5.3. And though he was a terror to all while his arrival was waited for, since he was likely in bitter anger to order at once the punishment of officials who through perfidy or desertion had exposed that side of Pannonia, yet on his arrival he became so mild that he neither made inquiry into the murder of King Gabinius, nor carefully investigated the wounds branded on the body of the state to learn through whose negligence or guilt they had come about. And indeed it was his way to be severe in punishing common people, but more lenient towards personages of higher rank, even when they deserved a severe rebuke in harsh words.
5.3. Et quamquam terrori cunctis erat dum sperabatur, ut acer et vehemens, mox iudices damnari iussurus, quorum perfidia vel secessione Pannoniarum nudatum est latus: cum illuc venisset, ita intepuit, ut neque in Gabinii regis inquireret necem, necque inusta rei publicae vulnera, quo sinente vel agente segnius evenissent, curatius vestigaret: eo videlicet more, quo erat severus in gregariis corrigendis, remissior erga maiores fortunas vel verbis asperioribus incessendas.
5.4. Probus alone he attacked with bitter hatred, never ceasing to threaten him from the first time he had seen him, nor showing him any mildness; and for this conduct there were obvious weighty reasons. Probus had then, not for the first time, attained the rank of praetorian prefect, and in his longing to prolong his tenure of office in many ways (I only wish that they had been justifiable), he relied more on flattery than on worth otherwise than the glory of his stock admonished him.
5.4. Solum tamen incitato petebat odio Probum, numquam ex quo eum viderat minari desinens vel mitescens: cuius rei causae nec obscurae fuerunt nec leves. Hic praefecturam praetorio non tunc tune primitus nanctus, eamque multis atque utinam probabilibus modis, in longum proferre gestiens, non ut prosapiae suae claritudo monebat, plus adulationi quam verecundiae dedit.
5.5. For considering the emperor’s inclination to seek out ways of getting money from every quarter without distinction between right and wrong, he did not call him back when he strayed from the path of justice (as peace-loving counsellors have often done), but himself also followed the emperor on his devious and perverse course.
5.5. Contemplatus enim propositum principis, quaerendae undique pecuniae vias absque iustorum iniustorumque discretione scrutantis, errantem non reducebat ad aequitatis tramitem (ut saepe moderatores fecere tranquilli) sed ipse quoque flexibilem sequebatur atque transversum.
5.6. Hence resulted the grievous troubles of his subjects, and the ruinous items of imposts that had been instituted, long-continued practice in oppression finding one pretext after another, each more effective than the others, enfeebled and cut the sinews of the fortunes of rich and poor alike. Finally, the burden of tributes and the repeated increase in taxes compelled some of the most distinguished families, hounded by the fear of the worst, to leave their country; others, crushed by the severity of the dunning tax-collectors, having nothing to give, became permanent inmates of the prisons; and some of these, now weary of life and light, died by the noose as a welcome release.
5.6. Unde graves oboedientium casus, et exitialia provisorum nomina titulorum, iuxta opulentas et tenues enervatas succidere fortunas, argumentis aliis post alia validioribus, usu laedendi reperiente longaevo. Denique per tributorum onera vectigaliumque augmenta multiplicata, optimatum quosdam ultimorum metu exagitatos, mutare compulit sedes, et flagitantium ministrorum amaritudine quidam expressi, cum non suppeteret quod daretur, erant perpetui carcerum inquilini: e quibus aliquos, cum vitae iam taederet et lucis, suspendiorum exoptata remedia consumpserunt.
5.7. These things, as persistent rumour maintained, went on thus with increasing treachery and ruthlessness; but Valentinian knew nothing of them, as if his ears were stopped with wax, being eager for indiscriminate gain even from the slightest things, and taking into consideration only what was offered. Yet perhaps he would have spared Pannonia, if he had known earlier of these lamentable sources of profit, of which he learned all too late from the following chance occurrence.
5.7. Haec ita illecebrosius atque inhumanius agi loquebatur quidem pertinax rumor; Valentinianus vero tamquam auribus cera illitis ignorabat, indifferenter quidem lucrandi vel ex rebus minimis avidus, idque tantum cogitans quod offerebatur, parsurus tamen fortasse Pannoniis, si haec ante ingemiscenda compendia comperisset, quae nimium sero tali didicit casu.
5.8. After the example of the rest of the provincials the Epirotes also were compelled by the prefect to send envoys to the emperor to offer him their thanks, and forced a philosopher called Iphicles, a man renowned for his strength of soul, against his own desire to go and perform that duty.
5.8. Ad provincialium residuorum exemplum, etiam Epirotae acturos sibi gratias a praefecto mittere compulsi legatos, Iphiclem quendam philosophum, spectatum robore pectoris hominem, adegere (non sponte propria) pergere ad id munus implendum.
5.9. And he, when he came into the emperor’s presence, being recognized and asked the reason for his coming, replied in Greek; and when the emperor asked explicitly whether those who sent him thought well of the prefect in their hearts, he said, as became a philosopher who made a profession of truth: “With groans and against their will.”
5.9. Qui cum imperatorem vidisset, agnitus adventusque sui causam interrogatus, Graece respondit, atque ut philosophus veritatis professor, quaerente curatius principe, si hi qui misere ex animo bene sentiunt de praefecto, “gementes,” inquit, “et inviti.”
5.10. By these words the emperor was struck as by a dagger, and like a keen-scented hound he searched into all the conduct of the prefect, asking Iphicles in his native tongue about people whom he personally knew: where in the world, for example, was so and so who excelled his countrymen in honour and reputation; or another, who was rich; or still another of high rank. And when he learned that one had fallen victim to the noose, that another had gone across the sea, that a third had committed suicide or had died under the blows of the knout, he burned with tremendous rage, to which Leo, who was then chief marshal of the Court (oh, horror!), added blazing fuel, a man who himself aspired to the prefecture, in order to fall from a greater height. And if he had attained and ruled the office, in comparison with what he would have dared, the administration of a Probus would be praised to the skies!
5.10. Quo ille verbo tamquam telo perculsus, actus eius ut sagax bestia rimabatur, genuino percunctando sermone quos noscitabat, ubinam ille esset (verbi gratia) honore suos antecellens et nomine, vel ille dives, aut alius ordinis primus. Cumque disceret perisse aliquem laqueo, abisse alium trans mare, conscivisse sibi alium mortem aut plumbo vita erepta exstinctum, in immensum excanduit, urente irarum nutrimenta tunc officiorum magistro Leone (pro nefas!) ipso quoque praefecturam, ut e celsiore scopulo caderet, affectante: quam si adeptus rexisset, prae his quae erat ausurus, administratio Probi ferebatur in caelum.
5.11. And so the emperor remained at Carnuntum, where throughout the entire three summer months he was preparing arms and supplies, intending, if in anyway fortune favoured, to find opportunity to attack the Quadi, the instigators of the terrible uprising. It was in that town that Faustinus, nephew of Viventius, the praetorian prefect, when serving as a state-secretary, after an investigation conducted by Probus, was first tortured and then put to death by the hand of the executioner. The charge was that he had killed an ass, as some of his accusers alleged, for use in secret arts, but as he himself declared, to strengthen the weakness of his hair, which was falling out.
5.11. Agens itaque apud Carnuntum imperator per continuos tres menses aestivos arma parabat et alimenta, siqua fors secundasset, pervasurus opportune Quados, tumultus atrocis auctores; in quo oppido Faustinus, filius sororis Viventii praefecti praetorio, notarius militans, Probo spectante negotium, carnificis manu peremptus est post tormenta, vocatus in crimen, quod asinum occidisse dicebatur ad usum artium secretarum, ut asserebant quidam urgentes; ut autem aiebat ille ad imbecillitatem firmandam fluentium capillorum.
5.12. According to another, who was also suborned to ruin him, when one Nigrinus in jest asked for an appointment as state-secretary, Faustinus laughed at the man and said: “Make me emperor, if you want to get that office.” Since this jest was unjustly interpreted, Faustinus himself, as well as Nigrinus and others, were put to death.
5.12. Alio quoque in eum perniciose composito, quod petenti per iocum cuidam Nigrino, ut eum notarium faceret, exclamavit ille hominem ridens: “Fac me imperatorem, si id volueris impetrare.” Hocque ludibrio inique interpretato, et Faustinus ipse et Nigrinus et alii sunt interfecti.
5.13. Valentinian now sent Merobaudes on ahead with the division of foot-soldiers under his command, and in company with Count Sebastianus, to plunder and burn the cantons of the barbarians; the emperor himself quickly moved his camp to Acincum, joined together boats for the sudden emergency, and having with swift energy made a bridge of planks upon them, crossed through another quarter into the territory of the Quadi. They indeed were watching for his coming from the steep mountains, to which most of them, in doubt and uncertain what was happening, had withdrawn with their families; but they were overcome with amazement when, contrary to their expectation, they saw the imperial standards in their territories.
5.13. Praemisso igitur Merobaude cum militari peditum manu, quam regebat, ad vastandos cremandosque barbaricos pagos, comite adiuncto Sebastiano, Valentinianus Acincum propere castra commovit, navigiisque ad repentinum casum coniunctis, et contabulato celeri studio ponte, per partem aliam transiit in Quados, speculantes quidem ex diruptis montibus eius adventum, quo plerique ancipites, incertique accidentium, cum suis caritatibus secesserunt: sed stupore defixos, cum in regionibus suis, contra quam opinabantur, augusta cernerent signa.
5.14. Valentinian then advanced forcing the pace as far as occasion demanded, put to death without distinction of age all those who were still roaming about and were taken unawares by his sudden onset, burned the dwellings, and returned without losing a man of those whom he had led with him. He also lingered at Acincum, since the autumn was swiftly passing on, and being in lands where the cold weather always covered everything with ice, he looked about for suitable winter quarters; and he could find no convenient place except Savaria, although that town was then weak and had suffered from repeated misfortunes.
5.14. Progressus ergo coacto gradu in quantum res tulit, iugulataque aetate promiscua, quam etiam tum palantem subitus occupavit excursus, et tectis combustis, redit cum incolumibus cunctis, quos duxerat secum, itidemque apud Acincum moratus, autumno praecipiti, per tractus conglaciari frigoribus assuetos, commoda quaerebat hiberna, nullaque sedes idonea reperiri praeter Savariam poterat, quamvis eo invalidam tempore, assiduisque malis afflictam.
5.15. Therefore, setting this aside for a time, in spite of the great need for a halt, he quickly moved from there, marched along the banks of the river, and having protected his camp with an adequate force and with castles came to Bregitio. There the fate which had long been designed to end the emperor’s labours foretold his approaching end by a repeated series of portents.
5.15. Unde hoc, etiam si magni intererat, paulisper sequestrate, impigre motus, peragrata fluminis ripa, castrisque praesidio competenti munitis atque castellis, Bregitionem pervenit, ibique diu compositum ad quietem principis fatum sortem denuntiabat ei supremam, prodigiis ingerentibus multis.
5.16. For a very few days before his arrival comets blazed in the heavens; these foreshadow the downfall of men of high position, and of their origin I have already given an account. Before that, at Sirmium, with sudden crash of the clouds, a thunderbolt fell and set fire to a part of the palace, the senate house, and the forum. Also at Savaria, where the emperor was still settled, an owl perched on the top of the imperial bath, and uttered notes foretelling death; and no skilful hand could bring it down with arrows or with stones, although many vied with one another in eager attacks upon it.
5.16. Namque diebus ante paucissimis, ruinas fortunarum indicantia celsarum, arsere crinita sidera cometarum, quorum originem supra docuimus. Ante apud Sirmium repentino fragore nubium fulmen excussum, palatii et curiae partem incendit et fori, et apud Savariam eodem adhuc constitute, bubo culminibus regii lavacri insidens, occentansque funebria, nulla iacientium sagittas et lapides contemplabili dextera cadere potuit, certatim licet ardenti studio petebatur.
5.17. Again, when he was on his way from the aforesaid city to a campaign, he wished to go out through the same gate by which he had entered, in order to gain an omen that he would quickly return to Gaul; but while the neglected place was being cleared of accumulated debris, the iron-clad door which barred the exit was found to have fallen, and could not be removed by the greatest efforts of a large number of men; and to avoid wasting a day there, he was forced to go out by another gate.
5.17. Item cum ab urbe praedicta tenderet ad procinctum, per portam voluit unde introiit exire, ut omen colligeret, quod cite remeabit ad Gallias. Dumque locus aggestis ruderibus neglectus purgatur, lapsam forem ferratam, quae exitum obseravit, multitudo removere non potuit, viribus magnis enisa, et ille ne frustra tereret diem, coactus per aliam egressus est portam.
5.18. And on the night before the day which was to deprive him of life, he had a vision (as men often do in their sleep); he saw his absent wife sitting with disordered hair and dressed in mourning attire; and it was possible to infer that she was his own Fortune, on the point of leaving him in the garb of sorrow.
5.18. Nocteque quam lux ereptura eum vita secuta est (ut per quietem solet) videbat coniugem suam absentem, sedere passis capillis, amictu squalenti contectam: quam aestimari dabatur Fortunam eius esse, cum taetro habitu iam discessuram.
5.19. Then the next morning, when he came out somewhat gloomy and with frowning brow, the horse that was brought to him would not allow him to mount, but reared its fore feet high in the air contrary to its usual manner; whereupon the emperor fell into one of his innate fits of anger and, being naturally cruel, ordered the groom’s right hand, which as usual had supported him in leaping on to the animal, to be cut off. And the guiltless young man would have suffered a cruel fate, had not Cerealis, the tribune in charge of the stable, at the risk of his own life postponed the terrible wrong.
5.19. Progressus deinde matutinus, contractiore vultu subtristis, cum eum oblatus non susciperet equus, anteriores pedes praeter morem erigens in sublime, innata feritate concitus, ut erat immanis, dexteram stratoris militis iussit abscidi, quae eum insilientem iumento fulserat consuete: perissetque cruciabiliter innocens iuvenis, ni tribunus stabuli Cerealis dirum nefas cum sui periculo distulisset.
6.1. After this, envoys of the Quadi appeared, humbly begging for peace and forgetfulness of their past offences; and in order to obtain this without hindrance, they promised to provide recruits and some other things helpful to the Roman state.
6.1. Post haec Quadorum venere legati, pacem cum praeteritorum oblitteratione, suppliciter obsecrantes, quam ut adipisci sine obstaculo possent, et tirocinium et quaedam utilia rei Romanae pollicebantur.
6.2. When it was decided that the envoys be received and allowed to return home with the grant of the truce for which they were asking (for neither lack of supplies nor the unfavourable time of year allowed further attacks upon them), on the advice of Aequitius they were admitted to the councilchamber. And as they stood there with bended limbs weak and stricken by fear, on being bidden to tell their mission, they gave the usual series of excuses and supported them by adding the pledge of an oath. They declared that there had been no common consent of the chiefs of their race in any wrong that had been done us, but that the hostile acts had been committed by bands of foreign brigands dwelling near the river; and they added, and maintained that it was a valid excuse for their conduct, that the building of a barrier, which was begun both unjustly and without due occasion, roused their rude spirits to anger.
6.2. Quos quoniam suscipi placuit, et redire indutiis, quae poscebantur, indultis, quippe eos vexari diutius, nec ciborum inopia, nec alienum tempus anni patiebantur, in consistorium, Aequitio suadente, sunt intromissi. Cumque membris incurvatis starent metu debiles et praestricti, docere iussi quae ferebant, usitatas illas causationum species iurandi fidem addendo firmabant; nihil ex communi mente procerum gentis delictum asseverantes in nostros, sed per extimos quosdam latrones, amnique confines evenisse, quae inciviliter gesta sunt, etiam id quoque addendo, ut sufficiens ad facta purganda firmantes, quod munimentum extrui coeptum nec iuste nec opportune ad ferociam animos agrestes accendit.
6.3. At this the emperor burst into a mighty fit of wrath, and being particularly incensed during the first part of his reply, he railed at the whole nation in noisy and abusive language, as ungrateful and forgetful of acts of kindness. Then he gradually calmed himself and seemed more inclined to mildness, when, as if struck by a bolt from the sky, he was seen to be speechless and suffocating, and his face was tinged with a fiery flush. On a sudden his blood was checked and the sweat of death broke out upon him. Then, that he might not fall before the eyes of a throng of the common sort, his body-servants rushed to him and led him into an inner chamber.
6.3. Ad haec imperator, ira vehementi perculsus, et inter exordia respondendi tumidior, increpabat verborum obiurgatorio sonu nationem omnem ut beneficiorum immemorem et ingratam. Paulatimque lenitus, et ad molliora propensior, tamquam ictus e caelo, vitalique via voceque simul obstructa, suffectus igneo lumine cernebatur; et repente cohibito sanguine, letali sudore perfusus, ne laberetur spectantibus multis et vilibus, concursu ministrorum vitae secretioris ad conclave ductus est intimum.
6.4. There he was laid upon a bed; but although he was drawing more feeble remnants of breath, the vigour of his mind was not yet lessened, and he recognized all those who stood about him, whom the chamberlains had summoned With all speed, in order to avert any suspicion that he had been murdered. And since all parts of his body were burning hot, it was necessary to open a vein, but no physician could be found, since he had sent them to various places, to give attention to the soldiers who were attacked by the plague.
6.4. Ubi locatus in lecto, exiguas spiritus reliquias trahens, nondum intellegendi minuto vigore, cunctos agnoscebat adstantes, quos cubicularii, nequis eum necatum suspicaretur, celeritate maxima corrogarant. Et quoniam viscerum flagrante compage, laxanda erat necessario vena, nullus inveniri potuit medicus, hanc ob causam quod eos per varia sparserat, curaturos militem pestilentiae morbo temptatum.
6.5. At last however one was found, but although he repeatedly pierced a vein, he could not draw even a single drop of blood, since the emperor’s inner parts were consumed by excessive heat, or (as some thought) because his body was dried up, since some passages for the blood (which we now all hemorrhoids) were closed and incrusted by he cold chills.
6.5. Unus tamen repertus, venam eius iterum saepiusque pungendo, ne guttam quidem cruoris elicere potuit, internis nimietate calorum ambustis, vel (ut quidam existimabant), arefactis ideo membris, quod meatus aliqui (quos haemorrhoidas nunc appellamus), obserati sunt gelidis frigoribus concrustati.
6.6. He felt the disease crushing him with a mighty force, and knew that the fated and of his life was at hand; and he tried to speak or give some orders, as was indicated by the gasps that often heaved his sides, by the grinding of his teeth, and by movements of his arms as if of men fighting with the cestus; but finally his strength failed him, his body was covered with livid spots, and after a long struggle for life he breathed his last, in the fifty-fifth year of his age and the twelfth of his reign, less a hundred days.
6.6. Sensit immensa vi quadam urgente morborum, ultimae necessitatis adesse praescripta, dicereque conatus aliqua vel mandare, ut singultus ilia crebrius pulsans, stridorque dentium et brachiorum motus velut caestibus dimicantium indicabat, iam superatus, liventibusque maculis interfusus, animam diu colluctatam efflavit, aetatis quinquagesimo anno et quinto, imperii imperil (minus centum dies) secundo et decimo.
7.1. It is now in place to go back and (as we have often done) in a brief epilogue run through the deeds of this emperor, from the very birth of his father to his own decease, without omitting to distinguish his faults or his good qualities, brought to light as they were by greatness of power, which is always wont to lay bare a man’s inmost character.
7.1. Replicare nunc est opportunum (ut aliquotiens aliquotienis fecimus), et ab ortu primigenio patris huius principis principles ad usque ipsius obitum, actus eius discurrere per epilogos brevis, nec vitiorum praetermisso discrimine, vel bonorum, quae potestatis amplitudo amplitude monstravit, nudare solita semper animorum interna.
7.2. His father, the elder Gratianus, was born at Cibalae, a town of Pannonia, of a humble family, and from his early boyhood was surnamed Funarius, because when he was not yet grown up and was carrying round a rope for sale, and five soldiers tried with all their might to tear it from him, he gave way not an inch; he thus rivalled Milo of Croton, from whom no possible exercise of strength could ever take an apple, when he held it tightly in his left or his right hand, as he often did.
7.2. Natus apud Cibalas, Pannoniae oppidum, Gratianus maior ignobili stirpe, cognominatus est a pueritia prima Funarius, ea re quod nondum adultus, venalem circumferens funem, quinque militibus eum rapere studio magno conatis, nequaquam cessit: aemulatus Crotoniaten Milonem, cui mala saepe cohaerenter laeva manu retinenti vel dextra, nulla umquam virium fortitudo abstraxit.
7.3. Hence, because of his mighty strength of body and his skill in wrestling in the soldiers’ fashion he became widely known, and after holding the position of one of the bodyguard and of a tribune, he commanded the army in Africa with the title of count. There he incurred the suspicion of theft, but he departed long afterwards and commanded the army in Britain with the same rank; and at last, after being honourably discharged, he returned to his home. While he was living there far from the noise and bustle, his property was confiscated by Constantius, on the ground that when civil discord was raging he was said to have shown hospitality to Magnentius when the usurper was hastening through Gratianus’s land to carry out his designs.
7.3. Ob ergo validi corporis robur, et peritiam militum more luctandi, notior multis, post dignitatem protectoris atque tribuni, comes praefuit rei castrensi per Africam, unde furtorum suspicione contactus, digressusque multo postea pari potestate Brittannum Brittanicum rexit exercitum, tandemque honeste sacramento solutus, revertit ad larem, et agens procul a strepitu strepitti, multatione bonorum afflictus est a Constantio, hoc nomine, quod civili flagrante discordia, hospitio dicebatur suscepisse Magnentium, per agrum suum ad proposita festinantem.
7.4. Because of his father’s services Valentinian was favoured from early youth, and being commended also by the addition of his own merits, he was clad in the insignia of imperial majesty at Nicaea. He took as his imperial colleague his brother Valens, to whom he was greatly attached both by the tie of fraternity and by sympathy, a man with an equal amount of excellent and bad qualities, as we shall point out in the proper place.
7.4. Cuius meritis Valentinianus ab ineunte adulescentia commendabilis, contextu suarum quoque suffragante virtutum, indutibus imperatoriae maiestatis apud Nicaeam ornatus, in Augustum collegium fratrem Valentem adscivit, ut germanitate ita concordia sibi iunctissimum, inter probra medium et praecipua, quae loco docebimus competenti.
7.5. Valentinian, then, after suffering many annoyances and dangers while he was a private citizen, had no sooner begun to reign than he went to Gaul, to fortify the strongholds and cities lying near the rivers; for these were exposed to the raids of the Alamanni, who were raising their heads higher after learning of the death of the emperor Julian, who was absolutely the only one whom they feared after the death of Constans.
7.5. Igitur Valentinianus post periculorum molestias plures, dum esset privatus, emensas, imperitare exorsus, ut arces prope flumina sitas et urbes muniret, Gallias petit, Alamannicis patentes excursibus, reviviscentibus erectius cognito principis Iuliani interitu, quem post Constantem solum omnium formidabant.
7.6. But Valentinian also was rightly dreaded by them, both because he increased the armies with a strong reinforcement and because he so fortified both banks of the Rhine with lofty castles and strongholds, that nowhere should an enemy be able to hurl himself at our territories unobserved.
7.6. Ideo autem etiam Valentinianus merito timebatur, quod auxit et exercitus valido supplemento, et utrubique Rhenum celsioribus castris munivit atque castellis, ne latere usquam hostis ad nostra se proripiens possit.
7.7. And to pass over many things which he did with the authority of an established ruler, and the reforms that he effected either personally or through energetic generals, after admitting his son Gratianus to a share in his power, he secretly, since he could not do so openly, caused Vithicabius, king of the Alamanni, son of Vadomarius, a young man in the first bloom of manhood, to be stabbed, because he was rousing his people to rebellion and war. And joining battle with the Alamanni near a place called Solicinium, where, after falling into an ambuscade and all but losing his life, he could have utterly destroyed their entire army, had not swift flight saved a few of them under cover of darkness.
7.7. Utque multa praetereamus, quae egit moderatoris auctoritate fundati, quaeque per se vel duces huces correxit industrios, post Gratianum filium in societatem suae potestatis assumptum, Vithicabium regem Alamannorum, Vadomario genitum, adulescentem in flore primo genarum, nationes ad tumultus cientem et bella, clam (quia non potuit aperte) confodit; et Alamannis congressus, prope Solicinium locum, ubi insidiis paene perierat, circumventus, ad exitium ultimum delere potuit universos, ni paucos velox effugium tenebris amendasset.
7.8. While he was accomplishing these exploits with due caution, the Saxons, who had already broken out into formidable madness and were always rushing wherever they pleased without reconnaisances, had then invaded the maritime districts, and had almost returned enriched with the spoils which they took; but by a device which was treacherous but expedient he overwhelmed and stripped of their booty the robbers thus forcibly crushed.
7.8. Inter haec tamen caute gesta, iam conversos ad metuendam rabiem Saxonas, semper quolibet inexplorato ruentes, delatosque tunc tune ad maritimos tractus, quorum spoliis paene redierant locupletes, malefido quidem sed utili commento peremit, praeda raptoribus vi fractis excussa.
7.9. Again, when the Britons could not resist the hordes of enemies that were overrunning their country, he restored them to freedom and quiet peace with the hope of better conditions, and allowed almost none of the plunderers to return to his home.
7.9. Itidemque Britannos, catervas superfusorum hostium non ferentes, spe meliorum assumpta, in libertatem et quietem restituit placidam, nullo paene redire permisso grassatorum ad sua.
7.10. With like effectiveness he also crushed Valentinus, the exile from Pannonia, who was trying to disturb the public peace in that province, before his design came to a head. Next, he saved Africa from great dangers, when that country was in the throes of an unexpected disaster; for Firmus was unable to endure the greed and arrogance of the military officials and had aroused the Moorish tribes, whose ardour can always easily be fanned to any plan of dissension. With equal courage he would have avenged the lamentable catastrophes in Illyricum, had he not been overtaken by death and left that important matter unfinished.
7.10. Efficacia pari Valentinum quoque, Pannonium exsulem, per has provincias molientem otium turbare commune, antequam negotium effervescat, oppressit. Africam deinde malo repentino perculsam, discriminibus magnis exemit, cum voracis militarium fastus ferre nequiens Firmus, ad omnes dissensionum motus perflabiles gentes Mauricas concitasset. Similique fortitudine clades ingemiscendas Illyrici vindicasset, ni morte praeventus reliquisset rem seriam imperfectam.
7.11. And although these successes which I have mentioned were brought about by his admirable generals, yet it is also well known that he himself, being a man of nimble mind and hardened by long experience in military life, performed very many exploits; and among these it would have been a most glorious feat if he had been able to take King Macrianus alive, who was at that time formidable. He had made great efforts to do so after he learned with grief and sorrow that the king had escaped from the Burgundians, whom Valentinian himself had aroused against the Alamanni.
7.11. Ac licet opera praestabilium ducum dacum haec quae rettulimus consummata sunt, tamen ipsum quoque satis constat, ut erat expeditae mentis usuque castrensis negotii diuturno firmatus, egisse complura; inter quae illud elucere clarius potuit, si Macrianum regem ea tempestate terribilem, vivum capere potuisset, ut industria magna temptarat, postquam eum evasisse evassisse Burgundios, quos ipse admoverat Alamannis, maerens didicisset et tristis.
8.1. This is a brief account of the emperor’s deeds. Now, in the belief that posterity, being bound neither by fear nor by base flattery, is usually an uncorrupted judge of the past, I shall give a summary of his defects, to be followed by an account of his excellent qualities.
8.1. Haec super actibus principis brevi sunt textu percursa: nunc confisi quod nec metu nec adulandi foeditate constricta posteritas, incorrupta praeteritorum solet esse spectatrix, summatim eius numerabimus vitia, post et praecipua narraturi.
8.2. He sometimes assumed an appearance of mildness, although his hot temper made him more inclined to severity; for he evidently forgot that a ruler should avoid all excess, as he would a precipice.
8.2. Adsimulavit non numquam clementiae speciem, cum esset in acerbitatem naturae calore propensior, oblitus profecto quod regenti imperium omnia nimia, velut praecipites scopuli, sunt evitanda.
8.3. For he was never found to be content with a mild punishment, but he continually ordered blood-thirsty investigations one after the other; and in his cruel inquisitions some were tortured even to the danger of their lives; in fact, he was so prone to cruelty that he never rescued from death any of those who had been capitally condemned, by merciful terms in a warrant which was presented for his subscription, although sometimes this has been done even by the most savage of princes.
8.3. Nec enim usquam reperitur miti cohercitione contentus, sed aliquotiens quaestiones multiplicari iussisse cruentas, per interrogationes funestas, non nullis ad usque discrimina vitae vexatis: et ita erat effusior ad nocendum ut nullum aliquando damnatorum capitis eriperet morte, subscriptionis elogio leni, cum id etiam principes interdum fecere saevissimi.
8.4. And yet he could have contemplated many examples of the men of old, and might have imitated native and foreign instances of humanity and righteous mercy, which philosophers call the kind sisters of the virtues Of these it will suffice to mention the following. Artaxerxes, that mighty king of the Persians, whom the length of one of his limbs made known as Macrochir, with inborn mildness corrected various punishments which that cruel nation had always practised, by sometimes cutting off the turbans of the guilty, in lieu of their heads; and instead of cutting off men’s ears for various offences, as was the habit of the kings, he sheared off threads hanging from their head-coverings. This moderation of character so won for him the contentment and respect of his subjects, that through their unanimous support he accomplished many noteworthy deeds, which are celebrated by the Greek writers.
8.4. Atquin potuit exempla multa contueri maiorum, et imitari peregrina atque interna humanitatis et pietatis, quas sapientes consanguineas virtutum esse definiunt bonas. E quibus haec sufficiet poni. Artaxerxes Persarum ille rex potentissimus, quem Macrochira membri unius longitudo longitude commemoravit, suppliciorum varietates, quas natio semper exercuit cruda, lenitate genuina castigans, tiaras ad vicem capitum quibusdam noxiis amputabat: et ne secaret aures more regio pro delictis, ex galeris fila pendentia praecidebat: quae temperantia morum ita tolerabilem eum fecit et verecundum, ut annitentibus cunctis, multos et mirabiles actus impleret, Graecis scriptoribus celebratos celebrates.
8.5. A general of Praeneste in one of the Samnite wars had been ordered to hasten to his post, but had been slow to obey, and was summoned to expiate that misdeed; Papirius Cursor, who was dictator at the time, ordered the lictor to make ready his axe, and in sight of the man, who was overcome with terror and had given up hope of excusing himself, he gave orders that a bush seen near should be cut down, by a jest of this kind at the same time punishing and acquitting the man; and thereby he suffered no loss of respect, and he brought to an end the long and difficult wars of his fathers and was considered the only man capable of resisting Alexander the Great, if that king should have set foot on Italian soil.
8.5. Praenestino praetore, qui bello quodam Samnitico properare iussus ad praesidium venerat segnius, ad crimen diluendum exhibito, Papirius Cursor, ea tempestate dictator, securem per lictorem expediri homineque abiecta purgandi se fiducia stupefacto, visum prope fruticem iussit abscidi: hocque ioci genere castigatum, cum eum absolveret, non ideo contemptus, bella diuturna patrum superavit et gravia, solus ad resistendum aptus Alexandro Magno, si calcasset Italiam, aestimatus.
8.6. Valentinian, who perhaps knew nothing of these instances, and did not consider that slowness to anger in rulers is always a solace for unhappy circumstances, increased the number of punishments by fire and sword, which a righteous spirit regards as the last resort in times of stress, as the splendid writer Isocrates says; there is an utterance of his for all time whereby he teaches that sometimes a ruler who has been overcome by arms ought to be pardoned, more than one who did not know what is just.
8.6. Haec forsitan Valentinianus ignorans, minimeque reputans, afflicti solacium status semper esse lenitudinem principum, poenas per ignes augebat et gladios: quod ultimum in adversis rebus remedium pietas reperit animorum, ut Isocratis memorat pulchritudo: cuius vox est perpetua docentis, ignosci debere interdum armis superato rectori, quam iustum quid sit ignoranti.
8.7. I think it was under the influence of this that Cicero made the glorious statement in his defence of Oppius: “and indeed, to have great power for the salvation of another has brought honour to many; to have had too little power to destroy him has never been a reproach to anyone.”
8.7. Unde motum existimo Tullium praeclare pronuntiasse, cum defenderet Oppium: “Et enim multum posse ad salutem alterius, honori multis; parum potuisse ad exitium, probro nemini umquam fuit.”
8.8. The greed for greater possessions without distinguishing right from wrong, and of seeking advantages of various kinds through the shipwreck of others’ lives, grew ever greater and became excessive in this emperor. This fault some tried to excuse by offering the example of the emperor Aurelian, declaring that as, when the treasury was exhausted after Gallienus and the lamentable disasters to the state, he fell upon the rich like a torrent, so Valentinian, after the losses of the Parthian campaign, feeling the need of a vast quantity of expenditure in order to provide reinforcements and pay for his troops, mingled with cruelty the desire to amass excessive wealth, affecting not to know that there are some things which ought not to be done, even if one has the power to do them. In this he was quite unlike the famous Themistocles, for when after the fight with the Persians and the annihilation of their army the Athenian was aimlessly strolling about, and saw golden bracelets and a neck-chain lying on the ground, he turned to one of his attendants who stood near by and said: “Pick up these, since you are not Themistocles,” thus showing his scorn of any love of money in a noble leader.
8.8. Aviditas plus habendi, sine honesti pravique differentia, et indagandi quaestus varios per alienae vitae naufragia, exundavit in hoc principe flagrantius adulescens, Quam quidam praetendentes imperatorem Aurelianum purgare temptabant, id affirmando quod ut ille post Gallienum, et lamentabilis rei publicae casus, exinanito aerario, torrentis ritu ferebatur in divites, ita hic quoque post procinctus Parthici clades, magnitudine indigens impensarum, ut militi supplementa suppeterent et stipendium, crudelitati cupiditatem opes nimias congerendi miscebat: dissimulans scire, quod sunt aliqua quae fieri non oportet, etiam si licet, Themistoclis illius vere dissimilis, qui cum post pugnam agminaque deleta Persarum, licenter obambulans, armillas aureas vidisset humi proiectas, et torquem, “Tolle” inquit “haec,” ad comitum quendam prope adstantem versus, “quia Themistocles non es,” quodlibet spernens in duce magnanimo lucrum.
8.9. Like instances of this same selfrestraint are found in abundance in Roman generals. Passing these by, since they are no indication of perfect virtue (for not to seize the property of others deserves no praise), I will give one certain indication (among many) of the integrity of the common people of early days. When Marius and Cinna had turned over to the Roman plebeians the rich dwellings of the proscribed to be plundered, the rough spiritof the commons, wont however to respect human misfortunes, so spared what had been gained by the toil of others that no one of the poor or of the lowest class was found who allowed himself, though permission was given him, to handle profits from the woes of his country.
8.9. Huius exempla continentiae similia plurima in Romanis exuberant ducibus: quibus omissis, quoniam non sunt perfectae virtutis indicia, (nec enim aliena non rapere laudis est), unum ex multis constans innocentiae vulgi veteris specimen ponam. Cum proscriptorum locupletes domus diripiendas Romanae plebei Marius dedisset et Cinna, ita vulgi rudes animi sed humana soliti respectare, alienis laboribus pepercerunt, ut nullus egens reperiretur aut infimus, qui de civili luctu fructum contrectare pateretur sibi concessum.
8.10. Besides this there was a fire of envy in the very marrow of this same emperor, and knowing that most vices are wont to assume the appearance of virtues, he had ever upon his lips the saying, that malice of severity is the inseparable associate of rightful power. And as men of the highest position always think that everything is allowed them, and they are strongly inclined to suspect those who oppose them and to overthrow better men than themselves, so he hated the well dressed, the learned, the rich, and the high-born; and he depreciated brave men, in order to give the appearance of surpassing all men in good qualities, a fault, as we read, by which the emperor Hadrian was inflamed.
8.10. Invidia praeter haec ante dictus medullitus urebatur, et sciens pleraque vitiorum imitari solere virtutes, memorabat assidue, livorem severitatis rectae potestatis esse individuam sociam. Utque sunt dignitatum apices maximi, licere sibi cuncta existimantes, et ad suspicandum contrarios, exturbandosque meliores pronius inclinati, bene vestitos oderat et eruditos et opulentos et nobiles, et fortibus detrahebat, ut solus videretur bonis artibus eminere, quo vitio exarsisse principem legimus Hadrianum.
8.11. This same prince often denounced cowards, calling such men sullied, unclean, and deserving to be thrust down below the humblest estate; and yet he himself, in the presence of empty terrors, sometimes turned abjectly pale and dreaded in his inmost soul something that did not exist at all.
8.11. Arguebat hic idem princeps timidos saepius, maculosos tales appellans et sordidos, et infra sortem humilem amendandos, ipse ad pavores irritos aliquotiens abiectius pallens, et quod nusquam erat, ima mente formidans.
8.12. It was the knowledge of this that led Remigius, marshal of the court, when he perceived that the emperor was boiling with anger at something which had occurred, to hint among other things that some outbreaks of the barbarians threatened; and when Valentinian heard this, immediately he was so overcome with fear that he became as calm and mild as Antoninus the Good himself.
8.12. Quo intellecto, magister officiorum Remigius, cum eum ex incidentibus ira fervere sentiret, fieri motus quosdam barbaricos, inter alia subserebat: hocque ille audito, quia timore mox frangebatur, ut Antoninus Pius erat serenus et clemens.
8.13. He never intentionally chose cruel judges, but if he had learned that Those whomhehad once advanced were acting cruelly, he maintained that he had found men like Lycurgus and Cassius, those ancient pillars of justice; and he often urged them in writing to punish even light offences with all severity.
8.13. Iudices numquam consulto malignos elegit, sed si semel promotos agere didicisset immaniter, Lycurgos invenisse praedicabat et Cassios, columina iustitiae prisca, scribensque hortabatur assidue, ut noxas vel leves acerbius vindicarent.
8.14. Those in trouble, whom a reverse of fortune had befallen, found no refuge in the kindness of their prince, which has always been a longed-for haven, as it were, for those tossed on a stormy sea. For the purpose of a just rule (as the philosophers teach) is supposed to be the advantage and safety of its subjects.
8.14. nec Nee afflictis (si fors ingruisset inferior) erat ullum in principis benignitate perfugium, quod semper, ut agitato mari iactatis, portus patuit exoptatus. Finis enim iusti imperii (ut sapientes docent) utilitas oboedientium aestimatur et salus.
9.1. It is fitting after this to pass to those acts of his which were praiseworthy and to be imitated by right-thinking men; and if he had regulated the rest of his conduct in accordance with these, his career would have been that of a Trajan or a Marcus. He was very indulgent towards the provincials and everywhere lightened the burden of their tributes; he was always timely in founding towns and establishing frontier defences. He was an excellent critic of military discipline, failing only in this, that while he punished even slight offences of the common soldiers, he suffered the serious offences of his higher commanders to go to excess, often turning a deaf ear to the complaints made against them. The result of this was turmoil in Britain, disaster in Africa, and the devastation of Illyricum.
9.1. Consentaneum est venire post haec ad eius actus, sequendos recte sentientibus et probandos: ad quos si reliqua temperasset, vixerat ut Traianus et Marcus. In provinciales admodum parcus, tributorum ubique molliens sarcinas: oppidorum et limitum conditor tempestivus: militaris disciplinae censor eximius, in hoc tantum deerrans, quod cum gregariorum etiam levia puniret errata, potiorum ducum flagitia progredi sinebat in maius, ad querellas in eos motas aliquotiens obsurdescens: unde Britannici strepitus et Africanae clades et vastitas emersit Illyrici.
9.2. In every observance of chastity he was pure at home and abroad; he was stained by the foul touch of no obscene feelings or lewdness; and for that reason he controlled the wantonness of the imperial court as if by a curb; and this course he could easily keep; he showed no indulgence to his own kindred, whom he either restrained in retirement or honoured with unimportant posts, with the exception of his brother, whom, compelled by press of circumstances, he admitted to a share in his own eminence.
9.2. Omni pudicitiae cultu domi castus et foris, nullo contagio conscientiae violatus obscenae, nihil incestum: hancque ob causam tamquam retinaculis petulantiam frenarat aulae regalis, quod custodire facile potuit, necessitudinibus suis nihil indulgens, quas aut in otio reprimebat, aut mediocriter honoravit absque fratre, quem temporis compulsus angustiis, in amplitudinis suae societatem assumpsit.
9.3. He was most cautious in bestowing high official positions: under his rule no money-changer governed a province, no office was ever sold, except at the beginning of his reign, a time when it is usual for some crimes to be committed with impunity through reliance on the distractions of a new ruler.
9.3. Scrupulosus in deferendis potestatibus celsis nec imperante eo provinciam nummularius rexit, aut administratio venundata, nisi inter imperandi exordia, ut solent occupationis spe impune quaedam sceleste committi.
9.4. In war, whether offensive or defensive, he was most skilful and careful, a veteran in the heat and dust of the battlefield. In council he was a foresighted persuader of what was right and a dissuader of wrong, most strict in examining all ranks of the military service. He wrote a neat hand, was an elegant painter and modeller, and an inventor of new kinds of arms. His memory was lively; so was his speech (although he spoke seldom), and he was vigorous therein, almost to the point of eloquence. He loved neatness, and enjoyed banquets that were choice but not extravagant.
9.4. Ad inferenda propulsandaque bella sollertissime cautus, aestu Martii pulveris induratus, boni pravique suasor et desuasor admodum prudens, militaris rei ordinum scrutantissimus: scribens decore, venusteque pingens et fingens, et novorum inventor armorum: memoria sermoneque incitato quidem sed raro, facundiae proximo vigens, amator munditiarum, laetusque non profusis epulis sed excultis.
9.5. Finally, his reign was distinguished by toleration, in that he remained neutral in religious differences neither troubling anyone on that ground nor ordering him to reverence this or that. He did not bend the necks of his subjects to his own belief by threatening edicts, but left such matters undisturbed as he found them.
9.5. Postremo hoc moderamine principatus inclaruit, quod inter religionum diversitates medius stetit, nec quemquam inquietavit, neque ut hoc coleretur colereter, imperavit aut illud: nec interdictis minacibus subiectorum cervicem ad id, quod ipse coluit, inclinabat, sed intemeratas reliquit has partes ut repperit.
9.6. His strong and muscular body, the gleam of his hair, his brilliant complexion, his grey eyes, with a gaze that was always sidelong and stern, his fine stature, and his regular features completed a figure of regal charm and majesty.
9.6. Corpus eius lacertosum et validum, capilli fulgor colorisque nitor cum oculis caesiis, semper obliquum intuentibus et torvum, atque pulchritudo staturae, liniamentorumque recta compago, maiestatis regiae decus implebat.
10.1. After the last invocation of the emperor his body was prepared for burial, in order to be sent to Constantinople and interred among the remains of the deified rulers. Meanwhile the campaign that was approaching was suspended, and an uncertain outcome of the situation was feared, because of the cohorts serving in Gaul, which were not always of devoted loyalty to legitimate emperors, and regarded themselves as arbiters of the imperial power; and it was suspected that they might take the opportunity to venture on some new step; and this fact added some hopes of attempting a revolution—that Gratianus was still at Trier (where his father, when he was on the point of beginning his march, had arranged for him to stay) and even then knew nothing of what had happened.
10.1. Post conclamata imperatoris suprema, corpusque curatum ad sepulturam, ut missum Constantinopolim inter divorum reliquias humaretur, suspenso instante procinctu, anceps rei timebatur eventus cohortibus Gallicanis, quae non semper dicatae legitimorum principum fidei, velut imperiorum arbitri, ausurae novum quoddam in tempore sperabantur: hoc temptandae novitatis spes adiciente, quod gestorum ignarus etiam tum Gratianus agebat tum turn apud Treveros, ubi profecturus eum morari disposuerat pater.
10.2. When affairs were in this critical state, and all were equally in dread, and likely to share in whatever dangers that might arise, as if in the same boat, it was agreed in accordance with the advice of the highest officers, after having torn down the bridge, which they had previously built under necessity when invading the enemy’s territory, that Merobaudes at once should be summoned by order of Valentinian when he was still alive.
10.2. Cum negotium in his esset angustiis, et tamquam in eadem navi futuri periculorum (si accidissent) participes, omnes eadem formidarent: sedit summatum consilio, avulso ponte quem compaginarat ante necessitas, invadens terras hostilis, ut superstitis Valentiniani mandatu Merobaudes protinus acciretur.
10.3. He, being a sharp-wittedman, either guessing what had happened, or perhaps having learned it from the messenger who summoned him, and suspecting that the Gallic troops would violate the terms of peace, pretended that an order-ticket had been sent to him to return with the messenger, in order to guard the banks of the Rhine because the barbarians were getting wilder. And Sebastianus, who was still unaware of the emperor’s death, he sent to a more distant post, which had been secretly ordered; for although Sebastianus was a quiet and peace-loving man, he stood in high favour with the troops, and hence he was particularly to be feared at that time.
10.3. Hocque ille ut erat sollertis ingenii, quod evenerat ratus, aut forte doctus ab eo per quem vocabatur, rupturum concordiae iura Gallicanum militem suspicatus, missam ad se tesseram finxit redeundi cum eo, ad observandas Rheni ripas quasi furore barbarico crudescente: utque erat secrete mandatum, Sebastianum principis adhuc ignorantem excessum, longius amendavit, quietum quidem virum et placidum, sed militari favore sublatum, ideo maxime tunc tune cavendum.
10.4. Accordingly, after Merobaudes turned back, the matter of succession was carefully considered and the plan was unfolded that the boy Valentinianus, son of the deceased emperor and then four years old, should be summoned and given a share in the rule. He was at the time a hundred miles distant, living with his mother Justina at the country house called Murocincta.
10.4. Reverso itaque Merobaude, altiore cura prospectum, expedite consilio, Valentinianus puer defuncti filius tum quadrimus, vocaretur in imperium cooptandus, centesimo lapide disparatus, degensque cum Iustina lustina matre in villa, quam Murocinctam appellant.
10.5. When this had been approved by unanimous consent, the boy’s uncle Cerealis was immediately sent to the place, put him in a litter, and brought him to the camp; and on the sixth day after the passing of his father he was in due form declared emperor, and after the customary manner hailed as Augustus.
10.5. Hocque concinenti omnium sententia confirmato, Cerealis avunculus eius ocius missus, eundem puerum lecticae impositum, duxit in castra sextoque die post parentis obitum imperator legitime declaratus, Augustus nuncupatur more sollemni.
10.6. And although, while this was being done, there was some thought that Gratianus would take it amiss that another emperor was chosen without his permission, this fear later vanished and men lived free from care, since Gratianus, besides being a kindly and righteous man, loved his kinsman with great affection and saw to his education.
10.6. Et licet cum haec agerentur, Gratianum indigne laturum existimantes, absque sui permissu principem alium institutum, postea tamen sollicitudine discussa vixere securius, quod ille (ut erat benivolus et pius) consanguineum pietate nimia dilexit et educavit.