---
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: 171 of 177
url: https://scriptura.si/works/orosius-historiae/171/
cite: "Paulus Orosius, tr. S. Alexander Laurent (AI-assisted, 2026), Seven Books of History against the Pagans, section 171. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/orosius-historiae/171/"
---

# 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.

## 171. Book 7 · Chapter 37

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/orosius-historiae/171/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/orosius-historiae/171/#p-N

[¶0] Meanwhile, the elder emperor Theodosius had committed the care and training of his infant sons, and of each palace, to the most powerful men, one to each — that is, to Rufinus that of the eastern court, to Stilicho that of the western empire. What each of them did, or tried to do, the end of each has shown: for, the one aspiring to the height of royal power for himself, the other for his son, so that, with affairs suddenly thrown into confusion, the necessity of the commonwealth might cover the crime of their ambition, the one let the barbarian nations in, the other fostered them.

> Latin: 1 Interea cum a Theodosio imperatore seniore singulis potissimis infantum cura et disciplina utriusque palatii commissa esset, hoc est Rufino orientalis aulae, Stiliconi occidentalis imperii, quid uterque egerit, quidue agere conatus sit, exitus utriusque docuit, cum alius sibi, alius filio suo affectans regale fastigium, ut rebus repente turbatis necessitas reipublicae scelus ambitus tegeret, barbaras gentes ille inmisit, hic fouit.

[¶1] I say nothing of King Alaric and his Goths, often defeated, often hemmed in, and always let go. I say nothing of those unhappy events at Pollentia, when the supreme command of the war was entrusted to a barbarian and pagan general, namely Saul, by whose wickedness the most venerable days and holy Easter were profaned, and the enemy, who was withdrawing out of religious scruple, was forced to fight; when indeed — the judgement of God showing in a short time both what his favour can do and what his vengeance demanded — we conquered as we fought, and as conquerors were conquered.

> Latin: 2 taceo de Alarico rege cum Gothis suis saepe uicto, saepe concluso semperque dimisso. taceo de infelicibus illis apud Pollentiam gestis, cum barbaro et pagano duci, hoc est Sauli, belli summa commissa est, cuius inprobitate reuerentissimi dies et sanctum pascha uiolatum est cedentique hosti propter religionem, ut pugnaret, extortum est: cum quidem, ostendente in breui iudicio Dei et quid fauor eius possit et quid ultio exigeret, pugnantes uicimus, uictores uicti sumus.

*Note: Pollentia (Pollenzo, in Piedmont) was fought against Alaric on Easter Day 402; Saul, an Alan, commanded in Stilicho’s army.*

[¶2] I say nothing of the frequent mutual mangling of the barbarians among themselves, when two wedges of the Goths, and then the Alans and the Huns, ravaged one another with various slaughters.

> Latin: 3 taceo de ipsorum inter se barbarorum crebris dilacerationibus, cum se inuicem Gothorum cunei duo, deinde Alani atque Huni uariis caedibus populabantur.

[¶3] Radagaisus, by far the most savage of all enemies, past and present, flooded the whole of Italy with a sudden onslaught. For they say there were more than two hundred thousand Goths among his people.

> Latin: 4 Radagaisus, omnium antiquorum praesentiumque hostium longe immanissimus, repentino impetu totam inundauit Italiam. nam fuisse in populo eius plus quam ducenta milia Gothorum ferunt.

[¶4] Besides this incredible multitude and untamed valour, he was a pagan and a Scythian, who, as is the custom of the barbarians of such nations, had vowed to pour out all the blood of the Roman race as a drink-offering to his gods.

> Latin: 5 hic supra hanc incredibilem multitudinem indomitamque uirtutem paganus et Scytha erat, qui, ut mos est barbaris huiusmodi gentibus, omnem Romani generis sanguinem dis suis propinare deuouerat.

[¶5] So, as he was threatening the citadels of Rome, all the pagans in the City flocked together, saying that the enemy was powerful not only through his abundance of strength but above all through the protection of the gods, whereas the City was forsaken and would soon perish precisely because it had lost its gods and its sacred rites.

> Latin: 6 hoc igitur Romanis arcibus imminente fit omnium paganorum in urbe concursus, hostem esse cum utique copia uirium tum maxime praesidio deorum potentem, urbem autem ideo destitutam et mature perituram, quia deos et sacra perdiderit.

[¶6] Loud complaints were raised everywhere, and at once there was talk of restoring the rites and celebrating them; blasphemies seethed throughout the City; the name of Christ was commonly loaded with reproaches as though it were a plague upon the present times.

> Latin: 7 magnis querellis ubique agitur et continuo de repetendis sacris celebrandisque tractatur, feruent tota urbe blasphemiae, uulgo nomen Christi tamquam lues aliqua praesentium temporum probris ingrauatur.

[¶7] And so it came about by the ineffable judgement of God — since in a mixed people grace was owed to the godly and punishment to the ungodly, and it was right that enemies should be let loose who would chastise a City, in most of its people unpersuadable and contrary, with scourges harsher than usual, but not such as would destroy all without distinction in unrestrained slaughter — that two peoples of the Goths, with their two most powerful kings, were then running riot through the Roman provinces:

> Latin: 8 Itaque ineffabili iudicio Dei factum est, uti, quoniam in permixto populo piis gratia, poena impiis debebatur oportebatque permitti hostes, qui insuadibilem in plurimis et contradicentem ciuitatem seuerioribus solito flagris coarguerent, non tamen eos, qui indiscrete cunctos intemperata caede delerent - duo tunc Gothorum populi cum duobus potentissimis regibus suis per Romanas prouincias bacchabantur:

[¶8] one of these kings a Christian, and nearer to being a Roman, and, as events showed, gentle in slaughter through the fear of God; the other a pagan, a barbarian and truly a Scythian, who in slaughter loved not so much glory or plunder as, with insatiable cruelty, slaughter itself; and he, already received into the bosom of Italy, was shaking with terror Rome, which trembled at his nearness.

> Latin: 9 quorum unus Christianus propiorque Romano et, ut res docuit, timore Dei mitis in caede, alius paganus barbarus et uere Scytha, qui non tantum gloriam aut praedam quantum inexsaturabili crudelitate ipsam caedem amaret in caede, et hic iam sinu receptus Italiae Romam e proximo trementem terrore quassabat.

[¶9] So, if the power of vengeance had been granted to him — whom the Romans thought especially to be feared for this reason, that he was courting the favour of the gods with the homage of sacrifices — not only would a more immoderate slaughter have blazed up without the fruit of amendment, but the last error would have grown worse than the first; for, had they fallen into the hands of a pagan and idolater, there would have been not only an undoubting conviction among the remaining pagans that the worship of idols should be restored, but also a dangerous confusion among the Christians, as the latter would have been terrified by the precedent and the former confirmed by the example.

> Latin: 10 itaque si huic ultionis potestas permitteretur, quem Romani ob hoc praecipue timendum arbitrabantur, quia fauorem deorum sacrificiorum obsequiis inuitaret, et immoderatior caedes sine fructu emendationis arsisset et error nouissimus peior priore creuisset; quandoquidem in pagani et idololatrae manus incidisse, non solum paganis residuis de instaurando cultu idolorum esset indubitata persuasio sed etiam Christianis periculosa confusio, cum et hi terrerentur praeiudicio et illi confirmarentur exemplo.

[¶10] For this reason God, the just steward of the human race, willed that the pagan enemy should perish and permitted the Christian to prevail, so that the pagan and blaspheming Romans might be confounded by the destruction of the one and punished by the inroad of the other — especially since the continence of the emperor Honorius, admirable in a ruler, and his most holy faith deserved no small measure of divine mercy.

> Latin: 11 quamobrem iustus dispensator humani generis Deus perire paganum hostem uoluit et Christianum praeualere permisit, ut pagani blasphemantesque Romani et illo confunderentur perdito et hoc punirentur immisso; maxime cum imperatoris Honorii admiranda in rege continentia et sanctissima fides non parum diuinae misericordiae mereretur.

[¶11] Against that most savage enemy Radagaisus, indeed, the minds of other enemies were granted to us, inclined to give help with their forces. Uldin and Sarus, leaders of the Huns and of the Goths, came to the aid of the Romans; but God did not allow what was a work of his own power to seem the strength of men, and least of all of enemies.

> Latin: 12 conceduntur quidem aduersus immanissimum illum hostem Radagaisum aliorum hostium cum copiis suis inclinati ad auxilium animi. adsunt Uldin et Sarus, Hunorum et Gothorum duces, praesidio Romanorum; sed non sinit Deus rem potentiae suae uirtutem hominum ac maxime hostium uideri.

[¶12] He drove Radagaisus, terrified by heaven, into the mountains of Faesulae, and shut up his two hundred thousand men — according to those who give the most sparing figure — destitute of counsel and of food, on the dry and rugged ridge of a mountain, with fear pressing on them from every side; and the hosts for which Italy had lately seemed too narrow he thrust, in their hope of hiding, onto one small summit.

> Latin: 13 conterritum diuinitus Radagaisum in Faesulanos montes cogit eiusque - secundum eos qui parcissime referunt - ducenta milia hominum inopum consilii et cibi in arido et aspero montis iugo, urguente undique timore concludit agminaque, quibus dudum angusta uidebatur Italia, latendi spe in unum ac paruum uerticem trudit.

*Note: The Roman commander against Radagaisus (406) was Stilicho, whom Orosius leaves unnamed.*

[¶13] Why should I linger over many words? No battle line was drawn up for war; no fury or fear brought on the uncertainties of a fight; no slaughter was done, no blood was shed; nor, finally, were the losses of battle offset by the outcome of victory — a thing usually counted as good fortune. While our men ate, drank and played, those enemies, so many and so monstrous, were worn out by hunger, thirst and exhaustion.

> Latin: 14 quid multis morer? non disposita in bellum acies fuit, non furor timorque incerta pugnae praetulit; non caedes acta, non sanguis effusus est, non postremo - quod felicitatis loco deputari solet - damna pugnae euentu compensata uictoriae: edentibus bibentibus ludentibusque nostris tanti illi tamque immanes hostes esurientes sitientes languentesque confecti sunt.

[¶14] This would be a small thing, were the Romans not to know that the man they feared had been captured and subjugated, and to look down upon that idolater of theirs, whose sacrifices they pretended to fear more than his arms, conquered without a battle and bound beneath the yoke and in chains. So King Radagaisus, alone seizing on a hope of flight, secretly deserted his men and fell into the hands of ours; by them he was captured, held for a short while, and then put to death.

> Latin: 15 parum hoc est, nisi captum et subiugatum sciant, quem timuere Romani, illumque idololatram suum, cuius sacrificia se magis pertimescere quam arma fingebant, sine proelio uictum ac uinctum sub iugo catenisque despiciant. igitur rex Radagaisus solus spem fugae sumens clam suos deseruit atque in nostros incidit: a quibus captus et paulisper retentus ac deinde interfectus est.

[¶15] Such indeed is said to have been the multitude of Gothic captives that droves of men were sold everywhere for a single gold piece each, like the cheapest cattle. But God allowed nothing of that people to survive. For at once all who were bought died, so that what their wicked purchasers had not spent shamefully on their prices, they spent mercifully on their burials.

> Latin: 16 tanta uero multitudo captiuorum Gothorum fuisse fertur, ut uilissimorum pecudum modo singulis aureis passim greges hominum uenderentur. sed nihil superesse Deus de eodem populo sinit. nam ilico cunctis qui emebantur morientibus quod improbi emptores eorum non impenderunt turpiter pretiis, expenderunt misericorditer sepulturis.

[¶16] So ungrateful Rome — which, just as it now felt the indirect mercy of God the judge, given not to pardon but to restrain the presumption of idolatry, so was soon to suffer the wrath of God, though not in full, because of the devout remembrance of the saints living and dead, in case it might perhaps be confounded and repent and learn faith through experience — was granted a short respite, for a time, from the onslaught of Alaric, a king and an enemy, but a Christian.

> Latin: 17 igitur ingrata Roma, quae sicut nunc sensit non ad remittendam sed ad reprimendam idololatriae praesumptionem iudicis Dei obliquam misericordiam, ita continuo propter uiuorum mortuorumque sanctorum piam recordationem Dei iram passura non plenam, si forte confusa paeniteat et per experientiam fidem discat, ab incursu Alarici regis et hostis sed Christiani aliquantulo ad tempus spatio differtur.