 28, 35-65, p. 105-115, edit. Gale : Bede Hist. Ec- clesiast. Gentis Anglorum, 1. i, c. 12-16, p. 49-53 ; c. 22, p. 58, edit fmith : Chron. Saxonicuin, p. 11-23, &c. edit. Gibson. The Anglu Saxon laws were published by Wilkins, London, 1731, in folio ; and the Leges Wallicse, by Wotton and Clarke, London, 1730, in folio.
m The laborious Mr. Carte, and the ingenious Mr. Whitaker, are the two modern writers to whom I am principally indebted. Thepai- ticular historian of Manchester embraces, under that obscure title, a subject almost as extensive at the general History of England.
372 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP. About forty years after the dissolution of the
_**, f Roman government, Vortigern appears to have
Descent o( obtained the supreme, though precarious, com- ons, * mand of the princes and cities of Britain. That A. D. 449. unfortunate monarch has been almost unani- mously condemned for the weak and mischiev- ous policy of inviting" a formidable stranger, to repel the vexatious inroads of a domestic foe. His ambassadors are despatched, by the gravest historians, to the coast of Germany ; they address a pathetic oration to the general assembly of the Saxons, and those warlike barbarians re- solve to assist with a fleet and army the suppli- ants of a distant and unknown island. If Bri- tain had indeed been unknown to the Saxons, the measure of its calamities would have been less complete. But the strength of the Roman government could not always guard the mara- time province against the pirates of Germany; the independent and divided states were expos- ed to their attacks ; and the Saxons might some- times join the Scots and the Picts, in a tacit, or express, confederacy of Yapine and destruction. Vortigern could only balance the various perils, which assaulted on every side his throne and his people; and his policy may deserve either praise or excuse, if he preferred the alliance of those barbarians, whose naval power rendered
n This invitation, which may derive some countenance from the loose expressions of Gildas and Bede, is framed into a regular story by Witi- kind, a Saxon monk of the tenth century, (See Cousin, Hist, de 1'Em- pire d'Occideut, torn, ii, p. 356). Rapine, and even Hume, have too freely used this suspicious evidence, without regarding the precise and probable testimony of Nennius ; Interea venerunt tres Chiulss a Gcr- maaii in exilio pulsa, in quibus en-ant Hers et Hengist.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 373
them the most dangerous enemies and the most CHAP. serviceable allies. Hengist and Horsa, as they f ranged along the eastern coast with three ships, were engaged, by the promise of an ample sti- pend, to embrace the defence of Britain; and their intrepid valour soon delivered the country from the Caledonian invaders. The isle of Thanet, a secure and fertile district, was allot- ted for the residence of these German auxiliaries, and they were supplied, according to the treaty, with a plentiful allowance of clothing and pro- visions. This favourable reception encouraged five thousand warriors to embark with their fa- milies in seventeen vessels, and the infant power of Hengist was fortified by this strong and sea- sonable reinforcement. The crafty barbarian suggested to Vortigern the obvious advantage of fixing in the neighbourhood of the Picts, a colony of faithful allies: a third fleet of forty ships, under the command of his son and ne- phew, sailed from Germany, ravaged the Ork- neys, and disembarked a new army on the coast of Northumberland, or Lothian, at the opposite extremity of the devoted land? It was easy to foresee, but it was impossible to prevent, the im- pending evils. The two nations were soon di- vided and exasperated by mutual jealousies. The Saxons magnified all that they had done and suffered in the cause of an ungrateful people; while the Britons regretted the liberal rewards which could not satisfy the avarice of those haughty mercenaries. The causes of fear and hatred were inflamed into an irreconcilable quarrel. The Saxons flew to arms; and if they
374 THE DECLINE AND FAL
CHAP, perpetrated a treacherous massacre during the
XXXV11I
security of a feast, they destroyed the recipro- cal confidence which sustains the intercourse of peace and war.0
mVnt'of11" Hengist, who boldly aspired to the conquest the saxon of Britain, exhorted his countrymen to embrace A. D. 455-' the glorious opportunity: he painted in lively 682* colours the fertility of the soil, the wealth of the cities, the pusillanimous temper of the na- tives, and the convenient situation of a spacious solitary island, accessible on all sides to the Saxon fleets. The successive colonies which issued, in the period of a century, from the mouths of the Elbe, the Weser and the Rhine, were principally composed of three valiant tribes or nations of Germany ; the Jutes, the old Saxons and the Angles. The Jutes, who fought under the peculiar banner of Hengist, assumed the merit of leading their countrymen in the paths of glory, and of erecting, in Kent, the first independent kingdom. The fame of the enterprise was attributed to the primitive Saxons ; and the "common laws and language o£ the conquerors are described by the national appellation of a people, which, at the end of four hundred years, produced the firstmonarchs of South Britain. The Angles were distin- guished by their numbers and their success ;
0 Nennius imputes to the Saxons the murder of tbrce hundred British chiefs j a crime not unsuitable to their savage manners. But we are not obliged to believe, (See Jeffrey of Monmoutb, 1. viii, c. 9-12), that Stonehenge is their monument, which the giants had formerly tranu* ported from Africa to Ireland, and which was removed to Britain by the order of Ambrosius, and the art of Merlin.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 375
and they claimed the honour of fixing a perpe- CHAP.
XXXVIII
tual name on the country, of which they occu- ^^ ^
pied the most ample portion. The barbarians/ who followed the hopes of rapine either on the land or sea, were insensibly blended with this triple confederacy; the Frisians, who had been tempted by their vicinity to the British shores, might balance, during a short space, the strength and reputation of the native Saxons ; the Danes, the Prussians, the Rugians, are faintly described ; and some adventurous Huns, who had wandered as far as the Baltic, might embark on board the German vessels, for the conquest of a new world. p But this arduous achievement was not prepared or executed by the union of national powers. Each intrepid jhieftain, according to the measure of his fame and fortunes, assembled his followers ; equip- ped a fleet of three, or perhaps of sixty, vessels ; chose the place of the attack ; and conducted his subsequent operations according to the events of the war, and the dictates of his private interest. In the invasion of B ritain many heroes vanquished and fell ; but only seven victorious leaders assumed, or at least maintained, the title of kings. Seven independent thrones, the Saxon Heptarchy, were founded by the con- querors, and seven families, one of which has been continued, by female succession, to our
p All these tribes are expressly enumerated by Bede, (1. i, c. IS, p. 62 ; 1. v, c. 9, p. 190) ; and though I have considered Mr. Whi taker's remarks, (Hist, of Manchester, vol. ii, p. 538-543), I do not perceive the absurdity of supposing that the Frisians, &c. were mingled "with the Anglo-Saxons.
376 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, present sovereign, derived their equal and sa-
rf cred lineage from Woden, the god of war, it
has been pretended, that this republic of kings,
was moderated bv a general council and a su-
v O
preme magistrate. But such an artificial
scheme of policy is repugnant to the rude and
turbulent spirit of the Saxons : their laws are
silent; and their imperfect annals afford only a
dark and bloody prospect of intestine discord/1
state of A monk, who in the profound ignorance of
the Bri- human life, has presumed to exercise the office
tOlli.
of historian, strangely disfigures the state of Britain at the time of its separation from the western empire. Gildasr describes in florid language the improvements of agriculture, the foreign trade which flowed with every tide into the Thames and the Severn, the solid and lofty construction of public and private edifices : he accuses the sinful luxury of the British people ; of a people, according to the same writer, igno- rant of the most simple arts, and, incapable, without the aid of the Romans, of providing walls of stone, or weapons of iron, for the de- fence of their native land.5 Under the long do- minion of the emperors, Britain had been insen-
i Bede has enumerated seren kings, two Saxons, a Jute, and four Angles, who successively acquired in the heptarchy, an indefinite su- premacy of power and renown. But their reign was the effect, not of law, but of conquest; and he observes, in similar terms, that one of them subdued the Isles of Man and Anglesey ; and that another im- posed a tribute on the Scots and Picts, (Hist. Eccles, 1. ii, c. 5, p. 83).
r See Gildas dc Excidio Britannia*, c. i, p. 1, edit. Gale.
• Mr. Whitaker (History of Manchester, vol. ii, p. 503, 516) has smartly exposed this glaring absurdity, which had passed unnoticed by the general historian*, as they were hastening to more interesting and important events.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 377
sibly mouMedJnto^e^d^Mlland servile form of a Roman province, whose safety was intrust- eel to a foreign power. The subjects of Hono- rius contemplated their new freedom with sur- prise and terror ; they were left destitute of any civil or military constitution ; and their uncertain rulers wanted either skill, or cou- rage, or authority, to direct the public force against the common enemy. The introduction of the Saxons betrayed their internal weakness, and degraded the character both of the prince and people. Their consternation magnified the danger ; the want of union diminished their re- sources ; and the madness of civil factions was more solicitous to accuse, than to remedy, the evils, which they imputed to the misconduct of their adversaries. Yet the Britons were not ignorant, they could not be ignorant, of the ma- nufacture or the use of arms : the successive and disorderly attacks of the Saxons, allowed them to recover from their amazement, and the prosperous or adverse events of the war added discipline and experience to their native valour.
While the continent of Europe and Africa Their «. yielded without resistance, to the barbarians, 81itiUM*» the British island, alone and unaided, maintain- ed, a long, a vigorous, though an unsuccessful struggle, against the formidable pirates, who, almost at the same instant, assaulted the north- ern, the eastern, and the southern coasts. The cities which had been fortified with skill, were defended with resolution; the advantages of ground, hills, forests, and morasses, were dili-
378 THE DECLINE AND FALL ,
CHAP, gently improved by the inhabitants ; the con-
„ ^ quest of each district was purchased with
blood ; and the defeats of the Saxons are strongly attested by the discreet silence of their annalist. Hengist might hope to achieve the conquest of Britain ; but his ambition, in an active reign of thirty-five years, was confined to the possession of Kent ; and the numerous colony which he had planted in the North, was extirpated by the sword of the Britons. The monarchy of the West-Saxons was laboriously founded by the persevering efforts of three martial generations. The life of Cerdic, one of the bravest of the children of Woden, was consumed in the conquest of Hampshire, and the isle of Wight ; and the loss which he sus- tained in, the battle of Mount Babon, reduced him to a state of inglorious repose. Kenric, his valiant son, advanced into Wiltshire : be- sieged Salisbury, at that time seated on a com- manding eminence ; and vanquished an army which advanced to the relief of the city. In the subsequent battle of Marlborough,1 his Bri- tish enemies displayed their military science. Their troops were formed in three lines ; each line consisted of three distinct bodies, and the cavalry, the archers, and the pikemen, were distributed according to the principles of Ro- man tactics. The Saxons charged in one
' At Beran-birig, or Barbury rattle, near Marl borough. The Saxon chronicle assigns tbe name and date. Cambden (Britannia, vol. i, p. 128) ascertains tbe place; and Henry of Huntingdon (Scriptores post Bedam, p. 314) relates tbe circumstances of this battle. They are pro- bable and characterestic ; and the historians of tbe twelfth century might 'consult some materials that no longer exist.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. . ' 379
weiffhty column, boldly encountered with their CHAP.
. XXXVIII
short swords the long lances of the Britons, „„
and maintained an equal conflict till the ap- proach of night. Two decisive victories, the death of three Britishkings, and the reduction of Cirencester, Bath, and Gloucester, established the fame and power of Ceaulin, the grandson of Cerdic, who carried his victorious arms to the banks of the Severn.
After a war of an hundred years, the inde- and flight. pendent Britons still occupied the whole ex- tent of the western coast, from the wall of An- toninus to the extreme promontory of Cornwall; and the principal cities of the inland country still opposed the arms of the barbarians. Re- sistance became more languid, as the number and boldness of the assailants continually in- creased. Winning their way by slow and pain- ful efforts, the Saxons, the Angles, and their various confederates, advanced from the North, from the East, from the South, till their victo- rious banners were united in the centre of the island. Beyond the Severn, the Britons still asserted their national freedom, which survived the heptarchy, and even the monarchy, of the Saxons. The bravest warriors, who preferred exile to slavery, found a secure refuge in the mountains of Wales : the reluctant submission fj
•
of Cornwall was delayed for some ages:u and a
" Cornwall was finally subdued by Athelstan, (A. D. 927-941), who planted an English colony at Exeter, and confined the Britons beyond the rirer Tamar. See William of Malmsbury, 1. ii, in the Scriptores post Bedatn, p. 50. The spirit of the Cornish knights was degraded by servitude ; and it should seem, from the Romtrce of Sir Tristram, that their cowardice was almost proverbial.
I/
880 THE DECLINE AND
CHAP, band of fugitives acquired a settlement in Gaul, " by their own valour, or the liberality of the Me- rovingian kings.* The western angle of Armo- rica acquired the new appellations of Cornwall, and the Lesser Britain ; and the vacant lands of the Osismii were filled by a strange people, who, under the authority of their counts and bishops, preserved the laws and language of their ancestors. To the feeble descendants of Clovis and Charlemagne, the Britons of Armo- rica refused the customary tribute, subdued the neighbouring diocesses of Vannes,^Rennes, and Nantes, and formed a powerful, though vassal, state, which has been united to the crown of France.7
The fame ^n a centurv °f perpetual, or at least implac-
of Arthur, able, war, much courage, and some skill, must
have been exerted for the defence of Britain.
1 The establishment of the Britons in Gaul it preyed in the sixth century, by Procopius, Gregory of Tours, the second council of Tour*, (A. D. 567), and the least suspicious of their chronicles and liven of saints. The subscription of a bishop of the Britons to the first council of Tours, (A. D. 461, or rather 481), the army of Riothamus, and the loose declamation of Gildas, (alii trnusmarinas petebant regiones, c. 25, p. 8), may countenance an emigration as early as the middle of the fifth century. Beyond that era, the Britons of Armoriea can be found only in romance ; and I am surprised that Mr. Whitaker (Genuine History of the Britons, p. 214-221) should so faithfully transcribe the gross ignorance of Carte, whose venial errors he has so vigorously chastised.
i The antiquities of Bretange, which have been the subject even wf political controversy, are illustrated l>y Hadrian Valesius, (Notitia Gal- Harum, sub voce Jiritunniu Cismarina, p. 98-100) ; M. d'Anville, (No- tice de 1'Ancienne Gaul, Corisopiti, Cutiosolites, Osismii, Vorganium, p. 248, 258, 508, 720, and Elats de 1'Europe, p. 76-80) ; Longuerue, (De scription de la France, torn, i, p- 84-94). and the Abbe de Vertot, (Hist. Critique de rEstab'.issement des Bretons dans les Gaules, 2 vol. in 12mo j Paris, 1720). I may atsunie the merit of examining the origi- uil evidence which they have produced.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 381
Yet if the memory of its champions is almost CHAP.
XXXVIII
buried in oblivion, jwe need not repine ; since
every age, however destitute of science or vir- tue^ sufficiently abounds i with 'acls*l>f blOod
1 -» Hm*fF.'*> '•«<n»^o^»-i«w»l»l»W«»«ga«r>lVif"~l"f^<*>*^fM*^
and military renown. I he tomb of vortimer,
•••••••••(lMVta^^J|plMV0nMV%
the son of Vortigern, was erected on the margin of the sea-shore, as a landmark formidable to the Saxons whom he had thrice vanquished in the fields of Kent. Ambrosius Aurelian was descended from a noble family of Romans ;z his modesty was equal to his valour, and his va- lour, till the last fatal action,* was crowned with splendid success. But every British name is effaced by the illustrious name of AR- THUR,1* the hereditary prince of the Silurcs, in * South Wales, and the elective king or general of the nation, According to the most rational account, he defeated, in twelve successive bat- tles, the Angles of the North, and the Saxons of the West ; but the declining age of the hero was embittered by popular ingratitude, and do-
1 BeHe, who, in his chronicle, (p. 28), places Atnbrosius under the reign of Zeno, (A., n. 474-491), observes, that his parents had been " purpura induti ," which he explains, in his ecclesiastical history, by " regium nomen et insigne ferentibus," (I. i, c. 16, p. 53). The expres- sion of Neunius (c. 44, p. 110, edit Gale) is still more singular, " Unus de consulibut gentis Romanicae est pater nieus."
K By the unanimous, though doubtful, conjecture of our antiquarians, Ambrosius is confounded with Natanleod, who (A. D. 508) lost his own life, and five thousand of his subjects, in a battle against, Cerdic, the West Saxon, (Chron. Saxon, p. 17, 18).
b As I am a stranger to the Welsh bards, Myrdhin, Llomarch, and and Taliessiu, my faith in the existence and exploits of Arthur princi- pally rests on the simple and circumstantial testimony of Nennius, (Hist. Brit. e. 62, 63, p. 114). Mr. WLitaker (Hist, of Manchester, vvl. ii, p. 31-71) has framed an interesting, and even probable, narrative of the wart of Arthur : though it it is impossible to allow the reality of the round table.
382 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, mestic misfortunes. The events of his life are
"V" V V \7| TT
-~WM. less interesting, than the singular revolutions of his fame. During a period of five hundred years the tradition of his exploits was preserv- ed, and rudely embellished, by the obscure bards of Wales and Armorica, who were odious to the Saxons, and unknown to the rest of man- kind. The pride and curiosity of the Norman conquerors, prompted them to inquire into the ancient history of Britain : they listened with fond credulity to the tale of Arthur, and eager- ly applauded the merit of a prince, who had triumphed over the Saxons, their common ene- mies. His romance, transcribed in the Latin of Jeffrey of Monmouth, and afterwards trans- lated into the fashionable idiom of the times was enriched with the various, though incohe rent, ornaments, which were familiar to the experience, the learning, or the fancy, of the twelfth century. The progress of a Phrygian colony, from the Tiber to the Thames, was ea- sily engrafted on the fable of the JEneid ; and the royal ancestors of Arthur derived their origin from Troy, and claimed their alliance with the Ca3sars. His trophies were decorated with captive provinces, and imperial titles ; and his Danish victories avenged the recent inju- ries of his country. The gallantry and super- stition of the British hero, his feasts and tour- naments, and the memorable institution of his Knights of the Round Table, were faithfully copied from the reigning manners of chivalry ; and the fabulous exploits of Uther's son, ap- pear less incredible, than the adventures which
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 383
were achieved by the enterprising valour of the CHAT.
• XXXVlll
Normans. Pilgrimage, and the holy wars, in-, , .
troduced into Europe the specious miracles of Arabian magic. Fairies, and giants, flying dragons, and enchanted palaces, were blended with the more simple fictions of the West ; and the fate of Britain depended on the art, or the predictions of Merlin. Every nation embraced and adorned the popular romance of Arthur, and the Knights of the Round Table: their names were celebrated in Greece and Italy ; and the voluminous tales of Sir Launcelot and Sir Tristram were devoutly studied by the princes and nobles, who disregarded the ge- nuine theroes and historians of antiquity. At length the light of science and reason was re- kindled : the talisman was broken ; the vision- ary fabric melted into air ; and by a natural, though unjust, reverseoi* the public opinion, the seventy of the present age is inclined to ques- tion the existence of Arthur.
Resistance, if it cannot avert, must increase the miseries of conquest; and conquest has never ap- Britain peared more dreadful and destructive than in the hands of the Saxons : who hated the valour of their enemies, disdained the faith of treaties, and violated, without remorse, the most sacred objects of the Christian worship. The fields of battle might be traced, almost in every district, by mo-
c The progress of romance, and the state of learning, in the middle ages, are illustrated by Mr. Thomas Wharton, with the taste of a poet, and the minute diligence of an antiquarian. 1 hare derived much n- •truction from the two learned dissertations prefixed to the first volume of his History of English Poetry.
384 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, numents of bones ; the fragments of falling towers were stained with blood ; the last of the Britons, without distinction of age or sex, was massa- cred* in the ruins of Anderida;' and the repeti- tion of such calamities was frequent and fami- liar under the Saxon heptarchy. The arts and religion, the laws and language, which the Romans had so carefully planted in Britain, were extirpated by their barbarous successors. After the destruction of the principal churches, the bishops, whohad declined the crown of martyrdom, retired with the holy relics into Wales and Arrnorica; the remainder of their flocks were left destitute of any spiritual food; the practice, arid even the remembrance, of Christianity were abolished; and the British clergy might obtain some comfort from the dam- nation of the idolatrous strangers. The king of France maintained the privileges of their Roman subjects; but the ferocious Saxons trampled on the laws of Rome, and of the emperors. The proceedings of civil and criminal jurisdiction, the titles of honour, the forms of office, the ranks of society, and even the domestic rights of mar- riage, testament, and inheritance, were finally suppressed; and the indiscriminate crowd of no-
* Hoc anno (490) /Ella et Cisss obsederunt Andredes-Ceaster ; ct in- terfecerunt omncs qui id incoluerunt ; adeo ut ne unus Brito ibi super- stes fuerit, (Chron. Saxon, p. 15) ; an expression more dreadful in its simplicity, that all the vague and tedious lamentations of the British Jeremiah.
' Andredes-Ceaster, or Anderida, is placed by Cambden (Britannia, vol. i, p. 258) at Newenden, in the marshy grounds of Kent, which might be formerly covered by the sea, and on the edge of the great fo- rest, (Anderida), which overspread so large a portion of Hampshire and Sussex
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 385
ble and plebeian slaves was governed by the tra- CHAP.
Y V Y 17 f I I
ditionary customs, which had been coarsely framed for the shepherds and pirates of Germa- ny. The language of science, of business, and of conversation, which had been introduced by the Romans, was lost in the general desolation. A sufficient number of Latin or Celtic words might be assumed by the Germans, to express their new wants and ideas ;f but those illiterate pagans preserved and established the use of their national dialect.8 Almost every name, conspicuous either in the church or state, reveals its Teutonic origin;11 and the geography of En- gland was universally inscribed with foreign characters and appellations. The example of a revolution, so rapid and so complete, may not easily be found; but it will excite a probable suspicion, that the arts of Rome were less deeply rooted in Britain than in Gaul or Spain; and that the native rudeness of the country and its inhabitants, was covered by a thin varnish of Italian manners.
This strange alteration has persuaded histo- servitude. rians, and even philosophers, that the provin- cials of Britain were totally exterminated; and
f Dr. Johnson affirms that few English words are of British extrac- tion. Mr. Whitaker, who understands the British language, has dis- covered more than three thousand, and actually produces a long and va- rious catalogue, (vol. ii, p. 25-329). It is possible, indeed, that many of these words may have been imported from the Latin or Saxon into the native idiom of Britain.
B In the beginning of the seventh century, the Franks and the An- glo-saxons mutually understood each other's language, which was de- rived from the same Teutonic root, (Bede, 1. i, c- 25, p. 60).
h After the first generation of Italian, or Scottish, missionaries, the dignities of the church were filled withSaxou proselytes.
VOL. VI. C C
38<5 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, that the vacant land was again peopled by the **i!!!! perpetual influx, and rapid increase, of the Ger- man colonies. Three hundred thousand Sax- ons are said to have obeyed the summons of Hengist ;! the entire emigration of the Angles was attested, in the age of Bede, by the solitude of their native country ;k and our experience has shown the free propagation of the human race, if they are cast on a fruitful wilderness, where their steps are unconfined, and their subsistence is plentiful. The Saxon kingdoms displayed the face of recent discovery and cultivation; the towns were small, the villages were distant; the husbandry was languid and unskilful; four sheep were equivalent to an acre of the best land ;' an ample space of wood and morass was resigned to the vague dominion of nature; and the modern bishopric of Durham, the whole ter- ritory from the Tyne to the Tees, had returned to its primitive state of a savage and solitary forest.m Such imperfect population might have been supplied, in some generations, by the En-
1 Carte's History of England, vol. i, p. 195. He quotes the British historians; but I much fear, that Jeffrey of Monmouth (1. vi, c. 15) is his only witness.
k Bede, Hist. Ecclesiest. 1. i, c. 15, p. £2. The fact is probable, and well attested : yet such was the loose intermixture of the German tribes, that we find, in a subsequent period, the law of the Angli aud Warini of Germany, (Lindenbrog. Condex, p. 479-486).
1 See Dr. Henry's useful and laborious History of Great Britain, vol. 'i, p. 388.
m Quit-quid (says John of Tinemouth) inter Tynam et Tesam fluvios extitit sola eremi vastitudo tune temporis fuit, et idcirco uullius ditioui servi>it, eo quod sola indomitorum et sylvestrium aniinalium spelunca ct Labitatio fuit, (apud Carte, vol. i, p. 195). From Bishop Nicholson, (English Historical Library, p. 65, 98), I understand that fair copies of John Tinemouth'e ample collections are preserved in the libraries of Oxfoul. Lambeth, &c.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
glish colonies ; but neither reason nor facts can GHWP: justify the unnatural supposition, that the Sax- J ons of Britain remained alone in the desert which they had subdued. After the sanguinar ry barbarians had secured their dominion, and gratified their revenge, it was their interest to preserve the peasants, as well as the cattle, of the unresisting country. In each successive revolution, the patient herd becomes the pro- perty of its new masters ; and the salutary com* pact of food and labour is silently ratified by their mutual necessities. Wilfred, the apostle of Sussex," accepted from his. royal convert the gift of the peninsula of Selsey, near Chichester, with the persons and property of its inhabitants, who then amounted to eighty-seven families. He released them at once from spiritual and temporal bondage ; and two hundred and fifty slaves of both sexes were baptized by their in- dulgent master. The kingdom of Sussex, which spread from the sea to the Thames, contained seven thousand families ; twelve hundred were ascribed to the Isle of Wight ; and, if we mul- tiply this vague computation, it may seem pro- bable, that England was cultivated by a mil- lion of servants, or villains, who were attached to the estates of their arbitrary landlords. The indigent barbarians were often tempted to sell their children or themselves into perpetual and even foreign, bondage ;° yet the special exemp-
n See the mission of Wilfrid, &c. in Bede, Hist. Eccles. 1. .ir, c. IS, 16, p. 155, 156, 159.
0 From the concurrent testimony of Bede, (I. ii, c. 1, p. 78), an
William
388 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, lions, which were granted to national slaves/
v v v y i T r
^sufficiently declare, that they were much less numerous than the strangers and captives, who had lost their liberty, or changed their masters, by the accidents of war. When time and reli- gion had mitigated the fierce spirit of the Anglo- Saxons, the laws encouraged the frequent prac- tice of manumission ; and their subjects, of Welsh, or Cambrian, extraction, assume the re- spectable station of inferior freemen, possessed of lands, and entitled to the rights of civil so- ciety.11 Such gentle treatment might secure the allegiance of a fierce people, who had been re- cently subdued on the confines of Wales and Cornwall. The sage Ina, the legislator of Wessex, united the two nations in the bands of domestic alliance ; and four British lords of Somersetshire may be honourably distinguished in the court of a Saxon monarch/ Mtnnert The independent Britons appear to have re- Britoui. lapsed into the state of original barbarism, from whence they had been imperfectly reclaimed. Separated by their enemies from the rest of
William of Malmsbury, (1. iii, p. 102), it appears that the Anglo-Sax- ons, from the first, to the last, age, persisted in this unnatural practice. Their youths were publicly cold in the market of Rome.
i> According to the laws of Ina, they could not be lawfully sold be- yond the seas.
* The life of a Walhu, or Cambrian, Homo, who possessed a hyde of land, is fixed at 120 shillings, by the same laws, (of Ina, tit. xxvii, in Ley. Anglo-Saxon, p. 20), which allowed 2CO shillings for a free Saxon, and 1200 for a Thane, (see likewise Leg. Anglo-Saxon p. 71). We may observe, that these legislators, the West Saxons and Mercians, conti- nued their British conquests after they became Christian*. The laws of the four kings of Kent do not condescend to notice the existence of any subject Britons.
r S«e Carte's Hist, of England, TO! i, p. 278.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 389
mankind, they soon became an object of scan- CHAP.
v v "V Vf TT
dal and abhorrence to the catholic world.*
Christianity was still professed in the moun- tains of Wales ; but the rude schismatics in the form of the clerical tonsure, and in the day of the celebration of Easter, obstinately resisted the imperious mandates of the Roman pontiffs. The use of the Latin language was insensibly abolished, and the Britons were deprived of the arts and learning which Italy communicated to her Saxon proselytes. In Wales and Armorica, the Celtic tongue, the native idiom of the West, was preserved and propagated ; and the Bards, who had been the companions of the Druids, were still protected, in the sixteenth century, by the laws of Elizabeth. Their chief, a re- spectable officer of the courts of Pengwern, or Aberfraw, or Caermarthaen, accompanied the king's servants to war : the monarchy of the Britons, which he sung in the front of battle, excited their courage, and justified their depre- dations ; and the songster claimed for his legi- timate prize the fairest heifer of the spoih His subordinate ministers, the masters and disciples of vocal and instrumental music, visited, in their respective circuits, the royal, the noble, and the plebeian houses ; and the public poverty, almost exhausted by the clergy, was oppressed by the importunate demands of the
bards. Their rank and merit were ascertained
i
•At the conclusion of his history, (A- D. 731), Bede describes the clesiastical state of the island, and censures the implacable, though potent, hatred of the Britons, against the English nation, aud the ca- holie church, (1. v. c. 23, p. 219).
390 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, by solemn trials, and the strong belief of su- pernatural inspiration exalted the fancy of the poet, and of his audience.1 The last retreats of Celtic freedom, the extreme territories of Gaul and Britain, were less adapted to agriculture than to pasturage ; the wealth of the Britons consisted in their flocks and herds ; milk and flesh were their ordinary food ; and bread was sometimes esteemed, or rejected, as a foreign luxury. Liberty had peopled the mountains of Wales and the jnorasses of Armorica; but their populousness has been maliciously ascribed to the loose practice of polygamy ; and the houses of these licentious barbarians have been supposed to contain ten wives and perhaps fifty children.11 Their disposition was rash and choleric: they were bold inaction and in speech ;x and as they were ignorant of the arts of peace, they alternately indulged their passions in foreign and domestic war. The cavalry of Armorica, the spearmen of Gwent, and the archers of Merioneth, were
I Mr. Pennant's Tonr in Wales (p. 426*440) has famished me with a curious and interesting account of the Welsh bards. In the year 1568, a session was held at Caerwys by the special command of Queen Elwa- beth,and regular degrees in vocal and instrumental music were conferred on fifty-five minstrels. The prize (a silver harp) was adjudged by the Mostyn family.
II Regio longe lateqne diffnsa, milite, magis. quam credibile sit, reserta. Partibus equidem in illis miles unus quinquaginta generat, fortitus more barbaro denas am amplius uxores. This reproach of William of Poi- tiers (in the Historians of France, torn, xi, p. 88) is disclaimed by the Benedictine editors.
x Giraldus Carabrensis confines this gift of bold and ready eloquence to the Romans, the French, and the Britons. The malicious Welsh- man insinuates, that the English taciturnity might postibly be the. «/• fact of .their wrvitude under the Normans.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 391
equally formidable ; but their poverty could CHAP.
XXXVIII
seldom procure either shields or helmets ; and „,„,
the inconvenient \veight would have retarded the speed and agility of their desultory opera- tions. One of the greatest of the English monarch s was requested to satisfy the curio- sity of a Greek emperor concerning the state of Britain ; and Henry II. could assert from his personal experience, that Wales was inha- bited by a race of naked warriors, who encoun- tered, without fear, the defensive armour of their enemies.1
By the revolution of Britain, the limits of obscure science, as well as of empire, were contracted. {£u^"a~te The dark cloud, which had been cleared by of Britain the Phoenician discoveries, and finally dispelled by "''the arms of Caesar, a°-ain settled on the
.. ..." ..-..•- • ' ' • ... •
shores of the Atlantic, and a Roman province was ao-aiu lost among the fabulous islands of
• -****SSfr*-<iM*:
the Ocean. One hundred and fifty years after the reign of Honorius, the gravest historian of the times1 describes the wonders of a remote isle, whose eastern and western parts are di. vided by an antique wall, the boundary of life and death, or, more properly, of truth, and fic- tion. The east is a fair country, inhabited by a civilized people : the air is healthy, the
>' The picture of Welsh and Armorican manners is drawn from Giral- dus, (Dcscript. Cambria?, c. 6-15, inter Script. Cambden. p. 886-821), and the authors quoted by the Abbe de Vertot, (HisL Critique, torn- ii, p. 259-2G6).
1 See Procopius de Bell. Gothic. 1. iv, c. 20, p. 620-G25. The Greek historian is himself so confounded by the wonders which he relates, that he weakly attempts to distinguish the islands of Brittia and Britain, which he has identified by so many inseparable circum- stances-
392 THE DECLINE AND PALL"
CHAP, waters are pure and plentiful, and the earth
,,\ yields her regular and fruitful increase. In
the west, beyond the wall, the air is infectious and mortal ; the ground is covered with ser- pents ; and this dreary solitude is the region of departed spirits, who are transported from the opposite shores in substantial boats, and by living rowers. Some families of fishermen, the subjects of the Franks, are excused from tri- bute, in consideration of the mysterious office which is performed by these Charons of the ocean. Each in his turn is summoned at the hour of midnight, to hear the voices, and even the names, of the ghosts ; he is sensible of their weight, and he feels himself impelled by an unknown, but irresistible, power. After this dream of fancy, we read with astonishment that the name of this island is Srittia ; that it lies in the ocean, against the mouth of the Rhine, and less than thirty miles from the continent ; that it is possessed by three nations, the Fri- sians, the Angles, and the Britons ; and that some Angles had appeared at Constantinople, in the train of the French ambassadors. From these ambassadors Procopins might be inform- ed of a singular, though not improbable, adven- ture, which announces the spirit, rather than the delicacy of an English heroine. She had been betrothed to Radiger, king of the Varni, a tribe of Germans who touched the ocean and the Rhine ; but the perfidious lover was tempt- . ed, by motives of policy, to prefer his father's widow, the sister of Theodebert, king of the
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 393
Franks.* The forsaken princess of the Angles, .CHAP.
instead of bewailing, revenged her disgrace. „„ ,
Her warlike subjects are said to have been ig- norant of the use, and even of the form, of an horse; but she boldly sailed from Britain to the mouth of the Rhine, with a fleet of four hundred ships, and an army of one hundred thousand men. After the loss of a battle, the captive Radiger implored the mercy of his vic- torious bride, who generously pardoned his offence, dismissed her rival, and compelled the king of the Varni to discharge with honour and fidelity the duties of an husband.* This gallant exploit appears to be the last naval en- terprise of the Anglo-Saxons. The arts of na- vigation, by which they had acquired the em- pire of Britain and of the sea, were soon neg- lected by the indolent barbarians, who supine- ly renounced all the commercial advantages of their insular situation. Seven, independent kingdoms were agitated by perpetual discord ; and the British world was seldom connected,
* Theodebert, grandson of Clovis, and kirg'of Austrasia, was the most powerful and warlike prince of the age ; and this remarkable ad- venture may be placed between the yean 534 and 547, the extreme terms of his reign. His sister Tlieudechildis retired to Sens, where she founded monasteries, and distributed alms, (see the notes of the Bene- dictine editors, in torn, ii, p. 216). If we may credit the praises of For- tunatui, ;(1. vi, carm. 2, in torn, ii, p. 507), Radiger was deprived of a most valuable wife.
6 Perhaps she was the sister of one of the princes or chiefs of the An- gles, who landed in 527, and the following years between the Humber, and the Thames, and gradually founded the kingdoms of East Anglia, and Mercia. The English writers are ignorant of her name and exis- tence : but Procopius may have suggested to Mr. Rowe the character *od situation of Rodugune in the tragedy of the Royal Convert.
394 THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP, either in peace or war, with the nations of the xxxvin .. , e continent.
Fan of the I have now accomplished the laborious nar- em^rTin rative of the decline and fall of the Roman em- th« west pire> from tne fortunate age of Trajan and the Antonines, to its total extinction in the West, about five cenfa7ieT"alteFniBiB"'TJKn8Sin-era. At that unhappy period, the Saxons fiercely struggled with the natives for the possession of Britain ; Gaul and Spain were divided be- tween the powerful monarchies of the Franks and Visigoths, and the dependent kingdoms of the Suevi and Burgundians : Africa was ex- posed to the cruel persecution of the Vandals, and the savage insults of the Moors : Rome and Italy, as far as the banks of the Danube were afflicted by an army of barbarian mer- cenaries, whose lawless tyranny was succeed- ed by the reign of Theodoric the Ostrogoth. All the subjects of the empire, who by the use of the Latin language, more particularly deserved the name and privileges of Romans, * were oppressed by the disgrace and calamities of foreign conquest ; and the victorious nations of Germany established a new system of man- ; iiers and government in the western countries of Europe. The majesty of Rome was faintly represented by Hie princes bl Constantinople,
^^^^MM^^MMVMMOfpM4<W«n*|Ma|M**l*ia'**'vV«MM"*!W^l*l1M(0l**«a«*«MV«M«WMw4lh»»
e In the copious hiitory of Gregory of Tours, we cannot find any traces of hostile or friendly intercourse between France and England, except in the marriage of the daughter of Caribert, king of Paris, qvian* regis cty'usdatn in Cautia lilius matrimouio copulavit, (I. ix, c. 26, in torn, ii, p. 348).- The bishop of Tours ended his history and his life al- most immediately before the conversion of Kent.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 395
the feeble and imaginary successors of Angus- CHAP. tus. Yet they continued to reign over the *** East, from the Danube to the Nile and Tigris ; the Gothic and Vandal kingdoms of Italy and Africa were subverted by the arms of Justinian ; and the history of the Greek emperors may still afford a long series of instructive lessons, and in- teresting revolutions*
39<5 TME DECLINE AND FALL
General Observations on the Fall of the Roman Empire in the West.
THE Greeks, after their country had been reduced into a province, imputed the triumphs of Rome, not to the merit, but to the FOR- TUNE, of the republic. The inconstant god- dess, who so blindly distributes and resumes her favours, had now consented (such was the language of envious flattery) to resign her wings, to descend from her globe, and to fix her firm and immutable throne on the banks of the Tiber.* A wiser Greek, who has com- posed, with a philosophic spirit, the memora- ble history of his own times, deprived his countrymen of this vain and delusive comfort, by opening to their view the deep foundations of the greatness of Rome.b The fidelity of the citizens to each other, and to the state, was confirmed by the habits of education, and the prejudices of religion. Honour, as well as vir- tue, was the principle of the republic ; the am-
* Such are the figurative expressions of Plutarch, (Opera, tom. ii, p. 318, edit. Wechel), to whom, an the faith of hi* son Lampnas, (Fabri- ciuf, Bibliot. Grace, tom. Hi, p. 341), I shall boldly impute the mali- cious declamation, mfi T«; Pw^uawsv TK^OJ. The same opinions had pre- vailcd among the Greeks two hundred and fifty years before Plutarch : and to confute them, is the professed intention of Polybius, (Hist 1. i, p. 90, edit. Gronov- Amstel. 1670).
h See the inestimable remains of the sixth book of Polybius, and many other parts of liis general history, particularly a digression in the seventeenth book, in which he compares the phalanx .and the legion .
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 397
bilious citizens laboured to deserve the solemn glories of a triumph ; and the ardour of the Ro- man youth was kindled into active emulation, as often as they beheld the domestic images of their ancestors/ The temperate struggles of the patricians and plebeians had finally estab- lished the firm and equal balance of the consti- tution ; which united the freedom of popular assemblies, with the authority and wisdom of a senate, and the executive powers of a regal ma- gistrate. When the consul displayed the stan- dard of the republic, each citizen bound him- self, by the obligation of an oath, to draw his sword in the cause of his country, till he had discharged the sacred duty by a military ser- vice of ten years. This wise institution conti- nually poured into the field the rising genera- tions of freemen and soldiers; and their num- bers were reinforced by the warlike and popu- lous states of Italy, who, after a brave resistance, had yielded to the valour, and embraced the alliance, of the Romans. The sage historian, who excited the virtue of +1 e younger Scipio, and beheld the ruin of Carthage,* has ac- curately described their military system; their levies, arms, exercises, subordination, marches, encampments ; and the invincible legion, supe-
' c Sa'ilust, de Bell. Jugurthin. c. 4. Such were the generous pro- fessions of P. Scipio and Q. Maximus. The Latin Historian had read, and most probably transcribes, Polybius, their contemporary and friend. d While Carthage was in flames, Scipio repeated two lines of the Illiad, which express the destruction of Troy, acknowledged to Po- lybius, his friend and preceptor, (Polyb. in Excerpt, de Virtut. et Vit. torn, ii, p. 1455-1465), that while he recollected the vicissitudes of hu- man affairs, h« inwardly applied them to the future calamities of Rome, (Appian. in Libycis, p. 136, edit. Toll).
398 THE DECLINE AND FALL
rior in active strength to the Macedonian pha- lanx of Philip and Alexander. From these in- stitutions of peace and war, Polybius has de- duced the spirit and success of a people, inca- pable of fear, and impatient of repose. The am- bitious design of conquest, which might have been defeated by the seasonable conspiracy of mankind, was attempted and achieved ; and the perpetual violation of justice was maintained by the political virtues of prudence and courage. The arms of the republic, sometimes vanquish- ed in battle, always victorious in war, advanced with rapid steps to the Euphrates, the Danube, the Rhine, and the Ocean; and the images of gold, or silver, or brass, that might serve to re- present the nations and their kings, were suc- cessively broken by the iron monarchy of Rome." The rise of a city which swelled into an em- pire, may deserve, as a singular prodigy, the re- i flection of a philosophic mind. But the decline I of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness. Prosperity ripened the principle of decay; the causes of destruction multiplied with the extent of conquest; and as
<Ja«o«ii-»''' i'<nma»»i, ' " •'"'*" r'iijii|| '" , , -. , • , «/*'
soon as time or accident had removed the artifi- cial supports, the stupendous fabric yielded to the pressure of its own weight. The story of its ruin is simple and obvious; and instead of in-
* See Daniel, ii, 31-40. "And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as " iron; forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces, and subdued) all things. " The remainder of the prophecy (the mixture of iron and clay) was ac- complished according to St. Jerom, in his own time. Sicut eniin in principio ni'hil Romano Imperio fortius et durius, ita in fine rerum ni- hil imbecillius ; quum et in bellis civilibus et adversus divcrsas nati- onrs, aliarum gentium barbararum auxilio indigemus, (Opera, torn. *, P, 572).
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 399
quiring why the Roman empire was destroyed, f we should rather be surprised that it had sub- • sisted so long. The victorious legions, who, in * distant wars, acquired the vices of strangers and mercenaries, first oppressed the freedom of the republic, and after wards violated the majesty of the purple. The emperors, anxious for their personal safety and the public peace, were re- duced to the base expedient of corrupting the discipline which rendered them alike formida- ble to their sovereign and to the enemy; the vi- gour of the military government was relaxed, and finally dissolved, by the partial institutions of Constantine; and the Roman world was over- whelmed by a deluge of barbarians.
The decay of Rome has been frequently as- cribed to the translation of the seat of empire; but this history has already shown, that the powers of government were divided, rather than removed. The throne of Constantinople was erected in the East; while the West was still possessed by a series of emperors who held their residence in Italy, and claimed their equal in- heritance of the legions and provinces. This dangerous novelty impaired the strength, and fomented the vices, of a double reign; the in- struments of oppressive and arbitrary system were multiplied; and a vain emulation of lux- ury, not of merit, was introduced and support- ed between the degenerate successors of Theo- dosius. Extreme distress, which unites the
*
virtue of a free people, embitters the factions of a declining monarchy. The hostile favourites of Arcadius and Honorius betrayed the repub-
400 THE DECLINE AND FALL
lie to its common enemies ; and the Byzantine court beheld with indifference, perhaps with pleasure, the disgrace of Rome, the misfortunes of Italy, and the loss of the West. Under the succeeding reigns, the alliance of the two empires was restored ; but the aid of the oriental Romans was tardy, doubtful and ineffectual; and the national schism of the Greeks and La- tins was enlarged by the perpetual difference of language and manners, of interest, and even of religion. Yet the salutary event approved in some measure the judgment of Gonstantine. During a long period of decay, his impregnable city repelled the victorious armies of barbarians, protected the wealth of Asia, and commanded, both in peace and war, the important straits which connect the Euxine and Mediterranean seas. The foundation of Constantinople more essentially contributed to the preservation of the East, than to the ruin of the West.
A<Wra|«b«WI«l«VWV>»«Mm|M«^MMIM .
s the happiness of &juture hie is the great
object of religion, we may hear without surprise or scandal, that the introduction, or at least the abuse, of Christianity, had some influence on the decline and fall of the Roman empire. The clergy successfully preached the doctrines of patience and pusillanimity; the active virtues of society were discouraged ; and the last remains of military spirit were buried in the cloister; a
. I I ~ '- • *f" " • " •""" --LI., ii <• n ir i,.i I ^"|J ~
large portion of public and private wealth was consecrated to the specious demands of charity and devotion; and the soldiers pay was lavished on the useless multitudes of both sexes, who could
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 401
only plead the merits of abstinence and chastity, | Faith, zeal, curiosity, and the more earthly pas- sions of malice and ambition, kindled the flame of theological discord ; the church, and even the state, were distracted by religious fac- tions, whose conflicts were sometimes bloody, and always implacable ; the attention of the emperors was diverted from -camps to synods; the~T£omaS"wl5rI3^vas oppressed by a new spe- cies of tyranny ; and the persecuted sects be- came the secret enemies of their country. Yet party-spirit, howeverjgernicious.or absurd^ is a principle" oT Union "aswell as of dissention. The
•i .4- - . •-.--• .-.->.,-
bishops, from eighteen hundred pulpits, incul- cated the duty of passive obedience to a lawful and orthodox sovereign ; their frequent assem- blies, and perpetual correspondence, maintain- ed the communion of distant churches ; and the benevolent temper of the gospel was strengthened, though confined, by the spiritual alliance of the catholics. The sacred indo- lence of the monks was devoutly embraced by a servile and effeminate age ; but if superstition had not afforded a decent retreat, the same vices would have tempted the unworthy Ro- mans to desert, from baser motives, the stand- ard of the republic. Religious precepts are easily obeyed, which indulge and sanctify the natural inclinations of their votaries ; but the pure and genuine influence of Christianity may be traced in its beneficial, though imperfect, effects on the barbarian proselytes of the North. If the decline of the Roman empire VOL. vi D d
-HE DECLINE AND PALL'
was hastened by the conversion of Constantine, his victorious religion broke the violence of the fall, and mollified the ferocious temper of the conquerors.
This awful revolution may be usefully appli- ed to the instruction of the present age. It is the duty of a patriot to prefer and promote the exclusive interest and glory of his native coun- try ; but a philosopher may be permitted to enlarge his views, and to consider Europe as one great republic, whose various inhabitants have attained almost the same level of polite- ness and cultivation. The balance of power will continue to fluctuate, and the prosperity of our own, or the neighbouring kingdoms, may be alternately exalted or depressed ; but these T partial events cannot essentially injure our ge- neral state of happiness, the system of arts, and laws, and manners, which so advantage- ously distinguish, above the rest of mankind, the Europeans and their colonies. The savage nations of the globe are the common enemies of civilized society ; and we may inquire with anxious curiosity, whether Europe is still threatened with a repetition of those calamities, which formerly oppressed the arms and insti- tutions of Rome. Perhaps the same reflections will illustrate the fall of that mighty empire, and explain the probable causes of our actual security.
I. The Romans were ignorant of the extent of their danger, and the number of their ene- mies. Beyond the Rhine and Danube, the northern countries of Europe and Asia were
OP THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 40'
filled with innumerable tribes of hunters and shepherds, poor, voracious,^ and turbulent ; bold in arms, and impatient to ravish the fruits of industry. The barbarian world was agi- tated by the rapid impulse of war; and the peace of Gaul or Italy was shaken by the distant revolutions of China. The Huns, who fled before a victorious enemy, directed their march towards the West ; and the torrent was swelled by the gradual accession of captives and allies. The flying tribes who yielded to the Huns, assumed in their turn the spirit of conquest; the endless column of barbarians pressed on the Roman empire with accumulat- ed weight ; and, if the foremost were destroyed, the vacant space was instantly replenished by new assailants. Such formidable emigrations can no longer issue from the North ; and the long repose, which has been imputed to the decrease of population, is the happy conse- quence of the progress of arts and agriculture. Instead of some rude villages, thinly scattered among its woods and morasses, Germany now produces a list of two thousand three hundred walled towns ; the Christian kingdoms of Den- mark, Sweden, and Poland, have been succes- sively established ; and the Hanse merchants, with the Teutonic knights, have extended their colonies along the coast of the Baltic, as far as the gulf of Finland. From the gulf of Fin- land to the eastern ocean, Russia now assumes the form of a powerful and civilized empire. The plough, the loom, and the forge, are in- troduced on the banks of the Volga, the Oby,
404 THE DECLINE AND FALL
and the Lena ; and the fiercest of the Tartar hordes have been taught to tremble and obey.' The reign of independent barbarism is now contracted to a narrow span ; and the remnant of Calmucks or Uzbecks, whose forces may be almost numbered, cannot seriously excite the apprehensions of the great republic of Europe. Yet this apparent security should not tempt us to forget that new enemies, and unknown dangers, may possibly arise from some obscure people, scarcely visible in the map of the world. The Arabs, or Saracens, who spread their conquests from India to Spain, had lan- guished in poverty and contempt, till Mahomet breathed in these savage bodies the soul of en- thusiasm.
II. The empire of Rome was finally esta- blished by the singular and perfect coalition of its members. The subject nations, resigning the hope, and even the wish, of independence, embraced the character of Roman citizens ; and the provinces of the West were reluctantly torn by the barbarians from the bosom of their mother country.8 But this union was purchas-
f The French and English editors of the Genealogical History of th« Tartars have subjoined a curious, though imperfect, description of their present state. We might question the independence of the Cal- mucks, or Eluths, since they have been recently vanquished hy the Chinese, who, in the year 1759, subdued the lesser Bucbaiia, and ad- vanced in the country of Badakshan, near the sources of the Oxus, (Memoires sur les Chinois, toni. i, p. 325-400). But these conquests are precarious, nor will I venture to insure the safety of the Chinese empire.
« The prudent reader will determine how far this general proposition is weakened by the revolt of the Isaurians, the independence of Britain and Armorica, the Moorish tribes, or the Bagaudae of Gaul and Spain, (rol. i,' p. 340 ; vol. iii, p. 273 387 434.J
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 405
ed by the loss of national freedom and military spirit; and the servile provinces, destitute of life and motion, expected their safety from the mercenary troops and governors, who were di- rected by the orders of a distant court. The happiness of an hundred millions depended on the personal merit of one or two men, perhaps children, whose minds were corrupted by edu- cation, luxury, and despotic power. The deepest wounds were inflicted on the empire during the minorities of the sons and grandsons of Theodosius ; and after those incapable prin- ces seemed to attain the age of manhood, they abandoned the church to the bishops, the state to The eunuchs, and the provinces to the bar- barians. Europe is now divided into twelve powerful, though unequal, kingdoms, three re- spectable commonwealths, and a variety of smaller, though independent, states: the chances of royal and ministerial talents are multiplied, at least with the number of its rulers ; and a Julian, or Semiramis, may reign in the North, while Arcadius and Honorius again slumber on the thrones of the South. The abuses of tyranny are restrained by the mutual influence of fear and shame ; republics have acquired order and stability ; monarchies have imbibed the principles of freedom, or, at least, of mode- ration ; and some sense of honour and justice is introduced into the most defective constitu- tions, by the general manners of the times. In peace, the progress bT knowledge and industry is accelerated by the emulation of so many ac- tive rivals : in war, the European forces are
406
THE DECLINE AND FALL
exercised by temperate and indecisive con" tests. If a savage conqueror should issue from the deserts of Tartary, he must repeatedly van- quish the robust peasants of Russia, the nume- rous armies of Germany, the gallant nobles of France, and the intrepid freemen of Britain ; who, perhaps, might confederate for their com- mon defence. Should the victorious barbarians carry slavery and desolation as far as the At- lantic ocean, ten thousand vessels would trans- port beyond their pursuit the remains of civi- lized society ; and Europe would revive and flourish in the American world, which is alrea- dy filled with her colonies and institutions.11
III. Cold, poverty, and a life of danger and fatigue, fortify the strength and courage of bar- barians. In every age they have oppressed the polite and peaceful nations of China, India, and Persia, who neglected, and still neglect, to counterbalance these natural powers by the re- sources of military art. The warlike states of antiquity, Greece, Macedonia, and Rome, edu- cated a race of soldiers ; exercised their bodies, disciplined their courage, multiplied their forces by regular evolutions, and converted the iron which they possessed into strong and service- able weapons. But this superiority insensibly declined with their laws and manners ; and the feeble policy of Constaritine and his successors
h America now contains about six million* of European blood ind descent; and their numbers, at least in the North, are continually in- creasing. Whatever may be the changes of their political situation, they must preserve the manners of Europe; and we may reflect with some pleasure, that the English language will probably be diffused orcr an immense and populous continent.
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 407
armed and instructed, for the ruin of the em- pire, the rude valour of the barbarian mercena- ries. The military art has been changed by the invention of gunpowder, which enables men to command the two most powerful agents of nature, air and fire. Mathematics, chemistry, mechanics, architecture, have been applied to the service of war ; and the adverse parties oppose to each other the most elaborate modes of attack and of defence. Historians may in- dignantly observe, that the preparations of a siege would find and maintain a flourishing co- lony ;l yet we cannot be displeased, that the subversion of a city should be a work of cost and difficulty ; or that an industrious people should be protected by those arts, which survive and supply the decay of military virtue. Can- non and fortifications now form an impregnable barrier against the Tartar horse ; and Europe is secure from any future irruption of barbarians ; since, before they can conquer, they must cease to be barbarous. Their gradual advances in the science of war would always be accompa- nied, as we may learn from the example of Russia, with a proportionable improvement in
5 On avoit fait venir (for the siege of Turin) 140 pieces de canon ; et il eit a remarquer que chaque gros canon monte revient a environ 2000 ecus: il y avoit 110,000 boulets ; 106,000 cartouches cTnn facou, et 300,000 d'une autre : 21.CCO bombes ; ^','W, grenades, 15,000 sacs a terre, 30,000 instrumen* pour le pionnage; 1,200,000 livres de poudre. Ajoutez a ces munitions, le plomb, le ft- r, et le fer blanc, le* cordages, tout ce qui fert aux minturs, le souptne, le salpetre, les outilt de toute espece. II est certain que les frais de tous ces preeparatift de destruction sufficient pour fonder et pour faire fleurir la plus uom- breuse colonie. Voltaire, Siecle de Louis XIV, c. xx, in his Works, torn, xi, p. 391.
408 THE DECLINE AND FALL
the arts of peace and civil policy; and they themselves must deserve a place among the po- lished nations whom they subdue.
Should these speculations be found doubtful or fallacious, there still remains a more humble source of comfort and -hope. The discoveries of ancient and modern navigators, and the do- mestic history, or tradition, of the most enlight- ened nations, represent the human savage, naked ooth in mind and body, and destitute of laws, of arts, of ideas, and almost of language.k From this abject condition, perhaps the primi- tive and universal state of man, he has gradu ally arisen to command the animals, to fertilize the earth, to traverse the ocean, and to measure the heavens. His progress in the improvement and exercise of his mental arid corporeal facul- ties' has been irregular and various ; infinitely slow in the beginning, and increasing by de- grees with redoubled velocity: ages of labo- rious ascent have been followed by a moment of rapid downfall ; and the several climates of the globe have felt the vicissitudes of light and darkness. Yet the experience of four thousand
k It would he an easy, though tedious task, to produce the authorities of poets, philosophers, and historians. I shall therefore content my- self with appealing to the decisive and authentic testimony of Diodorus Siculus (torn i, 1. i, p. 11, 12, I. iii, p. 184, &c. edit. Wesselin;j.) The Icthyophagi, who in his time wandered along the shores of the Red Sea, can only be compared to the natives of New Holland (Dampier's Voyages, vol. i, p. 464-409 ) Fancy, or perhaps reason, may still sup- pose an extreme and absolute state of nature far below the level of these savages, who had acquired some arts and instruments.
1 See the learned and rational work of the President Goguet, de 1'Ori- gine di« Loix des Arts et des Science*. He traces from facts, or con- jectures (torn, i, p. 147-337, edit. 12mo.) the first and most difficult steps of human invention.
1 <f'H, I'f. ^\ '•' > M *
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 409
years should enlarge our hopes, and diminish our apprehensions; we cannot determine to what height the human species may aspire in their advances towards perfection ; but it may safely be presumed, that no people unless the face of nature is changed, will relapse into their original barbarism. The improvements of so- ciety may be viewed under a threefold aspect. I. The poet or philosopher illustrates his age and country by the efforts of a single mind ; but these superior powers of reason or fancy are rare and spontaneous productions, and the ge- nius of Homer, or Cicero, or Newton, would excite less admiration, if they could be created by the will of a prince, or the lessons of a preceptor. II. The benefits of law and policy, of tratle and manufactures, of arts and sciences, are more solid and permanent ; and many indi- viduals may be qualified, by education and dis- cipline, to promote, in their respective stations, the interest of the community. But this gene- ral order is the effect of skill .and labour ; and the complex machinery may be decayed by time, or injured by violence. III. Fortunately for mankind, the more useful, or, at least, more necessary arts, can be performed without su- perior talents, or national subordination ; with- out the powers of one, or the union of many. Each village, each family, each individual, must always possess both ability and inclination, to perpetuate the use of fire™ and of metals ; the
01 It is certain, however strange, that many nations have been igno- ronf of the use of fire. Even the ingenious natives of Otaheite, who vol^ VI Ee "•
410 THE DECLINE AND FALL
propagation and service of domestic animals ; the methods of hunting and fishing ; the rudi- ments of navigation ; the imperfect cultivation of corn, or other nutritive grain ; and the simple practice of the mechanic trades. Private ge- nius and public industry may be extirpated ; but these hardy plants survive the tempest, and strike an everlasting root into the most unfa- vourable soil. The splendid days of Augustus and Trajan were eclipsed by a cloud of igno- rance; and the barbarians subverted the laws and palares of Rome. But the scythe, the invention or emblem of Saturn," still continued annually to mow the harvests of Italy ; and the human feasts of the Lasstrigons0 have never been renewed on the coast of Campania.
Since the first discovery of the arts, war, com- merce, and religious zeal have diffused, among the savages of the Old and New World, these inestimable gifts : they have been successively propagated ; they can never be lost. We may therefore acquiesce in the pleasing conclusion, that every age of the world has increased, and still increases, the real wealth, the happiness,
are destitute of metals, have not invented any earthen vessels capable of sustaining the action of fire, aid of communicating the heat to the liquids which they contain.
" Plutarch. Quacst. Koni- in torn, ii, p. 275. Macrob. Saturnal, 1. i, c. 8, p. 152, edit. London. The arival of Saturn (of his religious wor- ship) in a ship, may indicate, that the savage coast of Latium was first
discovered and civilized by the Phoenicians.
0 In the ninth and tenth books of the Odyssey, Homer has embellish- ed the tales of fearful and credulous sailors, who transformed the can-
nibals of Italy and Sicily into monstrous giants.
OP THE ROMAN EMPIRE. j 4[|
the knowledge, and perhaps the virtue, of the human race.p
p The merit of discovery has too often been stained with avarice, cru- elty, and fanaticism; and the intercourse of nations has produced the communication of disease and prejudice. A singular exception is due to the virtue of our own times and country. The five great voyages successively undertaken by the command of his present Majesty, were inspired by the pure and generous love of science and of mankind. The same prince, adapting his benefactions to the different stages of socie- ty, has founded a school of painting in his capital ; end has introduc- ed into the islands of the South Sea, the vegetables and animals most useful to human life.
END OF THE SIXTH VOLUME.
Plommci and Brewi», Frinteis, Love-Lank, Little
A 000 631 949 5
1
fc
.
•
• .
•
-
..
.
• •
-
•
•
. .
•
.
.
.
.
• -
•
•
•
;
-
. .
.
I
.