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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 


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