Ammianus: RES GESTAE A FINE CORNELI TACITI

1 Utcumque potuimus veritatem scrutari, ea quae videre licuit per aetatem, vel perplexe interrogando versatos in medio scire, narravimus ordine casuum exposito diversorum: residua quae secuturus aperiet textus, pro virium captu limatius absolvemus, nihil obtrectatores longi, ut putant, operis formidantes. Tunc enim laudanda est brevitas cum moras rumpens intempestivas nihil subtrahit cognitioni gestorum.

1 Whenever we could scrutinize the truth, those things which it was permitted to see by age, or to know obscurely by questioning those practiced and versed in the midst, we narrated, laying out the order of diverse cases: the remaining matters which the text about to follow will disclose we will complete, in a more concise manner, according to the grasp of our strength; let there be no detractors fearing, as they suppose, a long work. For brevity is to be praised when, breaking untimely delays, it takes nothing away from the knowledge of deeds.

2 Nondum apud Noricum exuto penitus Gallo Apodemius quoad vixerat igneus turbarum incentor raptos eius calceos vehens equorum permutatione veloci, ut nimietate cogendi quosdam extingueret, praecursorius index Mediolanum advenit ingressusque regiam ante pedes proiecit Constantii velut spolia regis occisi Parthorum et perlato nuntio repentino, docente rem insperatam et arduam ad sententiam totam facilitate completam, hi qui summam aulam tenebant, omni placendi studio in adulationem ex more conlato virtutem felicitatemque imperatoris extollebant in Caelum, cuius nutu in modum gregariorum militum licet diversis temporibus duo exauctorati sunt principes, Veteranio nimirum et Gallus.

2 Not yet, at Noricum, had Apodemius the Gaul — stripped completely — ceased his fiery instigation of the mobs while he lived; carrying his seized shoes by swift change of horses, that by the excess of forcing he might put some to silence, a forerunning informer arrived at Mediolanum, and having entered the palace cast before the feet of Constantius, as if the spoils of a king of the Parthians slain, the sudden message delivered, showing that the unexpected and arduous affair had been brought to a full conclusion with complete facility. Those who held the chief court, with every zeal to please, by custom turned their courtesy into adulation, extolling the emperor’s virtue and felicity to the heavens — by whose nod, as with common soldiers, at different times two leaders were stripped of rank, namely Veteranio and Gallus.

3 Quo ille studio blanditiarum exquisito sublatus inmunemque se deinde fore ab omni mortalitatis incommodo fidenter existimans confestim a iustitia declinavit ita intemperanter, ut Aeternitatem meam aliquotiens subsereret ipse dictando scribendoque propria manu orbis totius se dominum appellaret, quod dicentibus aliis indignanter admodum ferre deberet is qui ad aemulationem civilium principum formare vitam moresque suos, ut praedicabat, diligentia laborabat enixa.

3 By that zeal for exquisite blandishments he was exalted and, confidently deeming himself thenceforth immune from every inconvenience of mortality, he straightway turned aside from justice so intemperately that he would several times ascribe my Eternity and, dictating and writing with his own hand, would call himself lord of the whole orb; which, coming from others, he ought very indignantly to have borne — he who strove and labored with diligent effort to fashion his life and his mores to the emulation of civil princes, as he was wont to preach.

4 Namque etiam si mundorum infinitates Democriti regeret, quos Anaxarcho incitante magnus somniabat Alexander, id reputasset legens vel audiens quod ut docent mathematici concinentes ambitus terrae totius, quae nobis videtur inmensa, ad magnitudinem universitatis instar brevis optinet puncti.

4 For even if the infinities of worlds that Democritus governed, which great Alexander dreamed of at Anaxarchus’s urging, he had considered upon reading or hearing—that, as mathematicians teach, the circumferences of the whole earth, which seems immense to us, shrink to the magnitude of a point like the totality of the universe.

Ursicinus, magister equitumper orientem, Julianus, Galli Caesaris frater, et Gorgonius, praepositus Caesariani cubiculi, accusantur maiestatis.

Ursicinus, commander of the cavalry in the East, Julianus, brother of Gallus Caesar, and Gorgonius, praepositus of the Caesar’s bedchamber, are accused of maiestas (high treason).

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1 Iamque post miserandam deleti Caesaris cladem sonante periculorum iudicialium tuba in crimen laesae maiestatis arcessebatur Ursicinus adulescente magis magisque contra eius salutem livore omnibus bonis infesto.

1 And now, after the pitiable slaughter of the slain Caesar, with the trumpet of judicial dangers sounding, Ursicinus was summoned on the charge of laesa maiestas, his envy, growing more and more, hostile to his safety and menacing all имущества.

2 Hac enim superabatur difficultate quod ad suscipiendas defensiones aequas et probabilis imperatoris aures occlusae patebant susurris insidiantium clandestinis, qui Constantii nomine per orientis tractus omnes abolito ante dictum ducem domi forisque desiderari ut formidolosum Persicae genti fingebant.

2 For this difficulty was overcome in that, the emperor's ears being closed to receiving equal and plausible defenses, they lay open to the clandestine whispers of those plotting, who, the name of Constantius having been abolished throughout all the tracts of the East, feigned that the aforesaid duke was desired at home and in the fora, and portrayed him as a fearsome man to the Persian nation.

3 Sed contra accidentia vir magnanimus stabat immobilis, ne se proiceret abiectus cavens, parum tuto loco innocentiam stare medullitus gemens, hocque uno tristior quod amici ante haec frequentes ad potiores desciverant ut ad successores officiorum more poscente solent transire lictores.

3 But against these accidents the magnanimous man stood immobile, taking care lest he be cast aside, inwardly groaning that his innocence stood little safe in that place, and made sad by this one thing: that friends, before these events, had often deserted to the more powerful, as lictors, in seeking, are wont by custom to pass over to the successors of offices.

4 Inpugnabat autem eum per fictae benignitatis inlecebras collega et virum fortem propalam saepe appellans Arbetio ad innectendas letales insidias vitae simplici perquam callens et ea tempestate nimium potens. Ut enim subterraneus serpens foramen subsidens occultum adsultu subito singulos transitores observans incessit, ita ille ab ima sorte etiam post adeptum summum militiae munus, nec laesus aliquando nec lacessitus inexplebili quodam laedendi proposito conscientiam polluebat.

4 He was assailed, however, by a colleague with the baits of feigned kindness — Arbetius, often calling the brave man openly by name — very crafty in weaving lethal ambushes for the simple life, and at that season excessively powerful. For as a subterranean serpent, hiding in a recessed hole and lying in ambush, suddenly springs upon each passerby, so he, from the lowest rank even after having gained the highest military office, though never harmed nor provoked, defiled his conscience with a certain insatiable purpose of harming.

5 Igitur paucis arcanorum praefectis consciis latenter cum imperatore sententia diu digesta id sederat, ut nocte ventura procul a conspectu militarium raptus Ursicinus indemnatus occideretur, ut quondam Domitius Corbulo dicitur caesus in conluvione illa Neroniani saeculi, provinciarum fidus defensor et cautus.

5 Therefore, with a few prefects of the arcana privy and secretly with the emperor, after long deliberation it had been decided that on the coming night, far from the sight of the soldiery, Ursicinus, undeserving, should be seized and killed, as once Domitius Corbulo is said to have been cut down in that filth of the Neronian age, a faithful defender and cautious protector of the provinces.

6 Quibus ita conpositis cum ad hoc destinati praedictum tempus opperirentur, consilio in lenitudinem flexo facinus impium ad deliberationem secundam differri praeceptum est.

6 With these things thus arranged, when those destined to this awaited the aforesaid time, the counsel having been bent toward leniency, the impious deed was ordered to be deferred to a second deliberation.

7 Indeque ad Iulianum recens perductum calumniarum vertitur machina memorabilem postea principem, gemino crimine, ut iniquitas aestimabat, implicitum: quod a Macelli fundo in Cappadocia posito ad Asiam demigrarat liberalium desiderio doctrinarum et per Constantinopolim transeuntem viderat fratrem.

7 And thence the machine of calumnies, newly set against Iulianus, was turned to implicate the man who afterwards became a memorable prince with a twin crime, as injustice deemed: namely, that he had migrated from the Macellus estate in Cappadocia into Asia by a liberal desire for doctrines, and, passing through Constantinople, had seen his brother.

8 Qui cum obiecta dilueret ostenderetque neutrum sine iussu fecisse, nefando adsentatorum coetu perisset urgente, ni adspiratione superni numinis Eusebia suffragante regina ductus ad Comum oppidum Mediolano vicinum ibique paulisper moratus procudendi ingenii causa, ut cupidine flagravit, ad Graeciam ire permissus est.

8 Who, while he refuted the charges and showed that neither had acted without command, would have perished by the pressing, wicked assembly of flatterers, had not, by the inspiration of the supreme numen and with Queen Eusebia pleading, he been led to the town of Comum near Mediolanum and there remained a little while for the sake of honing his talent; and, burning with desire, he was permitted to go to Greece.

9 Nec defuere deinceps ex his emergentia casibus, quae dispiceres secundis avibus contigisse, dum punirentur ex iure, vel tamquam inrita diffluebant et vana. Sed accidebat non numquam, ut opulenti pulsantes praesidia potiorum isdemque tamquam ederae celsis arboribus adhaerentes absolutionem pretiis mercarentur immensis: tenues vero, quibus exiguae res erant ad redimendam salutem aut nullae, damnabantur abrupte. Ideoque et veritas mendaciis velabatur et valuere pro veris aliquotiens falsa.

9 Nor did cases afterwards fail to arise from these matters, which you would see as having occurred by auspicious omens, while they were punished according to law, or else dissolved as if void and vain. But it sometimes happened that the wealthy, attacking the defenses of the more powerful and, clinging like ivy to lofty trees, bought acquittals with immense prices; the slight ones, for whom there were small or no means to redeem salvation, were abruptly condemned. And thus truth was veiled by falsehoods, and at times falsities prevailed in place of truths.

10 Perductus est isdem diebus et Gorgonius, cui erat thalami Caesariani cura commissa, cumque eum ausorum fuisse participem concitoremque interdum ex confesso pateret, conspiratione spadonum iustitia concinnatis mendaciis obumbrata, periculo evolutus abscessit.

10 In those same days Gorgonius was likewise brought forward, to whom the care of the Caesar's bedchamber had been entrusted; and since it was openly plain that he had been a participant and at times an instigator of the bold, with a conspiracy of the eunuchs contrived and justice, arranged, overshadowed by lies, he escaped the danger and withdrew.

In Galli Caesaris amicos et ministros animadvertitur.

Attention is drawn to Gallus Caesar’s friends and ministers.

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1 Haec dum Mediolani aguntur, militarium catervae ab oriente perductae sunt Aquileiam cum aulicis pluribus, membris inter catenas fluentibus spiritum trahentes exiguum vivendique moras per aerumnas detestati multiplices. Arcessebantur enim ministri fuisse Galli ferocientis perque eos Domitianus discerptus credebatur et Montius, et alii post eos acti in exitium praeceps.

1 While these things were transacted at Milan, bands of soldiers were brought to Aquileia from the east with several palace attendants, their limbs flowing between chains, drawing a slender breath and abhorring the manifold delays of living through hardships. For ministers were being summoned who had been fierce Gauls, and through them Domitian was believed to have been torn apart, and Montius, and others after them driven headlong to destruction.

2 Ad quos audiendos Arboreus missus est et Eusebius cubiculi tunc praepositus, ambo inconsideratae iactantiae, iniusti pariter et cruenti. Qui nulla perspicacitate sine innocentium sontiumque differentia alios verberibus vel tormentis adflictos exulari poena damnarunt, quosdam ad infimam trusere militiam, residuos capitalibus addixere suppliciis. Impletisque funerum bustis reversi velut ovantes gesta rettulerunt ad principem erga haec et similia palam obstinatum et gravem.

2 To these to be heard Arboreus was sent and Eusebius, then praepositus of the chamber, both of inconsiderate vaunting, equally unjust and bloody. They, with no perspicacity and without distinction between the innocent and the guilty, condemned others—those struck by rods or torments—to exile as their punishment; they thrust some into the lowest soldiery, and adjudged the rest to capital punishments. And with the funeral pyres filled, they returned, as it were exulting, and reported the deeds to the prince, who toward these and the like was openly obstinate and severe.

3 Vehementius tunc et deinde Constantius quasi praescriptum fatorum ordinem convulsurus recluso pectore patebat insidiantibus multis. Unde rumorum aucupes subito extitere conplures, honorum vertices ipsos ferinis morsibus adpetentes posteaque pauperes et divites indiscrete: non ut Cibyratae illi Verrini, tribunal unius legati lambentes, sed rei publicae membra totius per incidentia mala vexantes.

3 Then and thereafter Constantius, more vehemently, as if about to disturb the prescribed order of fate, with his breast laid open, stood exposed to many who lay in ambush. Whence many suddenly sprang up, hunters of rumours, seeking the very summits of honours with savage bites, and afterwards assailing poor and rich alike without distinction: not like those Cibyratae of Verrinus, licking the tribunal of a single legate, but vexing the members of the whole republic by means of mishaps and evils.

4 Inter quos facile Paulus et Mercurius eminebant: hic origine Persa, ille natus in Dacia: notarius ille, hic a ministro triclinii rationalis. Et Paulo quidem, ut relatum est supra, Catenae inditum est cognomentum, eo quod in conplicandis calumniarum nexibus erat indissolubili ira, inventorum sese varietate dispendens, ut in conluctationibus callere nimis quidam solent artifices palaestritae.

4 Among whom Paulus and Mercurius easily stood out: the one of Persian origin, the other born in Dacia: that one a notary, this one a minister of the triclinium’s rationalis. And to Paulus indeed, as was related above, the cognomen Catena was given, because in weaving the knots of calumnies he was of indissoluble ire, wasting himself in the variety of his inventions, as certain palaestrine artisans are wont to be overly adroit in their struggles.

5 Mercurius somniorum appellatus comes, quod ut clam mordax canis interna saevitia submissius agitans caudam, epulis coetibusque se crebris inserens si per quietem quisquam, ubi fusius natura vagatur, vidisse aliquid amico narrasset, id venenatis artibus coloratum in peius patulis imperatoris auribus infundebat et ob hoc homo tamquam inexpiabili obnoxius culpae, gravi mole criminis pulsabatur.

5 Mercurius, called companion of dreams, because, like a secretly biting dog that wags its tail more meekly, inserting himself into frequent banquets and gatherings, if anyone in sleep, where nature wanders more freely, had told a friend that he had seen something, he would pour that, tinged by venomous arts, into the emperor’s open ears to worse effect; and for this the man, as if incurably liable to guilt, was struck by the heavy weight of the crime.

6 Haec augente vulgatius fama tantum aberat, ut proderet quisquam visa nocturna, ut aegre homines dormisse sese praesentibus faterentur externis, maerebantque docti quidam, quod apud Atlanteos nati non essent, ubi memorantur somnia non videri, quod unde eveniat rerum scientissimis relinquamus.

6 With the rumor growing more widely, it was so far from the truth that no one would divulge nocturnal visions, so that those abroad would scarcely confess to those present that they had slept; and certain learned men lamented that they had not been born among the Atlanteans, where dreams are said not to be seen; as to whence this occurs, let us leave that to the most knowledgeable in such matters.

7 Inter has quaestionum suppliciorumque species diras in Illyrico exoritur alia clades ad multorum pericula ex verborum inanitate progressa. In convivio Africani Pannoniae secundae rectoris apud Sirmium poculis amplioribus madefacti quidam arbitrum adesse nullum existimantes licenter imperium praesens ut molestissimum incusabant: quibus alii optatam permutationem temporum adventare veluti e praesagiis adfirmabant, non nulli maiorum auguria sibi portendi incogitabili dementia promittebant.

7 Among these species of inquiries and punishments another dreadful disaster arose in Illyricum, a calamity advancing to the peril of many from the inaneness of words. At a banquet of Africanus, governor of Pannonia Secunda, at Sirmium, some, made more drunk by the larger cups, thinking that no arbiter was present, freely reproached the authority then in office as most vexatious: to these others affirmed, as from omens, that the longed‑for change of times was at hand, and not a few, in inconceivable madness, promised themselves greater auguries from their ancestors.

8 E quorum numero Gaudentius agens in rebus, mente praecipiti stolidus rem ut seriam detulerat ad Rufinum, apparitionis praefecturae praetorianae tunc principem, ultimorum semper avidum hominem et coalita pravitate famosum.

8 Among these was Gaudentius, active in affairs but rash in mind, a fool who had represented the matter as serious to Rufinus, then chief of the praetorian prefecture, a man ever greedy for the ultimate gains and notorious for his combined depravity.

9 Qui confestim quasi pinnis elatus ad comitatum principis advolavit eumque ad suspiciones huius modi mollem et penetrabilem ita acriter inflammavit, ut sine deliberatione ulla Africanus et omnes letalis mensae participes iuberentur rapi sublimes. Quo facto delator funestus vetita ex more humano validius cupiens biennio id quod agebat, ut postularat, continuare praeceptus est.

9 Who immediately, as if borne on wings, flew to the prince’s comitatus and inflamed him so fiercely against such soft and penetrable suspicions that, without any deliberation, Africanus and all the sharers of the deadly banquet were ordered to be seized and carried off. When this was done, the baleful informer, though forbidden by human custom yet desiring more strongly, was commanded to continue for two years that which he had been doing, as he had demanded.

10 Missus igitur ad eos corripiendos Teutomeres protector domesticus cum collega onustos omnes catenis, ut mandatum est, perducebat. Sed ubi ventum est Aquileiam, Marinus tribunus ex campidoctore eo tempore vacans, auctor perniciosi sermonis, et alioqui naturae ferventis in taberna relictus dum parantur itineri necessaria, lateri cultrum . . . Casu repertum inpegit statimque extractis vitalibus interiit.

10 Sent therefore to chastise them, the protector domesticus, with his colleague, was leading them all loaded with chains, as was commanded. But when they came to Aquileia, Marinus, a tribune then idle as campidoctor, the author of pernicious talk, and otherwise hot of nature, left in a tavern while the necessities for the journey were being prepared, a knife in his side . . .—by chance found it struck home, and immediately, with his vitals pierced and drawn forth, he died.

11 Residui ducti Mediolanum excruciatique tormentis et confessi inter epulas petulanter se quaedam locutos iussi sunt attineri poenalibus claustris sub absolutionis aliqua spe licet incerta protectores vero pronuntiati vertere solum exilio, ut Marino isdem consciis mori permisso, veniam Arbetione meruere precante.

11 The remainder were led to Milan, tortured with torments and, having confessed and—amid the feasts—petulantly uttered certain things, were ordered to be held in penal claustrums under some hope of absolution, albeit uncertain; their protectors, however, were pronounced to be turned merely into exile, so that Marino, the same accomplices being permitted to die, by beseeching obtained pardon for Arbetio.

Lentienses Alamanni a Constantio Aug. pars caesi, pars fugati.

The Lentienses, Alamanni, by Constantius Aug.; part slain, part put to flight.

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1 Re hoc modo finita . . . Et Lentiensibus, Alamannicis pagis indictum est bellum conlimitia saepe Romana latius inrumpentibus, ad quem procinctum imperator egressus in Raetias camposque venit Caninos, et digestis diu consiliis id visum est honestum et utile, ut eo cum militis parte Arbetio magister equitum, cum validiore exercitus manu relegens margines lacus Brigantiae pergeret protinus barbaris congressurus. Cuius loci figuram breviter, quantum ratio patitur, designabo.

1 Concerning this matter thus finished... And war was declared against the Lentienses, Alamannic pagi, who often more widely broke into the contiguous Roman territories; to which the emperor, having donned his armor, went forth and came into the Rhaetian fields at Caninos, and after long-ordered councils it seemed honorable and useful that he should go there with part of the soldiery — Arbetius, master of the cavalry — while, detaching a stronger hand of the army, he left the borders of Lake Brigantia and would at once march forward to meet the barbarians. I will briefly set out the shape of that place, as far as reason allows.

2 Inter montium celsorum amfractus inmani pulsu Rhenus exoriens per praeruptos scopulos extenditur nullos advenas amnes adoptans, ut per cataractas inclinatione praecipiti funditur Nilus, et navigari ab ortu poterat primigenio copiis exuberans propriis, ni ruenti curreret similis potius quam fluenti.

2 Amid the meanders of the lofty mountains the Rhine, rising with a mighty pulse, stretches along the sheer crags, admitting no foreign streams, as the Nile is poured down through cataracts by a headlong declivity; and it could be navigated from its source, abounding in its own primeval forces, if it did not run rushing, more like a torrent than a flowing river.

3 Iamque ad planiora solutus altaque divortia riparum adradens lacum invadit rotundum et vastum, quem Brigantiam accola Raetus appellat, perque quadringenta et sexaginta stadia longum parique paene spatio late diffusum horrore silvarum squalentium inaccessum, nisi qua vetus illa Romana virtus et sobria iter conposuit latum barbaris et natura locorum et caeli inclementia refragante.

3 And now, loosened down to the plains and brushing the high separations of the banks, he approaches and enters a round and vast lake, which the Raetian neighbour calls Brigantia, and one long for 460 stadia and spread widely almost equal in extent, inaccessible by reason of the horror of the overgrown forests, were it not that that old Roman virtue and a soberly laid route made a broad way for the barbarians, the nature of the places and the inclemency of the sky opposing.

4 Hanc ergo paludem spumosis strependo verticibus amnis inrumpens et undarum quietem permeans pigram, mediam velut finali intersecat libramento et tamquam elementum perenni discordia separatum nec aucto nec imminuto agmine quod intulit, vocabulo et viribus absolvitur integris nec contagia deinde ulla perpetiens oceani gurgitibus intimatur.

4 Thus this marsh the river, bursting in with foamy, resounding crests and passing through the quiet of the sluggish waves, cleaves the middle as it were with a final librament and, like an element sundered by perpetual discord, neither increased nor diminished by the flood it has brought, is discharged by name and by its intact powers, and thereafter, bearing no contagion, is poured into the abysses of the ocean.

5 Quodque est impendio mirum, nec stagnum aquarum rapido transcursu movetur nec limosa subluvie tardatur properans flumen, et confusum misceri non potest corpus: quod, ni ita agi ipse doceret aspectus, nulla vi credebatur posse discerni.

5 And what is wondrous in its outpouring: neither is the stagnant pool of waters stirred by the swift current, nor is the muddy underflow swept away or delayed by the hurrying river, and the mingled body cannot be confounded; which, if the very sight did not teach that it so acts, would by no force be believed to be discernible.

6 Sic Alpheus oriens in Arcadia cupidine fontis Arethusae captus scindens Ionium mare, ut fabulae ferunt, ad usque amatae confinia progreditur nymphae.

6 Thus Alpheus, rising in Arcadia, seized by desire for the fountain Arethusa, cleaving the Ionian sea, as the tales relate, advances even to the confines of the nymph he loves.

7 Arbetio qui adventus barbarorum nuntiaret non exspectans dum adessent, licet sciret orta bellorum, in occultas delatus insidias stetit immobilis malo repentino perculsus.

7 Arbetius, who announced the arrival of the barbarians, not waiting for them to be present, although he knew that wars had arisen, was led into hidden ambushes and stood motionless, struck by a sudden evil.

8 Namque improvisi e latebris hostes exiliunt et sine parsimonia quicquid offendi poterat, telorum genere multiplici configebant: nec enim resistere nostrorum quisquam potuit nec aliud vitae subsidium nisi discessu sperare veloci. Quocirca vulneribus declinandis intenti inconposito agmine milites huc et illuc dispalantes terga ferienda dederunt. Plerique tamen per angustas semitas sparsi periculoque praesidio tenebrosae noctis extracti revoluta iam luce redintegratis viribus agmini quisque proprio sese consociavit.

8 For the unlooked-for enemies leapt forth from their lairs and, without parsimony, hurled whatever could be hurled, striking with a multiplicity of missile kinds: for none of our men could stand fast, nor hope for any other succor of life save swift departure. Wherefore, intent on averting wounds, in a disordered column the soldiers, scattering here and there, turned and fled with backs exposed to be struck. Yet many, dispersed through narrow paths and drawn out by the sheltering peril of the dark night, with the light returned and their strength renewed, each rejoined the column of his own squad.

In quo casu ita tristi et inopino abundans numerus armatorum et tribuni desiderati sunt decem.

In that case the number of armed men, so tragic and unexpectedly abundant, was such that ten tribunes were required.

9 Ob quae Alamanni sublatis animis ferocius incedentes secuto die prope munimenta Romana adimente matutina nebula lucem strictis mucronibus discurrebant frendendo minas tumidas intentantes. Egressique repente Scutarii cum obiectu turmarum hostilium repercussi stetissent, omnes suos conspiratis mentibus ciebant ad pugnam.

9 Whereupon the Alamanni, with spirits raised, advancing more fiercely, on the following day near the Roman ramparts, the morning mist taking away the light, with blades drawn ran about, gnashing and aiming swollen threats. And when the Scutarii suddenly sallied forth and, having been driven back by the counterstroke of the enemy squadrons, had stood their ground, they stirred up all their men with plotting minds to battle.

10 Verum cum plerosque recentis aerumnae documenta terrerent et intuta fore residua credens haereret Arbetio, tres simul exsiluere tribuni, Arintheus agens vicem armaturarum rectoris et Seniachus qui equestrem turmam comitum tuebatur et Bappo ducens Promotos.

10 But when the proofs of the recent hardship frightened most, and Arbetio, believing the remainder would be safe, clung fast, three tribunes simultaneously leapt forth: Arintheus acting in the place of the commander of the armoured men, and Seniachus who guarded the cavalry troop of companions, and Bappo leading the Promoti.

11 Qui cum commissis sibi militibus pro causa communi velut propria Deciorum veterum exemplo instarque fluminis hostibus superfusi non iusto proelio sed discursionibus rapidis universos in fugam coegere foedissimam. Qui dispersi laxatis ordinibus dumque elabi properant impediti corpora nudantes intecta gladiorum hastarumque densis ictibus truncabantur.

11 Who, with soldiers committed to them for the common cause, like the example of the old Decii and standing on the river’s bank, having poured themselves upon the enemies, not in a just battle but by swift sallies compelled everyone into a most shameful flight. Those scattered, their ranks loosened, and while hastening to slip away — hindered and stripping their bodies — had the sheaths of their swords and spears struck off by dense blows.

12 Multique cum equis interfecti iacentes etiam tum eorum dorsis videbantur innexi: quo viso omnes e castris effusi, qui prodire in proelium cum sociis ambigebant, cavendi inmemores proterebant barbaram plebem, nisi quos fuga exemerat morti, calcantes cadaverum strues et perfusi sanie peremptorum.

12 And many, slain with their horses, even then lying on their backs seemed fastened to them: at the sight all poured forth from the camps, those who hesitated to advance into battle with their comrades, forgetful of caution, were trampling the barbarian populace—except those whom flight had snatched from death—treading the heaps of corpses and soaked in the gore of the slain.

13 Hocque exitu proelio terminato imperator Mediolanum ad hiberna ovans revertit et laetus.

13 With this outcome, the battle having been ended, the emperor returned to Mediolanum to his hibernal quarters, exulting and glad.

Silvanus Francus, magister peditum per Gallias, Coloniae Augustus adpellatur, et xxviii. Imperi die per insidias opprimitur.

Silvanus the Frank, master of the infantry throughout Gaul, is called Augustus at Cologne, and on the 28th day of his rule is overwhelmed by treachery.

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1 Exoritur iam hinc rebus adflictis haut dispari provinciarum malo calamitatum turbo novarum extincturus omnia simul, ni fortuna moderatrix humanorum casuum motum eventu celeri consummavit inpendio formidatum.

1 Now from here arises, affairs being afflicted, a whirlwind of new calamities, not dissimilar to the provinces’ evil, about to extinguish all at once; but Fortune, moderatrix of human chances, with a swift event consummated the feared expenditure.

2 Cum diuturna incuria Galliae caedes acerbas rapinasque et incendia barbaris licenter grassantibus nullo iuvante perferrent, Silvanus pedestris militiae rector ut efficax ad haec corrigenda principis iussu perrexit Arbetione id maturari modis quibus poterat adigente, ut absenti aemulo quem superesse adhuc gravabatur periculosae molis onus impingeret.

2 When, by long neglect, bitter slaughter, rapine, and fires in Gaul were being endured with the barbarians rampaging unchecked and no one coming to aid, Silvanus, commander of the infantry, that he might be effective in correcting these things, at the prince’s command proceeded to Arbetio to hasten the matter by such means as he could, urging that the dangerous burden of the enterprise be thrust upon the absent rival, whose mere surviving still weighed heavily.

3 Dynamius quidam actuarius sarcinalium principis iumentorum commendaticias ab eo petierat litteras ad amicos ut quasi familiaris eiusdem esset notissimus. Hoc inpetrato, cum ille nihil suspicans simpliciter praestitisset, servabat epistulas ut perniciosum aliquid in tempore moliretur.

3 Dynamius, a certain actuarius of the prince’s baggage, had requested from him letters of commendation to friends, as if he were a familiar and well known of the same. This obtained, since that man, suspecting nothing, had simply bestowed them, he kept the epistles that he might, at the appointed time, contrive something pernicious.

4 Memorato itaque duce Gallias ex re publica discursante barbarosque propellente iam sibi diffidentes et trepidantes idem Dynamius inquietius agens ut versutus et in fallendo exercitatus fraudem comminiscitur inpiam subornatore et conscio, ut iactavere rumores incerti, Lampadio praefecto praetorio, et Eusebio ex comite rei privatae, cui cognomentum erat inditum Mattyocopae, atque Aedesio ex magistro memoriae, quos ad consulatum ut amicos iunctissimos idem curarat rogari praefectus, et peniculo serie litterarum abstersa, sola incolumi relicta subscriptione alter multum a vero illo dissonans superscribitur textus: velut Silvano rogante verbis obliquis hortanteque amicos agentes intra palatium, vel privatos inter quos et Tuscus erat Albinus, aliique plures ut se altiora coeptantem et prope diem loci principalis aditurum iuvarent.

4 Therefore, with the aforesaid duke having withdrawn from public affairs and driving off the barbarians, who now distrusted and trembled, the same Dynamius, acting the more inquietly, and crafty and practised in deceiving, contrived a fraud with an unholy instigator and accomplice, that uncertain rumors be cast: to Lampadius, praefect of the praetorian guard, and to Eusebius, formerly comes of the private affairs, to whom the cognomen Mattyocopae had been given, and to Aedesiu[s], formerly master of memory, whom the same prefect had arranged to be asked for the consulship as his most intimate friends; and with the bundle of letters wiped clean, only one subscription left sound, another—much discordant from the true text—was superscribed: as if Silvanus, asking in oblique words and exhorting friends acting within the palace, or among private men, among whom Tuscus Albinus was, and many others, to assist him as he was attempting loftier undertakings and would shortly approach the principal place of the locality.

5 Hunc fascem ad arbitrium figmenti conpositum, vitam pulsaturum insontis, a Dynamio susceptum praefectus imperatori, avido scrutari haec et similia, censuit offerendum . . . Solus ingressus intimum capto e re tempore, deinde sperans ut pervigilem salutis eius custodem et cautum lectaque in consistorio astu callido consarcinata materia tribuni iussi sunt custodiri, et de provinciis duci privati, quorum epistulae nomina designabant.

5 This bundle, composed at the whim of the fabricator and meant to strike at the life of an innocent man, having been taken up by Dynamius, the prefect deemed fit to offer to the emperor, eager to scrutinize these and similar things . . . Having alone entered the innermost chamber with the matter seized at the time, and then hoping that the emperor, vigilant guardian of his safety and cautious, — and the material, read in the consistory and artfully stitched together with crafty deceit, — the tribunes were ordered to guard it, and private letters from the provinces to the duke, whose letters set down the names.

6 Confestimque iniquitate rei percitus Malarichus Gentilium rector collegis adhibitis strepebat inmaniter Circumveniri homines dicatos imperio per factiones et dolos minime debere proclamans, petebatque ut ipse relictis obsidum loco necessitudinibus suis, Mallobaude armaturarum tribuno spondente quod remeabit, velocius iuberetur ire ducturus Silvanum adgredi nihil tale conatum, quale insidiatores acerrimi concitarunt: vel contra se paria promittente Mallobaudem orabat properare permitti, haec quae ipse pollicitus est impleturum.

6 Immediately, struck by the injustice of the affair, Malarichus, governor of the Gentiles, with his colleagues present, loudly declared that men appointed to command ought by no means to be beset with factions and deceits, and he begged that he himself, having left the hostages in their place because of his ties, with Mallobaudus the tribune of the armored troops promising that he will return, be ordered to go more swiftly to attack Silvanus, who had made no such attempt as the most bitter conspirators stirred up; or, promising equal things against himself to Mallobaudus, he prayed that he be allowed to hasten, saying he would fulfil those things which he himself had promised.

7 Testabatur enim id se procul dubio scire quod, siqui mitteretur externus, suopte ingenio Silvanus etiam nulla re perterrente timidior conposita forte turbabit.

7 For he testified that he knew beyond doubt that, if any outsider were sent, Silvanus by his own disposition, even though nothing terrifying afflicted him, would perhaps be thrown into greater timidity by contrivances composed against him.

8 Et quamquam utilia moneret et necessaria, ventis tamen loquebatur incassum. Namque Arbetione auctore Apodemius ad eum vocandum cum litteris mittitur inimicus bonorum omnium diuturnus et gravis. Qui incidentia parvi ducens cum venisset in Gallias, dissidens a mandatis, quae proficiscenti sunt data, nec viso Silvano nec oblatis scriptis ut veniret admonito remansit adscitoque rationali quasi proscripti iamque necandi magistri peditum clientes et servos hostili tumore vexabat.

8 And although he admonished things useful and necessary, he nevertheless spoke to the winds in vain. For, at Arbetio’s instigation, Apodemius—long an enemy of all good men and a man of weight—was sent with letters to summon him. He, deeming the incidents of little account, when he had come into Gaul, dissented from the mandates that are given to one about to depart, and, neither having seen Silvanus nor—though the writings were offered—being admonished to come, he remained; and having assumed a rationalis as if of a proscribed and already-to-be-killed man, he vexed the magistri peditum’s clients and servants with hostile arrogance.

9 Inter haec tamen dum praesentia Silvani speratur et Apodemius quieta perturbat, Dynamius ut argumento validiore impie structorum adsereret fidem, conpositas litteras his concinentes, quas obtulerat principi per praefectum, ad tribunum miserat fabricae Cremonensis nomine Silvani et Malarichi, a quibus ut arcanorum conscius monebatur parare propere cuncta.

9 Meanwhile, among these things, while Silvanus’s presence was hoped for and Apodemius disturbed the tranquillity, Dynamius, in order to establish belief in the impiously devised matters by a stronger argument, having composed letters consonant with these, which he had offered to the prince through the prefect, had sent to the tribune of the Cremonensis fabrica, named Silvanus and Malarichus, by whom, being warned as conscious of secrets, he was to prepare all things promptly.

10 Qui cum haec legisset, haerens et ambigens dia quidnam id esset nec enim meminerat secum aliquando super negotio ullo interiore hos quorum litteras acceperat conlocutos epistulas ipsas per baiulum qui portarat, iuncto milite ad Malarichum misit obsecrans, ut doceret aperte quae vellet, non ita perplexe: nec enim intellexisse firmabat ut subagrestem et simplicem, quid significatum esset obscurius.

10 He who had read these things, clinging and wavering, being at a loss what that might be — for he did not remember that he had ever, in any private business, placed with him those whose letters he had received, the very epistles, with the bearer who had carried them — having joined a soldier, sent to Malarichus, imploring him to declare openly what he meant, not so perplexingly: for he affirmed that, being somewhat rustic and simple, he had not understood what the more obscure signification was.

11 Haec Malarichus subito nanctus etiam tunc squalens et maestus suamque et popularis Silvani vicem graviter ingemiscens adhibitis Francis, quorum ea tempestate in palatio multitudo florebat, erectius iam loquebatur: tumultuabaturque patefactis insidiis retectaque iam fallacia, per quam ex confesso salus eorum adpetebatur.

11 Having suddenly learned this, Malarichus, even then haggard and sorrowful and grievously lamenting both his own lot and the popular lot of Silvanus, with Franks brought in—of whom at that time a multitude flourished in the palace—spoke now more boldly; and he was in uproar when the ambushes were laid bare and the deceit already uncovered, through which, as was confessed, their safety was being sought.

12 Hisque cognitis statuit imperator dispicientibus consistorianis et militaribus universis in negotium praeterinquiri. Cumque iudices fastidissent, Florentius Nigriniani filius agens tunc pro magistro officiorum, contemplans diligentius scripta apicumque pristinorum reliquias quasdam reperiens animadvertit, ut factum est, priore textu interpolato longe alia quam dictarat Silvanus, ex libidine consarcinatae falsitatis adscripta.

12 These things having been learnt, the emperor ordered the affair to be further inquired into with all the consistorial and military officers looking on. And when the judges had shirked, Florentius, son of Nigrinianus, then acting as magister officiorum, contemplating more diligently the writings and even some relics of former papers which he found, observed, as it came about, that the earlier text had been interpolated and that what was ascribed to Silvanus was far other than he had dictated, the additions sewn on from a lust for falsity.

13 Proinde fallaciarum nube discussa imperator doctus gesta relatione fideli, abrogata potestate praefectum statui sub questione praecepit sed absolutus est enixa conspiratione multorum. Suspensus autem Eusebius ex comite privatarum se conscio haec dixerat concitata.

13 Therefore, the cloud of deceits being dispelled, the emperor, instructed by a faithful relation of the deeds, and the power having been revoked, ordered that the prefect be placed under state inquiry; but he was acquitted, having relied on the conspiracy of many. Suspended, however, Eusebius, from the office of comes privatarum, with that comes as his confederate, had uttered these things in a state of agitation.

14 Aedesius enim minus scisse quid actum sit pertinaci infitiatione contendens abiit innoxius et ita finito negotio omnes sunt absoluti quos exhiberi delatio conpulit criminosa. Dynamius vero ut praeclaris artibus inlustratus cum correctoris dignitate regere iussus est Tuscos.

14 For Aedesius, maintaining by pertinacious denial that he knew less of what had been done, went away blameless; and thus the matter ended, all those whom the criminal denunciation had forced to be produced were acquitted. Dynamius, however, renowned for splendid arts, was ordered to govern the Tuscans with the dignity of a Corrector.

15 Agens inter haec apud Agrippinam Silvanus assiduisque suorum conpertis nuntiis, quae Apodemius in labem suarum ageret fortunarum et sciens animum tenerum versabilis principis, timens ne trucidaretur absens et indamnatus, in difficultate positus maxima barbaricae se fidei committere cogitabat.

15 Meanwhile, at Agrippina, Silvanus, with frequent reports of his men having been discovered, reports which Apodemius was bringing to the ruin of his fortunes, and knowing the tender, changeable spirit of the capricious prince, fearing that he would be slaughtered in his absence and condemned, placed in difficulty, contemplated committing himself to the highest barbaric faith.

16 Sed Laniogaiso vetante, tunc tribuno, quem dum militaret candidatus solum adfuisse morituro Constanti supra rettulimus, docenteque Francos, unde oriebatur, interfecturos eum aut accepto praemio prodituros, nihil tutum ex praesentibus ratus in consilia cogebatur extrema et sensim cum principiorum verticibus secretius conlocutus isdemque magnitudine promissae mercedis accensis, cultu purpureo a draconum et vexillorum insignibus 13 ad tempus abstracto ad culmen imperiale surrexit.

16 But with Laniogaisus forbidding — then tribune, whom, while he served as a soldier, we above related had been present alone by the dying Constans the candidate — and instructing the Franks, whence he sprang, that they would either kill him or betray him for a received reward, thinking nothing safe among those present he was driven into extreme counsels; and gradually, having conferred more secretly with the chiefs of the princes and inflamed by the magnitude of the promised merced (reward), with the purple dress for a time withdrawn from the insignia of the draco and the standards, he rose to the imperial summit.

17 Dumque haec aguntur in Galliis, ad occasum inclinato iam die perfertur Mediolanum insperabilis nuntius aperte Silvanum demonstrans, dum ex magisterio peditum altius nititur, sollicitato exercitu ad angustum culmen evectum.

17 And while these things are done in Gaul, with the day already bent toward sunset an unexpected message is borne to Milan, openly accusing Silvanus, while he leans more upon the mastery of the infantry, and, the army having been alarmed, he is carried up to a narrow summit.

18 Hac mole casus inopini Constantio icto quasi fulmine fati primates consilio secunda vigilia convocato properarunt omnes in regiam. Cumque nulli ad eligendum quid agi deberet, mens suppetere posset aut lingua, submissis verbis perstringebatur Ursicini mentio, ut consiliis rei bellicae praestantissimi frustraque gravi iniuria lacessiti, et per admissionum magistrum qui mos est honoratior accito eodem, ingresso consistorium offertur purpura multo quam antea placidius. Diocletianus enim Augustus omnium primus extero ritu et regio more instituit adorari, cum semper antea ad similitudinem iudicum salutatos principes legerimus.

18 By this mass and an unexpected mischance, Constantinus struck as if by the lightning of fate, the leading men, the council having summoned the second watch, all hastened into the palace. And when none could supply a mind or tongue for choosing what ought to be done, with words subdued the mention of Ursicinus was touched upon, that, having been provoked by the counsels of the most outstanding man of war and by a grievous affront in vain, and with the master of admissions — which is the more honourable custom — having been called the same, on entering the consistory the purple was offered him much more placidly than before. For Diocletianus Augustus first of all established that he be adored in foreign rite and royal manner, since always before we have read that princes were greeted after the likeness of judges.

19 Et qui paulo antea cum insectatione malivola orientis vorago invadendaeque summae rei per filios adfectator conpellabatur, tunc dux prudentissimus et Constantini Magni fuerat conmilito solusque ad exstinguendum probis quidem sed insidiosis rationibus petebatur. Diligens enim opera navabatur extingui Silvanum ut fortissimum perdvellem, aut si secus accidisset, Ursicinum exulceratum iam penitus aboleri ne superesset scrupulus inpendio formidandus.

19 And he who a little before, with malevolent pursuit, had been driven by the vorago of the East and urged by his sons to assail the summit of the affair as an aspirant, then—being a most prudent dux and a comrade-in-arms of Constantine the Great—was sought alone to be extinguished by means indeed upright but insidious. For he toiled diligently to put out Silvanus as one to be destroyed because of his bravery, or if it fell out otherwise, to have Ursicinus, already ulcerated, utterly abolished, so that no scruple would remain feared in the slaughter.

20 Igitur cum de profectione celeranda disponeretur, propulsationem obiectorum criminum eundem ducem parantem praegressus oratione leni prohibet imperator, non id esse memorans tempus ut controversa defensio causae susciperetur, cum vicissim restitui in pristinam concordiam partes necessitas subigeret urgentium rerum antequam cresceret mollienda.

20 Therefore, when it was being arranged that the departure should be hastened, the emperor, forbidding with a gentle speech the same duke who, going before, was preparing the repulsion of the alleged crimes, not remembering that this was the time to take up the defence of the controverted cause, since the necessity of pressing affairs in turn compelled the parties to be restored to their former concord before they could grow and need to be mollified.

21 Habita igitur deliberatione multiplici id potissimum tractabatur, quo commento Silvanus gesta etiam tum imperatorem ignorare existimaret. Et probabili argumento ad firmandam fidem reperto monetur honorificis scriptis, ut accepto Ursicino successore cum potestate rediret intacta.

21 Therefore, after much deliberation had been held, that matter above all was treated: by what pretext Silvanus might suppose even then that the emperor was ignorant of the deeds. And, a probable argument being found to strengthen belief, he is advised by honorific letters that, with Ursicinus accepted as successor with authority, he should return intact.

22 Post haec ita digesta protinus iubetur exire, tribunis et protectoribus domesticis decem, ut postularat, ad iuvandas necessitates publicas ei coniunctis. Inter quos ego quoque eram cum Veriniano collega, residui omnes propinqui et familiares.

22 After this was thus arranged, he was at once ordered to set out, with ten tribunes and domestic protectors, as he had requested, joined to him to assist with public necessities. Among whom I too was, with my colleague Verinianus, the rest all being kinsmen and familiars.

23 Iamque eum egressum solum de se metuens quisque per longa spatia deducebat. Et quamquam ut bestiarii obiceremur intractabilibus feris, perpendentes tamen hoc bonum habere tristia praecedentia, quod in locis suis secunda substituunt, mirabamur illam sententiam Tullianam ex internis veritatis ipsius promulgatam, quae est talis et quamquam optatissimum est perpetuo fortunam quam florentissimam permanere, illa tamen aequalitas vitae non tantum habet sensum, quantum cum ex miseris et perditis rebus ad meliorem statum fortuna revocatur.

23 And now each one, fearing him when he had gone out alone, led him along long stretches. And although we were to be cast as bestiarii before untamable beasts, yet weighing that this sorrowful precedent had the good — that in their places prosperous things succeed — we marvelled at that Tullian sentence proclaimed from the innermost truth itself, which runs thus: and although it is most desirable that fortune remain forever most flourishing, nevertheless that equality of life has not so much sense as when fortune is recalled from miserable and ruined affairs to a better condition.

24 Festinamus itaque itineribus magnis ut ambitiosus magister armorum ante adlapsum per Italicos de tyrannide ullum rumorem in suspectis finibus appareret. Verum cursim nos properantes aeria quaedam antevolans prodiderat fama et Agrippinam ingressi invenimus cuncta nostris conatibus altiora.

24 We therefore hastened by long marches so that the ambitious master of arms might, before his collapse, appear as any rumor of tyranny among the Italian districts on suspicious frontiers. But swiftly a certain aerial fame flying ahead had betrayed it, and on entering to Agrippina we found everything loftier than our efforts.

25 Namque convena undique multitudine trepide coepta fundante coactisque copiis multis pro statu rei praesentis id aptius videbatur, ut ad imperatoris novelli per ludibriosa auspicia virium accessu firmandi sensum ac voluntatem dux flebilis verteretur: quo variis adsentandi figmentis in mollius vergente securitate nihil metuens hostile deciperetur.

25 For a coming-together everywhere, begun in trembling multitude, laying a foundation and with many forces gathered, for the present state of the matter it seemed more fitting that the doleful leader be turned — by the access of forces to strengthen the feeling and will of the new emperor through derisive auspices — so that, by various contrivances of assent and in a security leaning toward softness, he, fearing nothing, might be deceived by the hostile party.

26 Cuius rei finis arduus videbatur. Erat enim cautius observandum, ut adpetitus opportunitati optemperarent, nec praecurrentes eam nec deserentes. Qui si eluxissent intempestive, constabat nos omnes sub elogio uno morte multandos.

26 The end of this affair seemed arduous. For it was to be observed more cautiously, that they might conform to the opportunity seized, neither running ahead of it nor deserting it. For if they had acted forth untimely, it was agreed that we all would be punished under one censure with death.

27 Susceptus tamen idem dux leniter adactusque, inclinante negotio ipso cervices, adorare sollemniter anhelantem celsius purpuratum, ut spectabilis colebatur et intimus: facilitate aditus honoreque mensae regalis adeo antepositus aliis, ut iam secretius de rerum summa consultaretur.

27 That same leader, however, received and gently urged, the very business bowing necks, to solemnly adore the panting, more ardent, purple-clad man, as he was venerated both as conspicuous and intimate: by the ease of access and by the honour of the royal table so set before others, that now more secretly the sum of affairs was deliberated.

28 Aegre ferebat Silvanus ad consulatum potestatesque sublimes elatis indignis se et Ursicinum solos post exsudatos magnos pro re publica labores et crebros ita fuisse despectos, ut ipse quidem per quaestiones familiarium sub disceptatione ignobili crudeliter agitatus commisisse in maiestatem arcesseretur, alter vero ab oriente raptus odiis inimicorum addiceretur: et haec adsidue clam querebatur et palam.

28 Silvanus ill bore that the consulship and the lofty powers had been raised to unworthy men, and that he and Ursicinus alone, after sweating out great and repeated labors for the res publica, had been so despised; so that he himself, cruelly treated in quaestiones familiarum under ignoble dispute, was accused of maiestas and summoned, while the other, snatched from the east, was handed over to the hatreds of his enemies: and of these things he complained constantly, both secretly and openly.

29 Terrebant nos tamen, cum dicerentur haec et similia, circumfrementia undique murmura causantis inopiam militis et rapida celeritate ardentis angustias Alpium perrumpere Cottiarum.

29 They frightened us, however, when these and similar things were said, the murmurs roaring all around, alleging the scarcity of soldiers and that with rapid speed the ardent force would burst through the narrows of the Cottian Alps.

30 In hoc aestu mentis ancipiti ad effectum tendens consilium occulta scrutabamur indagine sederatque tandem mutatis prae timore saepe sententiis, ut quaesitis magna industria cautis rei ministris, obstricto religionum consecratione conloquio Bracchiati sollicitarentur atque Cornuti, fluxioris fidei et ubertate mercedis ad momentum omne versabiles.

30 In this heat of a twofold mind, leaning toward execution, we sifted the plan by secret inquiry, and at last, our judgments often changed through fear, after having sought with great industry the cautious ministers of the affair; with the binding of religious consecration checked, Bracchiatus was to be urged in conference, and Cornutus, of more fluid faith and apt at every moment to be turned by the richness of reward.

31 Firmato itaque negotio per sequestres quosdam gregarios obscuritate ipsa ad id patrandum idoneos, praemiorum exspectatione accensos solis ortu iam rutilo subitus armatorum globus erupit atque, ut solet in dubiis rebus audentior, caesis custodibus regia penetrata Silvanum extractum aedicula, quo exanimatus confugerat, ad conventiculum ritus Christiani tendentem densis gladiorum ictibus trucidarunt.

31 The business thus settled, certain sequestered retainers, made suitable by the very obscurity for accomplishing it, inflamed by expectation of rewards, at the sunrise already ruddy a sudden mass of armed men burst forth and, as is customary in doubtful affairs more audacious, the guards having been cut down, they forced into the palace; they dragged out Silvanus from the little aedicule to which, stunned, he had fled, and, bound for a conventicle of Christian rite, they butchered him with thick strokes of swords.

32 Ita dux haut exilium meritorum hoc genere oppetit mortis metu calumniarum, quibus factione iniquorum inretitus est absens, ut tueri possit salutem ad praesidia progressus extrema.

32 Thus the leader did not suffer an exile of his merits by this sort of death, through fear of calumnies, by which, ensnared by a faction of the unjust while absent, he could not defend his safety when he had advanced to the farthest garrisons.

33 Licet enim ob tempestivam illam cum armaturis proditionem ante Mursense proelium obligatum gratia retineret Constantium, ut dubium tamen et mutabilem verebatur, licet patris quoque Boniti praetenderet fortia facta Franci quidem, sed pro Constantini partibus in bello civili acriter contra Licinianos saepe versati.

33 For although, on account of that timely treachery with arms, he held Constantine by obligation before the Mursian battle through favor, yet he feared him as doubtful and changeable; although he also put forward the brave deeds of his father Bonitus — the Franks indeed — who, on Constantine’s side in the civil war, had often been fiercely engaged against the Licinians.

34 Evenerat autem antequam huius modi aliquid agitaretur in Galliis, ut Romae in Circo maximo populus, incertum ratione quadam percitus an praesagio Silvanus devictus est magnis vocibus exclamaret.

34 It had happened, however, before anything of this sort was undertaken in Gaul, that in Rome in the Circus Maximus the people, struck by some uncertain cause — whether by reason or by a presage — cried out with great voices that Silvanus had been defeated.

35 Igitur Silvano Agrippinae, ut relatum est, interfecto inaestimabili gaudio re cognita princeps insolentia coalitus et tumore, hoc quoque felicitatis suae prosperis cursibus adsignabat eo more, quo semper oderat fortiter facientes, ut quondam Domitianus, superare tamen quacumque arte contraria cupiebat.

35 Therefore, with Silvanus of Agrippina, as has been reported, having been slain, the princeps, his insolence united and swollen by the matter made known with inestimable joy, assigned this also to the prosperous courses of his felicity in that manner in which he always hated those acting bravely, as once Domitian did, yet he wished to surpass them by whatever contriving art.

36 Tantumque abfuit laudare industrie gesta, ut etiam quaedam scriberet de Gallicanis intercepta thesauris, quos nemo attigerat. Idque scrutari iusserat artius interrogato Remigio etiam tum rationario apparitionis armorum magistri, cui multo postea Valentiniani temporibus laqueus vitam in causa Tripolitanae legationis eripuit.

36 And he was so far from failing to praise industrious deeds that he even wrote certain things about Gallic treasures intercepted, which no one had touched. And he had ordered this to be examined more closely, Remigius being questioned, even then the rationary and magister of the inspection of arms, to whom, much later in the time of Valentinian, a noose robbed life on account of the Tripolitan legation.

37 Post quae ita completa Constantius ut iam caelo contiguus casibusque imperaturus humanis magniloquentia sufflabatur adulatorum, quos augebat ipse spernendo proiciendoque id genus parum callentes ut Croesum legimus ideo regno suo Solonem expulisse praecipitem quia blandiri nesciebat, et Dionysium intentasse poetae Philoxeno mortem cum eum recitantem proprios versus absurdos et inconcinnos laudantibus cunctis solus audiret immobilis.

37 After these things thus completed, Constantius, as if already contiguous to heaven and about to command human fortunes, puffed himself up with the magniloquence of flatterers, whom he himself increased by spurning and casting away that sort who were not very shrewd — as we read that Croesus for that reason cast Solon headlong from his kingdom because he did not know how to flatter — and that Dionysius aimed at the death of the poet Philoxenus when, while everyone else praised him reciting his own verses, absurd and ill-wrought, he alone listened unmoved.

38 Quae res perniciosa vitiorum est altrix. Ea demum enim laus grata esse potestati debet excelsae, cum interdum et vituperationi secus gestorum pateat locus.

38 This thing is a pernicious nurse of vices. For at last that praise ought to be pleasing to lofty power, when sometimes even a place is open for blame concerning deeds ill‑done.

Silvani amici et conscii necati.

Silvanus’ friends and accomplices, slain.

[6]

1 Iamque per securitatem quaestiones agitabantur ex more et vinculis catenisque plures ut noxii plectebantur. Exurgebat enim effervens laetitia Paulus, tartareus ille delator, ad venenatas artes suas licentius exercendas, et inquirentibus in negotium consistorianis atque militaribus, et praeceptum est, Proculus admovetur eculeo, Silvani domesticus, homo gracilis et morbosus, metuentibus cunctis, ne vi nimia tormentorum levi corpore fatigato reos atrocium criminum promiscue citari faceret multos. Verum contra quam speratum est contigit.

1 And now, through the security forces investigations were conducted according to custom, and many were punished as guilty with bonds and chains. For Paulus, that Tartarean informer, was rising with effervescent joy to exercise his poisoned arts more licentiously; and when the consistorial and military officers inquired into the affair, it was ordered, "Proculus is to be brought on the little horse," Silvanus's domestic, a slender and sickly man, feared by all, lest by excessive force of torments his light body, being exhausted, should make many defendants of atrocious crimes be cited promiscuously. But the event turned out contrary to what was hoped.

2 Memor enim somnii, quo vetitus erat per quietem, ut ipse firmavit, pulsare quendam insontem, usque ad confinia mortis vexatus nec nominavit nec prodidit aliquem sed adserebat factum Silvani constanter, id eum cogitasse quod iniit non cupiditate sed necessitate conpulsum, argumento evidenti demonstrans

2 For he remembered a dream, by which he had been forbidden during sleep, as he himself affirmed, to strike a certain innocent man, harried even to the confines of death; he neither named nor betrayed anyone, but constantly asserted that the deed was Silvanus’s, arguing that he had been driven to what he did not by cupidity but by necessity, and demonstrating this with clear argument.

3 Causam enim probabilem ponebat in medio multorum testimoniis claram, quod die quinto antequam infulas susciperet principatus, donatum stipendio militem Constanti nomine adlocutus est, fortis esset et fidus. Unde apparebat quod, si praesumere fortunae superioris insignia conaretur, auri tam grave pondus largiretur ut suum.

3 For he set forth a probable cause in the midst of many clear testimonies, namely that on the fifth day before he would receive the fillets of the principate, he had addressed a soldier granted as pay, called Constans, saying he was brave and faithful. Whence it appeared that, if he attempted to assume the insignia of a superior fortune, so heavy a weight of gold would be lavished that it would become his.

4 Post hunc damnatorum sorte Poemenius raptus ad supplicium interiit, qui, ut supra rettulimus, cum Treveri civitatem Caesari clausissent Decentio, ad defendendam plebem electus est. Tum Asclepiodotus et Lutto et Maudio Comites interempti sunt aliique plures, haec et similia perplexe temporis obstinatione scrutante.

4 After him Poemenius, seized by lot among the condemned, perished carried off to execution, who, as we related above, when Decentius had shut the city of Trier against the Caesar, was chosen to defend the people. Then Asclepiodotus and Lutto and Maudio, Counts, were slain, and many others; these and similar matters being examined amid the perplexed obstinacy of the times.

Ab Leontio praefecto urbi populi R. seditiones repressae. Liberius episcopus sede pulsus.

By Leontius, prefect of the city, the seditions of the people R. were suppressed. Liberius, the bishop, was driven from his see.

[7]

1 Dum has exitiorum communium clades suscitat turbo feralis, urbem aeternam Leontius regens multa spectati iudicis documenta praebebat in audiendo celer, in disceptando iustissimus, natura benivolus, licet auctoritatis causa servandae acer quibusdam videbatur et inclinatior ad damnandum.

1 While a fatal whirlwind stirred up these common calamities, Leontius, ruling the eternal city, gave many proofs of an admired judge: swift in hearing, most just in deciding, by nature benevolent, although, for the sake of preserving authority, he seemed harsh to some and rather inclined to condemn.

2 Prima igitur causa seditionis in eum concitandae vilissima fuit et levis. Philoromum enim aurigam rapi praeceptum secuta plebs omnis velut defensura proprium pignus terribili impetu praefectum incessebat ut timidum, sed ille stabilis et erectus inmissis apparitoribus correptos aliquos vexatosque tormentis nec strepente ullo nec obsistente insulari poena multavit.

2 Therefore the first cause of the sedition raised against him was most base and slight. For the whole populace, following the order to seize Philoromus the auriga, as if to defend their own pledge, attacked the praefect with terrible impetus as though he were timorous; but he, steady and erect, having sent in his apparitors, punished some who had been seized and harried with torments with insular penalty — there being neither any clamor nor any resistance.

3 Diebusque paucis secutis cum itidem plebs excita calore quo consuevit vini causando inopiam, ad Septemzodium convenisset, celebrem locum, ubi operis ambitiosi Nymphaeum Marcus condidit imperator, illuc de industria pergens praefectus ab omni toga apparitioneque rogabatur enixius, ne in multitudinem se adrogantem inmitteret et minacem, ex commotione pristina saevientem: difficilis ad pavorem recte tetendit adeo, ut eum obsequentium pars desereret licet in periculum festinantem abruptum.

3 And after a few days had followed, when likewise the populace, roused by the heat with which it is wont to cause scarcity by means of wine, had gathered at the Septemzodium, a celebrated place where the ambitious Nymphaeum of the emperor Marcus had been founded, thither the prefect, proceeding on purpose, was earnestly entreated by all — by every toga and appearance — that he not thrust himself into a multitude growing arrogant and menacing, raging from the former commotion: he, difficult to move from fear, held back so rightly that part of those following him deserted him, although he, hurrying, was abruptly hurled into danger.

4 Insidens itaque vehiculo cum speciosa fiducia contuebatur acribus oculis tumultuantium undique cuneorum veluti serpentium vultus perpessusque multa dici probrosa agnitum quendam inter alios eminentem vasti corporis rutilique capilli, interrogavit, an ipse esset Petrus Valvomeres, ut audierat, cognomento: eumque cum esse sonu respondisset obiurgatorio, ut seditiosorum antesignanum olim sibi conpertum, reclamantibus multis post terga manibus vinctis suspendi praecepit.

4 Therefore sitting in the carriage, with specious confidence he gazed with sharp eyes at the tumultuous wedges on every side, their faces like serpents; and having endured many disgraceful things being said and having recognized a certain man prominent among the others of vast body and reddish hair, he asked whether he was Petrus Valvomeres, as he had heard, by cognomen: and when that man answered that he was, he, in a reproachful tone, as if that man had once been known to him as a ringleader of sedition, ordered—many shouting behind—that he be suspended with his hands bound.

5 Quo viso sublimi tribuliumque adiumentum nequicquam implorante vulgus omne paulo ante confertum per varia urbis membra diffusum ita evanuit ut turbarum acerrimus concitor tamquam in iudiciali secreto exaratis lateribus ad Picenum eiceretur, ubi postea ausus eripere virginis non obscurae pudorem Patruini consularis sententia supplicio est capitali addictus.

5 With him seen aloft and the tribunal’s aid begged in vain, the whole crowd, a little before compact, having been scattered through the various quarters of the city, so vanished that the most fierce instigator of the tumults, as if with his sides branded in a judicial secret, was expelled to Picenum; where afterwards, having dared to snatch away the chastity of a not obscure virgin, by the sentence of Patruinus the consular he was condemned to capital punishment.

6 Hoc administrante Leontio Liberius Christianae legis antistes a Constantio ad comitatum mitti praeceptus est tamquam imperatoriis iussis et plurimorum sui consortium decretis obsistens in re, quam brevi textu percurram.

6 With Leontius administering, Liberius, bishop of the Christian law, was ordered by Constantius to be sent to the comitatus, as one opposing the emperor’s orders and the decrees of very many of his council in the matter, which I will run through in a brief account.

7 Athanasium episcopum eo tempore apud Alexandriam ultra professionem altius se efferentem scitarique conatum externa, ut prodidere rumores adsidui, coetus in unum quaesitus eiusdem loci multorum synodus ut appellant removit a sacramento quod optinebat.

7 At that time Bishop Athanasius, in Alexandria, because he exalted himself beyond his profession and made an attempt to be questioned by outsiders, as persistent rumors reported, a synod of many of that same place—sought together in a coetus in unum, as they call it—removed him from the sacrament which he held.

8 Dicebatur enim fatidicarum sortium fidem, quaeve augurales portenderent alites scientissime callens, aliquotiens praedixisse futura: super his intendebantur ei alia quoque a proposito legis abhorrentia, cui praesidebat.

8 For it was said that he, most skilful in the art of prophetic lots and in augural signs by which birds foretold, had on several occasions predicted future things: moreover other matters abhorrent to the purpose of the law over which he presided were likewise laid to him.

9 Hunc per subscriptionem abicere sede sacerdotali paria sentiens ceteris iubente principe Liberius monitus, perseveranter renitebatur nec visum hominem nec auditum damnare nefas ultimum saepe exclamans, aperte scilicet recalcitrans imperatoris arbitrio.

9 Thinking it fitting to cast him off by subscription from the sacerdotal seat, Liberius, admonished by the prince who ordered the others, persistently refused, and, often exclaiming that it was the utmost impiety to condemn a man neither seen nor heard, openly resisted the emperor’s arbitrium.

10 Id enim ille, Athanasio semper infestus licet sciret impletum, tamen auctoritate quoque potiore aeternae urbis episcopi firmari desiderio nitebatur ardenti: quo non impetrato Liberius aegre populi metu, qui eius amore flagrabat, cum magna difficultate noctis medio potuit asportari.

10 For he, although he knew this to have been accomplished and was always hostile to Athanasius, nevertheless strove with ardent desire to be confirmed by the superior authority of the bishop of the eternal city; and when this was not obtained, Liberius, on account of the fear of the people who burned with love for him, was with great difficulty able to be carried off in the middle of the night.

Iulianus, Galli frater, a Constantio Aug. fratre patrueli Caesar creatur, ac praeficitur Galliae.

Iulianus, brother of Gallus, is made Caesar by Constantius Aug., his frater patruelis, and is set over Gaul.

[8]

1 Et haec quidem Romae, ut ostendit textus superior, agebantur. Constantium vero exagitabant adsidui nuntii deploratas iam Gallias indicantes nullo renitente ad internecionem barbaris vastantibus universa: aestuansque diu, qua vi propulsaret aerumnas ipse in Italia residens ut cupiebat periculosum enim existimabat se in partem contrudere longe dimotam repperit tandem consilium rectum et Iulianum patruelem fratrem haut ita dudum ab Achaico tractu accitum, etiam tum palliatum in societatem imperii adsciscere cogitabat.

1 And these things indeed were being carried out at Rome, as the foregoing text shows. But Constantius was continuously driven by persistent messengers reporting that Gaul had already been deplored, everything laid waste by the barbarians with no one resisting unto destruction; and he, long boiling over how by what force he might repel the calamities, dwelling in Italy as he desired, deemed it perilous to thrust himself into a region far removed; at last he found a right plan and thought to admit Julian, his paternal cousin, not so long before summoned from the Achaean tract and even then somewhat mollified, into the fellowship of the empire.

2 Id ubi urgente malorum inpendentium mole confessus est proximis succumbere tot necessitatibus tamque crebris unum se, quod numquam fecerat, aperte demonstrans: illi in adsentationem nimiam eruditi infatuabant hominem, nihil esse ita asperum dictitantes quod praepotens eius virtus fortunaque tam vicina sideribus non superaret ex more. Addebantque noxarum conscientia stimulante conplures deinceps caveri debere Caesaris nomen, replicantes gesta sub Gallo.

2 When he confessed that, beneath the urgent mass of impending evils, he was succumbing to so many and so frequent necessities, openly showing himself one thing which he had never been, those men, schooled in excessive adulation, were flattering the man into folly, asserting that nothing was so harsh that his very powerful virtue and fortune, so near the stars, would not, as was their custom, overcome it. And, urged on by the conscience of their crimes, they added that many henceforth ought to beware the name of Caesar, repeating the deeds done under Gallus.

3 Quis adnitentibus obstinate opponebat se sola regina, incertum, migrationem ad longinqua pertimescens, an pro nativa prudentia consulens in commune omnibusque memorans anteponi debere propinquum. Post multaque per deliberationes ambiguas actitata stetit fixa sententia abiectisque disputationibus inritis ad imperium placuit Iulianum adsumere.

3 While they strove, only the queen obstinately opposed herself, uncertain whether she feared migration to remote regions or, consulting from native prudence for the common good and reminding all that the nearby must be preferred, after much tossed about by ambiguous deliberations a fixed sentence stood; and, disputes thrown away as vain, it pleased to take Julian into the command.

4 Cum venisset accitus praedicto die, advocato omni quod aderat commilitio, tribunali ad altiorem suggestum erecto, quod aquilae circumdederunt et signa, Augustus insistens eumque manu retinens dextera, haec sermone placido peroravit:

4 When he had been summoned on the aforesaid day, with every comrade present having been called together, the tribunal being raised to a higher platform which the eagles and standards surrounded, Augustus standing upon it and holding him with his right hand, delivered these words in a calm speech:

5 Adsistimus apud illos, optimi rei publicae defensores, causae communi uno paene omnium spiritu vindicandae, quam acturus tamquam apud aequos iudices succinctius edocebo.

5 We stand before those men, the best defenders of the res publica, of a cause to be vindicated for the common good with the united — almost universal — spirit of nearly all; which I, about to act, will expound more succinctly as if before fair judges.

6 Post interitum rebellium tyrannorum, quos ad haec temptanda quae moverunt rabies egit et furor, velut impiis eorum manibus Romano sanguine parentantes persultant barbari Gallias rupta limitum pace, hac animati fiducia, quod nos per disiunctissimas terras arduae necessitates adstringunt.

6 After the overthrow of the rebellious tyrants, whom madness and fury drove to attempt those things they set in motion, the barbarians, as if exulting and propitiating with their impious hands by Roman blood, range through Gaul with the peace of the frontiers broken, animated by this confidence, because harsh necessities bind us across most distant lands.

7 Huic igitur malo ultra adposita iam proserpenti, si dum patitur tempus occurrerit nostri vestrique consulti suffragium, et colla superbarum gentium detumescent et imperii fines erunt intacti. Restat ut rerum spem, quam gero, secundo roboretis effectu.

7 Therefore, to this evil now added and already creeping forth, if, while time still permits, the aid of our and your counsel shall come to meet it, and the necks of proud nations shall be humbled and the boundaries of the empire remain intact. It remains that you strengthen the hope of the affairs which I bear with a favorable effect.

8 Iulianum hunc fratrem meum patruelem, ut nostis, verecundia, qua nobis ita ut necessitudine carus est, recte spectatum iamque elucentis industriae iuvenem in Caesaris adhibere potestatem exopto, coeptis, si videntur utilia, etiam vestra consensione firmandis.

8 I desire to bring Julian, this brother‑cousin of mine, as you know, to Caesar’s service—out of a reverent regard, by which he is to us as dear as by kinship—a young man rightly esteemed and already shining in industry, and to strengthen his undertakings, if they seem useful, also with your assent.

9 Dicere super his plura conantem interpellans contio lenius prohibebat arbitrium summi numinis id esse, non mentis humanae velut praescia venturi praedicans.

9 The assembly, interrupting him as he strove to say more about these things, gently forbade him, judging that this was the decree of the supreme numen, not the human mind, as if prescient of what was to come, prophesying.

10 Stansque imperator inmobilis dum silerent, residua fidentius explicavit quia igitur vestrum quoque favorem adesse fremitus indicat laetus, adulescens vigoris tranquilli, cuius temperati mores imitandi sunt potius quam praedicandi, ad honorem prosperatum exsurgat: cuius praeclaram indolem bonis artibus institutam hoc ipso plene videor exposuisse quod elegi. Ergo eum praesente nutu dei caelestis amictu principali velabo.

10 And the emperor, standing immobile while they were silent, more confidently unfolded the remainder; for, since the murmuring indicates that your favour is also present, he said joyfully, let the young man of serene vigour—whose temperate mores are to be imitated rather than lauded—arise promoted to honour: whose excellent character, fashioned by good arts, I seem fully to have set forth by the very fact that I chose him. Therefore, with him present, at the nod of the heavenly deity I will robe him in the principal amict (ceremonial cloak).

11 Dixit moxque indutum avita purpura Iulianum et Caesarem cum exercitus gaudio declaratum his adloquitur contractiore vultu submaestum:

11 He spoke, and soon addressed Julian, clad in ancestral purple and proclaimed Caesar with the army’s joy, speaking to him with a somewhat contracted, somewhat downcast countenance:

12 Recepisti primaevus originis tuae splendidum florem, amantissime mihi omnium frater: aucta gloria mea confiteor qui iustus in deferenda suppari potestate nobilitati mihi propinquae, quam ipsa potestate videor esse sublimis.

12 You have received, ancient scion of your origin, the splendid flower, most loving brother of all to me: I confess my glory increased, since I, just in bestowing the power to be borne upon the nobility near me, by that very power seem to be exalted.

13 Adesto igitur laborum periculorumque particeps et tutelam ministerii suscipe Galliarum, omni beneficentia partes levaturus adflictas: et si hostilibus congredi sit necesse, fixo gradu consiste inter signiferos ipsos, audendi in tempore consideratus hortator, pugnantes accendens praeeundo cautissime turbatosque subsidiis fulciens, modeste increpans desides, verissimus testis adfuturus industriis et ignavis.

13 Be present therefore as partner of labors and dangers and undertake the guardianship of the ministry of the Gauls, about to lift the stricken parts with all beneficence: and if it is necessary to meet the enemy, stand with fixed step among the standard‑bearers themselves, a considered encourager of daring at the right time, kindling the fighting men by going ahead most cautiously and supporting the disordered with reinforcements, modestly rebuking the idle, a most truthful witness to the industrious and the slothful.

14 Proinde urgente rei magnitudine perge vir fortis ducturus viros itidem fortes. Aderimus nobis vicissim amoris robusta constantia, militabimus simul, una orbem pacatum, deus modo velit quod oramus, pari moderatione pietateque recturi. Mecum ubique videberis praesens et ego tibi quodcumque acturo non deero.

14 Therefore, with the greatness of the matter pressing, go forward, brave man, about to lead men likewise brave. We will be present to one another in turn with the robust constancy of love; we will serve as soldiers together, we will make the world peaceful as one — God only grant what we pray — and we will set things right with equal moderation and piety. You will be seen everywhere present with me, and I will not fail you in whatever I shall do.

Ad summam i, propera sociis omnium votis, velut adsignatam tibi ab ipsa re publica stationem cura pervigili defensurus.

In short, go—hasten to your comrades with the wishes of all, as to a station assigned you by the republic itself, ready to defend it with vigilant care.

15 Nemo post haec finita reticuit sed militares omnes horrendo fragore scuta genibus inlidentes quod est prosperitatis indicium plenum: nam contra cum hastis clipei feriuntur, irae documentum est et doloris immane quo quantoque gaudio praeter paucos Augusti probavere iudicium Caesaremque admiratione digna suscipiebant imperatorii muricis fulgore flagrantem.

15 After these things were finished no one remained silent, but all the soldiers with a horrendous crash struck their shields with their knees, which is a full indication of prosperity: for contrariwise, when shields are struck with spears, it is a proof of anger and of immense grief; with how much joy, save for a few, they approved Augustus’ judgment, and they received Caesar, blazing with the splendour of the imperial purple, as worthy of admiration.

16 Cuius oculos cum venustate terribiles vultumque excitatius gratum diu multumque contuentes, qui futurus sit colligebant velut scrutatis veteribus libris, quorum lectio per corporum signa pandit animorum interna. Eumque ut potiori reverentia servaretur, nec supra modum laudabant nec infra quam decebat, atque ideo censorum voces sunt aestimatae, non militum.

16 When, long and often, they gazed upon his eyes—terrible in their charm—and upon his face, more stirring than agreeable, they drew conclusions about what he would become as if from having examined ancient books, whose reading discloses the inner things of souls by signs of the body. And so, that he might be held with especial reverence, they praised him neither beyond measure nor less than was fitting; and therefore the voices of the censors were esteemed, not those of the soldiers.

17 Susceptus denique ad consessum vehiculi receptusque in regiam hunc versum ex Homerico carmine susurrabat. "ἔλλαβε πορφύρεος θάνατος καὶ μοῖρα κραταιή." Haec diem octavum iduum Novembrium gesta sunt cum Arbetionem consulem annus haberet et Lollianum.

17 Finally received to the council and borne into the palace, he turned and whispered this line from a Homeric song: "May purple death and mighty fate seize him." These deeds were done on the eighth day before the Ides of November (6 November) in the year that had Arbetio and Lollianus for consuls.

18 Deinde diebus paucis Helena virgine Constanti sorore eidem Caesari iugali foedere copulata paratisque universis, quae maturitas proficiscendi poscebat, comitatu parvo suscepto kalendis Decembribus egressus est deductusque ab Augusto ad usque locum duabus columnis insignem, qui Laumellum interiacet et Ticinum, itineribus rectis Taurinos pervenit, ubi nuntio percellitur gravi, qui nuper in comitatum Augusti perlatus de industria silebatur ne parata diffluerent.

18 Then, after a few days, Helena, a maiden, sister of Constans, was joined to that same Caesar by a nuptial covenant; and with all those things prepared which the maturity of departure demanded, he set out on the Kalends of December with a small escort taken up, and, conducted by Augustus as far as a place conspicuous for two columns, which lies between Laumellum and the Ticino, by straight routes he reached Turin, where he was struck by a grave dispatch, which had lately been brought into the cohort of the Augustus and was kept deliberately silent so that the preparations might not leak out.

19 Indicabat autem Coloniam Agrippinam, ampli nominis urbem in secunda Germania, pertinaci barbarorum obsidione reseratam magnis viribus et deletam.

19 It reported moreover that Colonia Agrippina, a city of great name in Second Germania, had been forced open by the stubborn siege of the barbarians with great forces and laid waste.

20 Quo maerore perculsus velut primo adventantium malorum auspicio murmurans querulis vocibus saepe audiebatur: nihil se plus adsecutum quam ut occupatior interiret.

20 Struck by that grief, as by the first omen of the evils to come, he was often heard murmuring in querulous voices: that he had achieved nothing more than to perish the more occupied.

21 Cumque Viennam venisset, ingredientem optatum quidem et impetrabilem honorifice susceptura omnis aetas concurrebat et dignitas proculque visum plebs universa cum vicinitate finitima, imperatorem clementem appellans et faustum, praevia consonis laudibus celebrabat, avidius pompam regiam in principe legitimo cernens: communiumque remedium aerumnarum in eius locabat adventu, salutarem quendam genium adfulsisse conclamatis negotiis arbitrata.

21 And when he had come to Vienna, every age ran together to receive him honorably as he entered, indeed as one longed-for and scarcely to be obtained; dignitaries were seen from afar and the whole populace together with the neighboring towns, calling him a merciful and auspicious emperor and celebrating him beforehand with concordant praises, the royal pomp in a rightful prince being viewed the more eagerly: and they placed the remedy of their common miseries in his arrival, thinking that some salutary genius had shone forth in the proclaimed affairs.

22 Tunc anus quaedam orba luminibus cum percontando quinam esset ingressus, Iulianum Caesarem conperisset, exclamavit hunc deorum templa reparaturum.

22 Then a certain old woman, bereft of her eyes, who by questioning who the entrant was had learned that he was Julian Caesar, cried out that this man would restore the temples of the gods.

De origine Gallorum; et unde dicti Celtae ac Galatae; deque eorum doctoribus.

On the origin of the Gauls; and whence they are called Celts and Galatians; and concerning their doctors.

[9]

1 Proinde quoniam ut Mantuanus vates praedixit excelsus maius opus moveo maiorque mihi rerum nascitur ordo, Galliarum tractus et situm ostendere puto nunc tempestivum, ne inter procinctus ardentes proeliorumque varios casus ignota quibusdam expediens imitari videar desides nauticos, adtrita lintea cum rudentibus, quae licuit parari securius, inter fluctus resarcire coactos et tempestates.

1 Therefore, since, as the Mantuan bard foretold, I undertake a loftier, greater work, and a larger order of things is born for me, I now judge it timely to show the extent and situation of the Gauls, lest, amid the armed and ardent, arranging the various fortunes of battles, I seem to imitate certain nautical idlers, forced to patch worn sails and ropes among the waves and tempests — things which could have been prepared more safely.

2 Ambigentes super origine prima Gallorum scriptores veteres notitiam reliquere negotii semiplenam, sed postea Timagenes et diligentia Graecus et lingua haec quae diu sunt ignorata collegit ex multiplicibus libris. Cuius fidem secuti obscuritate dimota eadem distincte docebimus et aperte.

2 The ancient writers, wavering about the primary origin of the Gauls, left the knowledge of the matter half-full; but afterwards Timagenes, a diligent Greek, collected it from many books and from this tongue which for a long time had been unknown. Following his credibility, with obscurity removed we will teach the same things distinctly and openly.

3 Aborigines primos in his regionibus quidam visos esse firmarunt, Celtis nomine regis amabilis et matris eius vocabulo Galatas dictos ita enim Gallos sermo Graecus appellat alii Dorienses antiquiorem secutos Herculem oceani locos inhabitasse confines.

3 Some affirmed that the Aborigines were first seen in these regions, called Celts from the name of a king Celtis, and called Galates from the name of his mother— for thus the Greek tongue names the Gauls; others, the Dorians, following a more ancient tradition, inhabited the oceanic confines near Hercules.

4 Drasidae memorant re vera fuisse populi partem indigenam, sed alios quoque ab insulis extimis confluxisse et tractibus transrhenanis, crebritate bellorum et adluvione fervidi maris sedibus suis expulsos.

4 The Drasidae relate that in truth they were an indigenous part of the people, but that others likewise flowed together from remote islands and from trans‑Rhenan tracts, expelled from their seats by the frequency of wars and by the inundation of the seething sea.

5 Aiunt quidam paucos post excidium Troiae fugitantes Graecos ubique dispersos loca haec occupasse tunc vacua.

5 Some say that a few Greeks, fleeing soon after the destruction of Troy and scattered everywhere, occupied these places then vacant.

6 Regionum autem incolae id magis omnibus adseverant, quod etiam nos legimus in monumentis eorum incisum, Amphitryonis filium Herculem ad Geryonis et Taurisci saevium tyrannorum perniciem festinasse, quorum alter Hispanias, alter Gallias infestabat: superatisque ambobus coisse cum generosis feminis suscepisseque liberos plures et eos partes quibus imperitabant suis nominibus appellasse.

6 The inhabitants of the regions moreover affirmed this above all, which we also read engraved on their monuments, that Amphitryon's son Hercules hastened to the destruction of the savage tyrants Geryon and Tauriscus, one of whom ravaged the Hispaniæ, the other the Gauls: and, both having been overcome, he joined himself to noble women and begot many children and called the parts over which they ruled by their own names.

7 A Phocaea vero Asiaticus populus Harpali inclementiam vitans, Cyri regis praefecti, Italiam navigio petit. Cuius pars in Lucania Veliam, alia condidit in Viennensi Massiliam: dein secutis aetatibus oppida aucta virium copia instituere non pauca. Sed declinanda varietas saepe satietati coniuncta.

7 But the Asiatic people of Phocaea, avoiding the inclemency of Harpalus, prefect of King Cyrus, sought Italy by ship. Part of them founded Velia in Lucania, another founded Massilia in the Viennensian region: then, in succeeding ages, grown in a wealth of strength they established not a few towns. But a changing variety is often joined to satiety.

8 Per haec loca hominibus paulatim excultis viguere studia laudabilium doctrinarum, inchoata per bardos et euhagis et drasidas. Et bardi quidem fortia virorum illustrium facta heroicis conposita versibus cum dulcibus lyrae modulis cantitarunt, euhages vero scrutantes seriem et sublimia naturae pandere conabantur. Inter eos drasidae ingeniis celsiores, ut auctoritas Pythagorae decrevit, sodaliciis adstricti consortiis, quaestionibus occultarum rerum altarumque erecti sunt et despectantes humana pronuntiarunt animas inmortales.

8 Through these places, with their peoples slowly cultivated, flourished the pursuits of laudable doctrines, begun by bards and euhagis and drasids. And the bards indeed sang the brave deeds of illustrious men, composed in heroic verses and with the sweet measures of the lyre; the euhagis, scrutinizing sequence, strove to lay open the sublime things of nature. Among them the drasids, loftier in genius, as the authority of Pythagoras decreed, bound by sodalician associations, by inquiries were raised toward hidden and more exalted things, and, despising human matters, proclaimed souls immortal.

De Alpibus Gallicanis; et de variis per eas itineribus.

Of the Gallic Alps; and of the various itineraries through them.

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1 Hanc Galliarum plagam ob suggestus montium arduos et horrore nivali semper obductos orbis residui incolis antehac paene ignotam, nisi qua litoribus est vicina, munimina claudunt undique natura velut arte circumdata.

1 This tract of the Gauls, by reason of the lofty benches of mountains and ever veiled in wintry horror, was hitherto almost unknown to the inhabitants of the remainder of the world, save where it lies near the coasts; natural ramparts enclose it on every side, nature girded about as if with art.

2 Et a latere quidem australi Tyrreno adluitur et Gallico mari: qua caeleste suspicit plaustrum, a feris gentibus fluentis distinguitur Rheni: ubi occidentali subiecta est sideri, oceano et altitudine Pyrenaei cingitur; unde ad solis ortus adtollitur, aggeribus cedit Alpium Cottiarum: quas rex Cottius, perdomitis Galliis solus in angustiis latens inviaque locorum asperitate confisus, lenito tandem tumore in amicitiam Octaviani receptus principis, molibus magnis exstruxit ad vicem memorabilis muneris, conpendiarias et viantibus oportunas, medias inter alias Alpes vetustas super quibus conperta paulo postea referemus.

2 And on the southern side it is washed by the Tyrrhenian and Gallic seas: toward which it uplooks like a celestial chariot, from the wild, flowing peoples it is distinguished by the Rhine; where, set under the western star, it is girded by the ocean and by the height of the Pyrenees; whence it is raised toward the east, yielding to the ramparts of the Cottian Alps: which King Cottius, the Gauls having been subdued and he alone hiding in the narrow places and trusting in the ruggedness and inaccessibility of the region, at length, his swelling (of pride) mollified, received into the friendship of Octavian the prince, and erected by great works in return for a memorable gift ramps and roads convenient as shortcuts and for wayfarers, in the midst among other ancient Alps—about which things learned we will relate a little later.

3 In his Alpibus Cottiis, quarum initium a Segusione est oppido, praecelsum erigitur iugum, nulli fere sine discrimine penetrabile.

3 In these Cottian Alps, whose beginning is at the town Segusio, a very lofty ridge is raised, scarcely penetrable by any without peril.

4 Est enim e Galliis venientibus prona humilitate devexum pendentium saxorum altrinsecus visu terribile praesertim verno tempore, cum liquente gelu nivibusque solutis flatu calidiore ventorum per diruptas utrimque angustias et lacunas pruinarum congerie latebrosas descendentes cunctantibus plantis homines et iumenta procidunt et carpenta; idque remedium ad arcendum exitium repertum est solum, quod pleraque vehicula vastis funibus inligata pone cohibente virorum vel boum nisu valido vix gressu reptante paulo tutius devolvuntur. Et haec, ut diximus, anni verno contingunt.

4 For from the Gauls coming there hangs a slope, sloped down with humble incline, the pendent rocks on the other side terrible to the sight, especially in the spring season, when the frost melting and the snows dissolved, by a warmer blast of winds through the shattered narrowings on both sides and the chasms, descending from heaps of hidden rime, with the plants delaying men and beasts collapse and the carts; and the only remedy found to ward off destruction is this, that most vehicles, bound with great ropes and held back behind by the resisting effort of men or oxen, are with difficulty, creeping a little more safely, let down. And these things, as we said, occur in the spring of the year.

5 Hieme vero humus crustata frigoribus et tamquam levigata ideoque labilis incessum praecipitantem inpellit et patulae valles per spatia plana glacie perfidae vorant non numquam transeuntes. Ob quae locorum callidi eminentes ligneos stilos per cautiora loca defigunt, ut eorum series viatorem ducat innoxium: qui si nivibus operti latuerint, montanisve defluentibus rivis eversi, gnaris agrestibus praeviis difficile pervadunt.

5 In winter indeed the ground, crusted by frosts and as if smoothed and therefore slippery, urges on a headlong gait, and the wide valleys over their flat stretches sometimes gape with treacherous ice when one crosses them. Because of this the cunning locals drive wooden stakes on high through safer places, so that a line of them may lead the traveller unharmed: which, if they have been hidden covered by snows or overthrown by mountain streams flowing down, even the guides, knowing the country beforehand, traverse with difficulty.

6 A summitate autem huius Italici clivi planities ad usque stationem nomine Martis per septem extenditur milia, et hinc alia celsitudo erectior aegreque superabilis ad Matronae porrigitur verticem, cuius vocabulum casus feminae nobilis dedit. Unde declive quidem iter sed expeditius ad usque castellum Brigantiam patet.

6 From the summit of this Italic slope the plain stretches on for seven miles as far as a station called Martis, and from there another loftier height, scarcely to be overcome, rises toward the summit called Matrona, a name given by the fall of a noble woman. Whence indeed a downhill way, yet the more expeditious route, opens all the way to the castellum Brigantia.

7 Huius sepulcrum reguli, quem itinera struxisse rettulimus, Segusione est moenibus proximum manesque eius ratione gemina religiose coluntur, quod iusto moderamine rexerat suos et adscitus in societatem rei Romanae quietem genti praestitit sempiternam.

7 The tomb of this regulus, whom we reported to have built the roads, is nearest the walls of Segusio, and his manes are reverently tended by a double rite, because by just moderation he had ruled his own and, having admitted others into the society of the Roman state, bestowed eternal peace upon his people.

8 Et licet haec, quam diximus viam, media sit et conpendiaria magisque celebris, tamen etiam aliae multo antea temporibus sunt constructae diversis.

8 And although this road, which we have mentioned, is mid and a shortcut and more frequented, nevertheless other roads were constructed much earlier in diverse times.

9 Et primam Thebaeus Hercules ad Geryonem extinguendum, ut relatum est, et Tauriscum lenius gradiens prope maritimas conposuit Alpes, hisque Graiarum indidit nomen; Monoeci similiter arcem et portum ad perennem sui memoriam consecravit. Deinde emensis postea saeculis multis hac ex causa sunt Alpes excogitatae Poeninae.

9 And the Theban Hercules, to extinguish Geryon, as has been reported, and moving more gently the Tauriscan, set the Alps near the maritime parts, and upon these bestowed the name of the Graian; likewise Monoecus consecrated a citadel and a harbour to the perpetual memory of himself. Then, by the Emenses afterward, after many centuries, the Poenine Alps were contrived for this reason.

10 Superioris Africani pater Publius Cornelius Scipio Saguntinis memorabilibus aerumnis et fide, pertinaci destinatione Afrorum obsessis iturus auxilio in Hispaniam traduxit onustam manu valida classem, sed civitate potiore Marte deleta Hannibalem sequi nequiens triduo ante transito Rhodano ad partes Italiae contendentem navigatione veloci intercurso spatio maris haut longo degressurum montibus apud Genuam observabat Liguriae oppidum, ut cum eo, si copiam fors dedisset, viarum asperitate fatigato decerneret in planitie.

10 Publius Cornelius Scipio, father of the elder Africanus, having endured memorable hardships and with faithful, stubborn resolve, conveyed to Spain a fleet laden and manned with a strong hand to go as aid; but, unable to follow Hannibal—his city having been ruined by civic rather than martial causes—three days after the crossing of the Rhone he observed that Hannibal, hastening toward parts of Italy, after a swift navigation over a not long stretch of sea would descend from the mountains at the Ligurian town near Genua, so that, with him, if chance had given the opportunity, wearied by the roughness of the roads, he might decide the matter on the plain.

11 Consulens tamen rei communi Cn. Scipionem fratrem ire monuit in Hispanias, ut Hasdrubalem exinde similiter erupturum arceret. Quae Hannibal doctus a perfugis, ut erat expeditae mentis et callidae, Taurinis ducentibus accolis per Tricasinos et oram Vocontiorum extremam ad saltus Tricorios venit. Indeque exorsus aliud iter antehac insuperabile fecit: excisaque rupe in inmensum elata, quam cremando vi magna flammarum acetoque infuso in solidam solvit, per Druentiam flumen gurgitibus vagis intutum regiones occupavit Etruscas.

11 Yet, consulting for the common cause, he advised that Cn. Scipio his brother go into the Hispanias, so that he might likewise bar Hasdrubal from breaking out thence. These things Hannibal, instructed by deserters and, as he was of an expedient and crafty mind, with the Taurini guiding the locals, came by the Tricasini and the far shore of the Vocontii to the Tricorian passes. Thence he undertook another route hitherto moreover impassable: and with the cliff cut away and thrust out into the void — which, by burning with great force of flames and pouring in vinegar, he loosened from its solidity — he crossed the Druentia river with its wandering whirlpools and took possession of the Etruscan regions.

Hactenus super Alpibus. Nunc ad restantia veniamus.

Thus far concerning the Alps. Now let us come to the remaining matters.

Brevis divisio ac descriptio Galliarum; et cursus fluminis Rhodani.

A brief division and description of the Gauls; and the course of the river Rhone.

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1 Temporibus priscis cum laterent hae partes ut barbarae tripertitae fuisse creduntur in Celtas eosdemque Gallos divisae et Aquitanos et Belgas, lingua institutis legibusque discrepantes.

1 In ancient times, when these parts lay concealed, they are believed to have been barbarously tripartite: the Celts, the same Gauls divided into Aquitani and Belgae, differing in tongue, in institutions and in laws.

2 Et Gallos quidem, qui Celtae sunt, ab Aquitanis Garumna disterminat flumen, a Pyrenaeis oriens collibus postque oppida multa transcursa in oceano delitescens.

2 And the Gauls indeed, who are Celts, are separated from the Aquitani by the river Garumna, rising from the Pyrenean hills and, after passing many towns, hiding in the ocean.

3 A Belgis vera eandem gentem Matrona discindit et Sequana, amnes magnitudinis geminae: qui fluentes per Lugdunensem post circumclausum ambitu insulari Parisiorum castellum, Lutetiam nomine, consociatim meantes protinus prope castra Constantia funduntur in mare.

3 From the Belgae the Matrona and the Sequana truly divide the same people, twin rivers of great magnitude: which, flowing through the Lugdunense region and, after passing many towns and encircling with an embankment the insular stronghold of the Parisii called Lutetia, flowing together are immediately poured into the sea near the camp Constantia.

4 Horum omnium apud veteres Belgae dicebantur esse fortissimi ea propter, quod ab humaniore cultu longe discreti nec adventiciis effeminati deliciis, diu cum transrhenanis certavere Germanis.

4 Of all these the ancients called the Belgae the most brave, on account of this: far removed from a more humane culture and not effeminated by adventitious delights, they long contended with the trans-Rhenish Germans.

5 Aquitani enim, ad quorum litora ut proxima placidaque merces adventiciae convehuntur, moribus ad mollitiem lapsis facile in dicionem venere Romanam.

5 For the Aquitani, to whose shores, as nearest and placid, imported merchandise is brought, having by their manners fallen into softness, easily came into Roman dominion.

6 Regebantur autem Galliae omnes iam inde, uti crebritate bellorum urgenti cessere Iulio dictatori, potestate in partes divisa quattuor, quarum Narbonensis una Viennensem intra se continebat et Lugdunensem: altera Aquitanis praeerat universis: superiorem et inferiorem Germaniam Belgasque duae iurisdictiones isdem rexere temporibus.

6 All Gaul, moreover, was from that time ruled—since, pressed by the frequency of wars, they yielded to Julius the Dictator—divided by authority into four parts, one of which, Narbonensis, contained within it Viennensis and Lugdunensis; another presided over all the Aquitani; Upper and Lower Germania and the Belgae were governed by two jurisdictions in the same periods.

7 At nunc numerantur provinciae per omnem ambitum Galliarum: secunda Germania, prima ab occidentali exordiens cardine, Agrippina et Tungris munita, civitatibus amplis et copiosis.

7 But now provinces are reckoned through the whole circuit of the Gauls: Germania the second, the first beginning at the western hinge, defended by Agrippina and the Tungri, with cities large and copious.

8 Dein prima Germania, ubi praeter alia municipia Mogontiacus est et Vangiones et Nemetae et Argentoratus barbaricis cladibus nota.

8 Then First Germania, where, besides other municipia, Mogontiacum is and the Vangiones and the Nemetae and Argentoratum, noted for barbaric disasters.

9 Post has Belgica prima Mediomatricos praetendit et Treviros domicilium principum clarum.

9 After these, Belgica Prima stretches toward the Mediomatrici and the Treviri, the famed dwelling of the princes.

10 Huic adnexa secunda est Belgica, qua Ambiani sunt urbs inter alias eminens et Catelauni et Remi.

10 Joined to this is Belgica Secunda, in which the Ambiani are a city eminent among the others, and the Catalauni and the Remi.

11 Apud Sequanos Bisontios videmus et Rauracos aliis potiores oppidis multis. Lugdunensem primam Lugdunum ornat et Cabillona et Senones et Biturigae et moenium Augustuduni magnitudo vetusta.

11 Among the Sequani we see the Bisontii and the Rauraci, superior to others in many towns. The chief Lugdunense is adorned by Lugdunum, and Cabillonum and the Senones and the Bituriges, and the ancient magnitude of the walls of Augustodunum.

12 Secundam enim Lugdunensem Rotomagi et Turini Mediolanum ostendunt et Tricasini: Alpes Graiae et Poeninae exceptis obscurioribus . . . Habent et Aventicum, desertam quidem civitatem sed non ignobilem quondam ut aedificia semiruta nunc quoque demonstrant. Haec provinciae urbesque sunt splendidae Galliarum.

12 For the second, the Lugdunensian, the Rotomagi and the Turini indicate Mediolanum and the Tricasini: the Graian and Pennine Alps, excepting the darker . . . They also possess Aventicum, a city indeed deserted but not formerly ignoble, as the half-ruined buildings even now show. These provinces and cities are the splendid parts of the Gauls.

13 In Aquitania quae Pyrenaeos montes et eam partem spectat oceani, quae pertinet ad Hispanos, prima provincia est Aquitanica, amplitudine civitatum admodum culta: omissis aliis multis Burdigala et Arverni excellunt et Santones et Pictavi.

13 In Aquitania, which faces the Pyrenean mountains and that part of the ocean which pertains to the Spaniards, the first province is Aquitanica, remarkably cultivated in the extent of its cities: with many others omitted, Burdigala and the Arverni excel, and the Santones and the Pictavi.

14 Novem populos Ausci commendant et Vasatae, in Narbonensi Elusa et Narbona et Tolosa principatum urbium tenent. Viennensis civitatum exsultat decore multarum, quibus potiores sunt Vienna ipsa et Arelate et Valentia: quibus Massilia iungitur, cuius societate et viribus in discriminibus arduis fultam aliquotiens legimus Romam.

14 They assign nine peoples to the Ausci and the Vasatae, in the Narbonensis Elusa and Narbona and Tolosa hold the principality of cities. The Viennensis province exults in the splendour of many towns, among which the foremost are Vienna itself and Arelate and Valentia: to these Massilia is joined, whose alliance and forces we read Rome to have been, on several occasions, supported by in arduous crises.

15 His prope Salluvii sunt et Nicaea et Antipolis insulaeque Stoechades.

15 Near these are the Salluvii and Nicaea and Antipolis, and the islands Stoechades.

16 Et quoniam ad has partes opere contexto pervenimus, silere super Rhodano maximi nominis flumine incongruum est et absurdum. A Poeninis Alpibus effusiore copia fontium Rhodanus fluens et proclivi impetu ad planiora degrediens proprio agmine ripas occultat et paludi sese ingurgitat nomine Lemanno eamque intermeans nusquam aquis miscetur externis sed altrinsecus summitates undae praeterlabens segnioris quaeritans exitus viam sibi impetu veloci molitur.

16 And since by a work so closely woven we have come to these parts, to be silent about the Rhodanus, a river of the greatest renown, is incongruous and absurd. From the Pennine Alps, poured forth by an abundant source of springs, the Rhodanus, flowing and descending with a headlong impulse to the plains, conceals its banks with its own column and swallows itself into a marsh named Leman; and meanwhile it is nowhere mingled with exterior waters, but beyond, the summits of the waves passing by, seeking a quieter exit, strain with swift impetus to force a way for themselves.

17 Unde sine iactura rerum per Sapaudiam fertur et Sequanos longeque progressus Viennensem latere sinistro perstringit, dextro Lugdunensem et emensus spatia flexuosa Ararim, quem Sauconnam appellant, [inter Germaniam primam fluentem] suum in nomen adsciscit, qui locus exordium est Galliarum. Exindeque non millenis passibus sed leugis itinera metiuntur.

17 From which, without loss of goods, it is borne through Sapaudia and skirts the Sequani, and having advanced far it grazes the Viennensis on the left flank, the Lugdunensis on the right, and having measured the winding reaches of the Arar, which they call Sauconna, [flowing between the first Germany], it takes that name to itself, that place being the beginning of the Gauls. From thence journeys are measured not by a thousand paces but by leagues.

18 Hinc Rhodanus aquis advenis locupletior vehit grandissimas naves, ventorum difflatu iactari saepius adsuetas finitisque intervallis, quae ei natura praescripsit, spumeus Gallico mari concorporatur per patulum sinum, quem vocant Ad gradus, ab Arelate octavo decimo ferme lapide disparatum. Sit satis de situ locorum. Nunc figuras et mores hominum designabo.

18 Hence the Rhodanus, richer in waters from alien sources, carries very large ships, oft accustomed to be tossed by the blast of winds and by the finished intervals which nature has prescribed for it; foamy, it is merged with the Gallic sea through a broad bay which they call Ad gradus, separated from Arelate by about the 18th stone. Let there be enough said of the siting of the places. Now I will set forth the figures and mores of the peoples.

De moribus Gallorum.

On the customs of the Gauls.

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1 Celsioris staturae et candidi paene Galli sunt omnes et rutili luminumque torvitate terribiles, avidi iurgiorum et sublatius insolentes. Nec enim eorum quemquam adhibita uxore rixantem, multo fortiore et glauca, peregrinorum ferre poterit globus, tum maxime cum illa inflata cervice suffrendens ponderansque niveas ulnas et vastas admixtis calcibus emittere coeperit pugnos ut catapultas tortilibus nervis excussas.

1 They are all of taller stature and almost fair Gauls, ruddy and terrible in the sternness of their eyes, eager for quarrels and insolently haughty. For indeed no throng of foreigners will be able to endure any one of them when, his wife having been brought in and quarrelling—much stronger and gray‑eyed—especially when she, with her neck swollen, snorting and poising her snow‑white forearms and vast feet with heels added, begins to hurl fists like catapults shaken from twisted sinews.

2 Metuendae voces conplurium et minaces placatorum iuxta et irascentium, tersi tamen pari diligentia cuncti et mundi, nec in tractibus illis maximeque apud Aquitanos poterit aliquis videri vel femina licet perquam pauper ut alibi frustis squalere pannorum.

2 The voices of many to be feared, and the menacing cries of the placated nearby and of the angry; yet all are cleansed with equal diligence and made clean, nor in those tracts—and especially among the Aquitanians—will anyone be seen, not even a woman, however very poor, to lie squalid in rags of garments as elsewhere.

3 Ad militandum omnis aetas aptissima et pari pectoris robore senex ad procinctum ducitur et adultus gelu duratis artubus et labore adsiduo multa contempturus et formidanda. Nec eorum aliquando quisquam ut in Italia munus Martium pertimescens pollicem sibi praecidit, quos localiter murcos appellant.

3 For warfare every age is most fit, and the old man, with equal stoutness of heart, is led forth ready for arms, and the adult, with limbs hardened by cold and by assiduous labour, will scorn many things that are to be feared. Nor will any of them ever, as in Italy, fearing the Martial duty, cut off his thumb for himself — those whom locally they call murcos.

4 Vini avidum genus, adfectans ad vini similitudinem multiplices potus et inter eos humiles quidam obtunsis ebrietate continua sensibus, quam furoris voluntariam speciem esse Catoniana sententia definivit, raptantur discursibus vagis, ut verum illud videatur quod ait defendens Fonteium Tullius Gallos post haec dilutius esse poturos quod illi venenum esse arbitrabantur.

4 A wine‑greedy sort, striving toward the likeness of wine, many potions and among them certain humble folk, their senses blunted by continual drunkenness — which Cato’s judgement defined as a voluntary semblance of frenzy — are swept away by wandering discourses, so that that saying of Tullius, defending Fonteius, may seem true: that the Gauls afterward would drink more dilute things because they supposed them to be poison.

5 Hae regiones, praecipue quae confines Italicis, paulatim levi sudore sub imperium venere Romanum primo temptatae per Fulvium, deinde proeliis parvis quassatae per Sextium, ad ultimum per Fabium Maximum domitae. Cui negotii plenus effectus asperiore Allobrogum gente devicta hoc indidit cognomentum.

5 These regions, especially those bordering the Italians, gradually with slight sweat came under Roman imperium, first attempted by Fulvius, then shaken by small engagements under Sextius, and finally subdued by Fabius Maximus. To him, the full accomplishment of the enterprise, having vanquished the sterner people of the Allobroges, bestowed this cognomen.

6 Nam omnes Gallias, nisi qua paludibus inviae fuere, ut Sallustio docetur auctore, post decennalis belli mutuas clades Sulpicio, Marcello coss. Caesar societati nostrae foederibus iunxit aeternis. Evectus sum longius sed remeabo tandem ad coepta.

6 For all the Gauls, except those parts made impassable by marshes, as is shown by Sallust as authority, after the mutual disasters of the ten-year war in the consulship of Sulpicius and Marcellus, Caesar joined them to our commonwealth by eternal treaties. I have been carried farther afield, but I will at last return to what I began.

De Musaniano praefecto praetorio per Orientem.

On Musanianus, Praetorian Prefect throughout the East.

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1 Domitiano crudeli morte consumpto Musonianus eius successor orientem praetoriani regebat potestate praefecti, facundia sermonis utriusque clarus. Unde sublimius quam sperabatur eluxit.

1 With Domitian consumed by a cruel death, Musonianus, his successor, governed the East with the authority of the praetorian prefect, famed for the facundia of both kinds of discourse. Hence he shone forth loftier than had been hoped.

2 Constantinus enim cum limatius superstitionum quaereret sectas, Manichaeorum et similium, nec interpres inveniretur idoneus, hunc sibi commendatum ut sufficientem elegit: quem officio functum perite Musonianum voluit appellari, ante Strategium dictitatum, et ex eo percursis honorum gradibus multis ascendit ad praefecturam, prudens alia tolerabilisque provinciis et mitis et blandus sed ex qualibet occasione maximeque ex controversis litibus, quod nefandum est, et in totum lucrandi aviditate sordescens, ut inter alia multa evidenter apparuit in quaestionibus agitatis super morte Theophili Syriae consularis, proditione Caesaris Galli, impetu plebis promiscuae discerpti, ubi damnatis pauperibus, quos cum haec agerentur, peregre fuisse constabat, auctores diri facinoris exutis patrimoniis absoluti sunt divites.

2 For when Constantine in a keener way sought out the sects of superstitions, the Manichaeans and the like, and no suitable interpreter was found, he chose this man recommended to him as sufficient: whom, the office discharged, Musonianus wished to be called, expertly, before he had been called Strategius, and from that point, having run through many grades of honors, he rose to the praefecture, prudent and tolerable in other provinces, mild and bland, but from any occasion—and most of all from disputed lawsuits, which is nefarious—staining altogether with a sordid avidity for gain, as plainly appeared in many matters debated in investigations concerning the death of Theophilus, consular of Syria, by the treachery of Caesar Gallus, torn apart by the onslaught of a promiscuous mob, where, the poor being condemned, who when these things were carried out were known to have been abroad, the authors of the dreadful crime, having been stripped of their patrimonies, were acquitted rich.

3 Hunc Prosper adaequabat, pro magistro equitum, agente etiam tum in Galliis, militem regens, abiecte ignavus et, ut ait comicus, arte despecta furtorum rapiens propalam.

3 Prosper matched him, acting as master of the cavalry, then also operating in Gaul, commanding soldiers, abjectly cowardly and, as the comic puts it, scorning the art and brazenly pillaging.

4 Quis concordantibus mutuaque commercia vicissim sibi conciliando locupletatis Persici duces vicini fluminibus rege in ultimis terrarum suarum terminis occupato per praedatorios globos nostra vexabant, nunc Armeniam, aliquotiens Mesopotamiam confidentius incursantes Romanis ductoribus ad colligendas oboedientium exuvias occupatis.

4 While enriched in turn by concord and mutual commerce, the neighboring Persian chiefs, the king having his rivers occupied at the outermost bounds of their lands, harassed our people with predatory bands, now making incursions into Armenia, at times into Mesopotamia more confidently, the Roman commanders being occupied with collecting the spoils of the obedient.