Res Gestae

But, since they said these and similar things to no purpose, as they were not listened to, and perceived that they would receive no peaceful nor mild reply, they withdrew, weeping at the fate of their sons. Scarcely had they left the place, when a band of barbarians who were awaiting the reply to be made (as they were given to understand) at that time to their chiefs, dashing forth from the hollow defile of a neighbouring hill, attacked our soldiers, who were half-nude and still carrying earth,[*](As they worked on the fortification on Mount Pirus (see § 5, above).) and quickly drawing their swords were cutting them down; and with them also both leaders were slain.

Not a single man survived to tell what had happened, except Syagrius. He, after all the others had been slain, returned to the court, but by sentence of the angry emperor he was cashiered and went to his home, being considered by a cruel judgment to have deserved this because he alone had escaped.

Meanwhile throughout Gaul there spread, to the ruin of many, a savage frenzy for brigandage, which kept watch of the frequented roads and fell indiscriminately upon everything profitable that fell in its way. Finally, in addition to many others who fell victim to such ambuscades, Constantianus,[*](Perhaps the one mentioned in xxiii. 3, 9.) chief of the imperial stables, a relative by marriage of Valentinian and own brother to Cerealis and Justina,[*](Wife of Valentinian, previously married to Magnentius; cf. xxx. 10, 4.) was surprised by an unexpected attack and presently slain.

But at a distance from there, as if the furies were stirring up similar troubles, the Maratocupreni, a fierce race of brigands, were ranging about on every side; they dwelt in a village of the same name situated near Apamia in Syria, were exceedingly numerous, skilled in crafty wiles, and dreaded because they roamed about quietly under the guise of honourable traders and soldiers, and fell upon rich houses, estates, and towns.

No one could guard against their unexpected coming, since they did not assail previously chosen places, but various quarters and those that were far removed, breaking out wherever the wind took them—the same reason that makes the Saxons feared before all other enemies for their sudden raids.[*](Cf. xxx. 7, 8.) But although these confederate bands destroyed the property of many, and, driven by the gadfly of the madness which they had conceived, caused lamentable slaughter, being no less greedy for blood than for booty, yet for fear that by giving a minute account of their deeds I may somewhat delay the direct course of my project, it will suffice to tell of this one destructive and welldevised stroke of theirs.

A united[*](For this meaning of quaesitus in unum, cf. xv. 7, 7; xxvi. 7, 9, note.) body of these godless men, disguised as the retinue of a state treasurer, and one of them as that official himself, in the darkness of evening, preceded by the mournful cry of a herald, entered a city and beset with swords the fine house of a distinguished citizen, as if he had been proscribed and condemned to death. They seized all his valuable furniture, and since the

But when, after being enriched by the booty of many men, they abandoned the sweet pleasure of robbery, which was interrupted by a movement of the emperor’s forces, they were crushed, and perished to the last man. Even their children, who were still small, in order that they might not grow up to follow the example of their fathers, were destroyed in the same fate; and the houses which they had built in showy fashion at the sorrowful expense of others were torn down. These things, then, happened in the connection in which they have been told.[*](I.e., in 369.)

But Theodosius,[*](Here Ammianus takes up his narrative from xxvii. 8.) that leader of celebrated name, filled with courageous vigour sallied forth from Augusta, which was earlier called Lundinium, with a force which he had mustered with energy and skill, and rendered the greatest aid to the troubled and confused[*](Through the raids of the Picts and Scots.) fortunes of the Britons. He secured beforehand everywhere the places suitable for ambushing the savages, requiring nothing of the common soldiers in which he himself did not smartly take the first tasks.

In this way, while he performed the duties of an active common soldier and observed the care of a distinguished general, after having routed and put

But while he was thus engaged, a dread event had taken place, which would have resulted in grave danger, if it had not been crushed in the very beginning of its attempt.

A certain Valentinus, born in Valeria, a part of Pannonia, a man of haughty spirit, brother-in-law of that pernicious vice-governor Maximinus, who was afterwards prefect, had been exiled to Britain because of a serious crime. There, impatient of quiet like a noxious beast, he roused himself to new and destructive plans, nursing a certain grudge against Theodosius, since he perceived that he was the only one who could resist his abominable designs.

However, after a good deal of looking about secretly and openly, driven by the swelling gale of his vast ambition, he began to tempt exiles and soldiers by promising for bold deeds as enticing rewards as his circumstances at the time permitted.

And already the time for carrying out the plans was near at hand, when that leader,[*](Theodosius.) eager for deeds of daring, learning of this from a prearranged source,[*](From those ordered to watch Valentinus.) resolved with lofty heart to punish those who were found guilty: Valentinus indeed, along with a few of his closest associates, he had consigned to the general Dulcitius,[*](Cf. xxvii. 8, 10.) to be punished with death; but with the military knowledge in which he surpassed all his contemporaries, he divined future dangers, and as to the rest of the conspirators forbade the carrying on of investigations,

Then, after the danger had been wholly removed, since it was common knowledge that propitious fortune had failed him in none of his undertakings, he turned his attention to making many necessary improvements, restoring the cities and defences, as we have said, and protecting the frontiers by sentinels and outposts. And so completely did he recover a province which had passed into the enemy’s hands and restore it to its former condition, that, in the words of his report, it had a legitimate governor; and it was henceforth called Valentia,[*](This was a fifth province, added to the four into which Britain was originally divided; these were Maxima Caesariensis, Flavia Caesariensis, Britannia Prima, and Britannia Secunda. Valentia means Health and Strength. ) in accordance with the emperor’s wish, who, one might almost say, celebrated an ovation in his joy on hearing the priceless news.[*](369 A.D.)

In the midst of such important events the[*](368 ff. A.D.) Arcani,[*](This word occurs nowhere else; the Arcani would seem to be connected with the secret service (agentes in rebus), to judge from the name and the description of their duties. They were perhaps the same as the Angarii, so called from άγγαρος an old Greek word for a Persian mounted courier, and were in charge of the Roman courier service; see Cod. Theod. viii, de cursu publico, tit. 5.) a class of men established in early times, about which I said something in the history of Constans,[*](In a lost book.) had gradually become corrupted, and consequently he removed them from their posts. For they were clearly convicted of having been led by the receipt, or the promise, of great booty at various times to betray to the savages what was going on among us. For it was their duty to hasten

After the above-mentioned affairs and other similar ones had been so brilliantly managed, Theodosius was summoned to the court, leaving the provinces dancing for joy, after distinguishing himself by many helpful victories like Furius Camillus or Papirius Cursor. And because of his general popularity he was escorted as far as the strait. where he crossed with a light wind, and came into[*](369 A.D.) the emperor’s company. He was received with joy and words of praise, and succeeded to the position of Jovinus,[*](Cf. xxvii. 2, 1, 4. He later, at Rheims, built the basilica loviana, in honour of the Holy Agricola.) commander of the cavalry forces, whom the emperor Valentinian considered to be lacking in energy.

After long lasting and serious dispersion from[*](368 ff. A.D.) affairs in Rome, constrained by the great mass of foreign events, I shall return to a brief account of these, beginning with the prefecture of Olybrius,[*](368—370.) which was exceedingly peaceful and mild; for he never allowed himself to be turned from humane conduct, but was careful and anxious that no word or act of his should ever be found harsh. He severely punished calumny, cut down the profits of the privy-purse wherever it was possible, fully and impartially distinguished justice from injustice, and showed himself most lenient towards those wbom he

But a cloud was thrown over all these merits by a fault which indeed was not harmful to the community, but yet was a stain on a high official; for almost his whole private life, since he was inclined to luxury, he spent in playhouses and love affairs, though the latter were neither unlawful nor incestuous.

After him Ampelius[*](371–372.) governed the city, a man who himself also lusted after pleasures. Born at Antioch, he had been formerly marshal of the court, was twice raised to the rank of proconsul,[*](In Achaia and in Africa.) and then, long afterwards, to the high honour of the prefecture. Although admirable in other respects and well suited to gaining the favour of the people, he was nevertheless sometimes hard, and I wish he had been steadfast of purpose; for he could have corrected in part, even though to a small extent, the incitements of appetite and gross gluttony, if he had not let himself be turned to laxity and thus lost enduring fame.

For he gave orders that no wine-shop should be opened before the fourth hour,[*](About nine o’clock in the morning.) that no one of the common people should heat water,[*](For mixing with wine.) that up to a fixed hour of the day no victualler should offer cooked meat for sale,[*](Such laws were passed first by Tiberius; cf. Suet., Tib. 34. They were renewed by Claudius (Dio, lx. 6, 7) and Nero (Suet., Nero, 16, 2).) and that no respectable man should be seen chewing anything in public.