At once roused to furious anger, Julian hurried forth with an armed force,—his safest course lay in his very speed-and routed the marauders in shameful confusion; he cashiered the two surviving tribunes as inefficient and cowardly, and following the ancient laws, discharged and put to death tenIf the reference is to decimation, Ammianus does not express himself clearly. of the soldiers who had fled from the field.

Then, after the city was burned (as has been told), Julian mounted a tribunal erected for the purpose and thanked the assembled army, urging them all to act in the same way in the future, and promised each man a hundred pieces of silver.I.e. denarii. But when he perceived that the smallness of the promised sum excited a mutinous uproar, he was roused to deep indignation and spoke as follows:

Behold the Persians, said he, abounding in wealth of every kind. The riches of this people can enrich you, if we show ourselves brave men of united purpose. But from endless resources (believe me, pray) the Roman empire has sunk to extremest want through those men who (to enrich themselves) have taught princes to buy peace from the barbarians with gold.This had been done since Domitian’s time by all the emperors of his sort.

The treasury has been pillaged, cities depopulated, provinces laid waste. I have neither wealth nor family connections (although I am of noble birth), only a heart that knows no fear; and an emperor who finds his sole happiness in the training of his mind will feel no shame in admitting an honourable poverty. For the Fabricii too, though poor in worldly goods, conducted serious wars and were rich in glory.

All this you may possess in abundance, if you fearlessly follow God’s lead and your general’s, who will be careful (so far as human foresight can provide), and if you act with moderation; but if you oppose me and repeat the shameful scenes of former revolts, go to it now!

I alone, as becomes a commander, having reached the end of a career of great deeds, will die standing on my feet, indifferent to a life which one little fever may take from me; or at any rate I will abdicate, since I have not lived such a life that I cannot some time be a private citizen. And I may say with pride and joy that we have with us thoroughly tried generals, perfect in their knowledge of every kind of warfare.

By this address of an emperor self-contained amid prosperity and adversity the soldiers were quieted for the time, and, gaining confidence through the anticipation of better days, they promised to be obedient and compliant. With unanimous applause they lauded his leadership and high spirit to the skies; and when such utterances are sincere and come from the heart, it is usually shown by a slight clashing of shields.

After this they retired to their tents and (so far as the circumstances allowed) refreshed themselves with food and sleep. It gave courage to the army besides that Julian constantly took oath, not by those dear to him, but by the great deeds that he planned, saying: As I hope to send the Persians under the yoke; As I hope to restore the shattered Roman world. Just as Trajan is said sometimes to have emphasized a statement by the oaths: As I hope to see Dacia reduced to the form of a province; As I hope to cross the Hister and the Euphrates on bridges; and many other oaths of the same kind.

Next, after a march of fourteen miles, we came to a place where the fields are made fertile by an abundance of water; but the Persians, having learned in advance that we should take that route, had broken the dykes and allowed the water to flow everywhere without restraint.

Therefore, as the ground was covered far and wide with standing pools, the emperor gave the soldiers another day of rest, and went on himself; and after overcoming many dangers, he made such bridges as he could from bladders,For this work there was a special corps, the utricularii; see Index II., vol. i. as well as boats from the trunks of palm trees, and so got his army across, though not without difficulty.

In these regions there are many fields, planted with vineyards and various kinds of fruits. Here too palm trees are wont to grow, extending over a wide expanse as far as MeseneApamia, cf. xxiii. 6, 43. and the great sea,The Caspian. in mighty groves. And wherever anyone goes, one constantly sees palm branches with and without fruit,See Gellius, ii. 26, 10; iii. 9, 9, palmae termes ex arbore cum fructu spadix dicitur. Ammianus alone uses the form spadicum (n.). and from their yield an abundance of honey and wine is made.Cf. Hdt. i. 193. The palms themselves are said to couple, and the sexes may easily be distinguished.Cf. Pliny, xiii. 34 f. Herodotus, i. 193, thinks that an insect carries the seed from the male to the female tree.