---
title: "Seven Books of History against the Pagans"
author: "Paulus Orosius"
translator: "S. Alexander Laurent (AI-assisted, 2026)"
title_ru: "История против язычников"
title_fr: "Histoires contre les païens"
title_de: "Sieben Bücher Geschichte gegen die Heiden"
languages: [la, en]
shelf: "Church Fathers"
section: 168 of 177
url: https://scriptura.si/works/orosius-historiae/168/
cite: "Paulus Orosius, tr. S. Alexander Laurent (AI-assisted, 2026), Seven Books of History against the Pagans, section 168. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/orosius-historiae/168/"
---

# Seven Books of History against the Pagans

*Paulus Orosius, tr. S. Alexander Laurent (AI-assisted, 2026)*

Russian: История против язычников · French: Histoires contre les païens · German: Sieben Bücher Geschichte gegen die Heiden

Augustine's pupil tells the whole of world history to prove that the Christian times are not the worst.

## 168. Book 7 · Chapter 34

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/orosius-historiae/168/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/orosius-historiae/168/#p-N

[¶0] In the year 1132 from the founding of the City, Gratian, the fortieth from Augustus, held the imperial power for six years after the death of Valens, although he had already been reigning for a long time before, with his uncle Valens and with his brother Valentinian.

> Latin: 1 Anno ab urbe condita MCXXXII Gratianus quadragesimus ab Augusto post mortem Valentis sex annis imperium tenuit, quamuis iamdudum antea cum patruo Valente et cum Valentiniano fratre regnaret.

[¶1] Seeing the state of the commonwealth afflicted and all but collapsed, with the same foresight with which Nerva had once chosen the Spaniard Trajan, by whom the commonwealth was restored, he too chose Theodosius, likewise a Spaniard, and, out of the necessity of restoring the commonwealth, clothed him with the purple at Sirmium and set him over the empire of the east and of Thrace together —

> Latin: 2 qui cum adflictum ac paene conlapsum reipublicae statum uideret, eadem prouisione, qua quondam legerat Nerua Hispanum uirum Traianum, per quem respublica reparata est, legit et ipse Theodosium aeque Hispanum uirum et restituendae reipublicae necessitate apud Sirmium purpura induit orientisque et Thraciae simul praefecit imperio,

[¶2] with this the more perfect judgement, in that, while Theodosius was Trajan’s equal in all the virtues of human life, in the sacrament of faith and the worship of religion he surpassed him beyond all comparison; for the one was a persecutor of the Church, the other its propagator.

> Latin: 3 in hoc perfectiore iudicio, quia, cum in omnibus humanae uitae uirtutibus iste par fuerit, in fidei sacramento religionisque cultu sine ulla comparatione praecessit; siquidem ille persecutor, hic propagator Ecclesiae.

[¶3] So to the one not even a single son of his own was granted, in whom he might rejoice as his successor; whereas the glorious offspring of the other rules over east and west alike through successive generations down to the present.

> Latin: 4 ita illi ne unus quidem proprius filius, quo successore gauderet, indultus est; huius autem orienti simul atque occidenti per succiduas usque ad nunc generationes gloriosa propago dominatur.

[¶4] And so Theodosius believed that the commonwealth, afflicted by the wrath of God, was to be restored by the mercy of God. Placing all his confidence in the help of Christ, he attacked without hesitation those very great Scythian nations — dreaded by all our forebears and avoided even by the great Alexander, as Pompeius and Cornelius have testified, but now, with the Roman army destroyed, superbly equipped with Roman horses and arms — that is, the Alans, the Huns and the Goths; and he defeated them in many great battles.

> Latin: 5 itaque Theodosius adflictam rempublicam ira Dei reparandam credidit misericordia Dei; omnem fiduciam sui ad opem Christi conferens maximas illas Scythicas gentes formidatasque cunctis maioribus, Alexandro quoque illi Magno, sicut Pompeius Corneliusque testati sunt, euitatas, nunc autem extincto Romano exercitu Romanis equis armisque instructissimas, hoc est Alanos Hunos et Gothos, incunctanter adgressus magnis multisque proeliis uicit.

*Note: Pompeius Trogus and Cornelius Tacitus, the pair named at 7.27.1.*

[¶5] He entered the city of Constantinople as victor, and, so as not to wear down the small remnant of the Roman army by continual fighting, struck a treaty with Athanaric, king of the Goths.

> Latin: 6 urbem Constantinopolim uictor intrauit et ne paruam ipsam Romani exercitus manum adsidue bellando detereret, foedus cum Athanarico Gothorum rege percussit.

[¶6] Athanaric, however, died as soon as he came to Constantinople. All the nations of the Goths, on the death of their king, beholding the courage and kindness of Theodosius, gave themselves up to the Roman Empire.

> Latin: 7 Athanaricus autem continuo ut Constantinopolim uenit, diem obiit. uniuersae Gothorum gentes rege defuncto aspicientes uirtutem benignitatemque Theodosii Romano sese imperio dediderunt.

[¶7] In those same days, too, the Persians — who, after Julian had been killed and other emperors often defeated, and now Valens too had been put to flight, were belching out the surfeit of their most recent victory in crude insults — of their own accord sent envoys to Theodosius at Constantinople and as suppliants begged for peace; and a treaty was then struck, which the whole east enjoys in the greatest tranquillity to this day.

> Latin: 8 in isdem etiam diebus Persae, qui Iuliano interfecto aliisque imperatoribus saepe uictis, nunc etiam Valente in fugam acto recentissimae uictoriae satietatem cruda insultatione ructabant, ultro Constantinopolim ad Theodosium misere legatos pacemque supplices poposcerunt; ictumque tunc foedus est, quo uniuersus oriens usque ad nunc tranquillissime fruitur.

[¶8] Meanwhile, when Theodosius in the east had subdued the barbarian nations and at last freed the Thracian provinces from the enemy, and had made his son Arcadius a partner in the empire, Maximus — a man energetic indeed and upright, and worthy of the rank of Augustus, had he not risen through tyranny against the faith of his oath — was made emperor by the army in Britain, almost against his will, and crossed over into Gaul.

> Latin: 9 interea cum Theodosius in oriente subactis barbarorum gentibus Thracias tandem ab hoste liberas reddidisset et Arcadium filium suum consortem fecisset imperii, Maximus, uir quidem strenuus et probus atque Augusto dignus nisi contra sacramenti fidem per tyrannidem emersisset, in Britannia inuitus propemodum ab exercitu imperator creatus in Galliam transiit:

[¶9] There he trapped by guile and killed Gratian Augustus, who was terrified by the sudden invasion and was planning to cross into Italy, and drove his brother Valentinian Augustus out of Italy. Valentinian, fleeing to the east, was received by Theodosius with a father’s devotion, and was soon even restored to the empire.

> Latin: 10 ubi Gratianum Augustum subita incursione perterritum atque in Italiam transire meditantem dolis circumuentum interfecit fratremque eius Valentinianum Augustum Italia expulit. Valentinianus in orientem refugiens a Theodosio paterna pietate susceptus, mox etiam imperio restitutus est.