At this sight the young king, who, as it happened, was leaning forward beyond his couch, drew his dagger and was rising to defend his life by every possible means, but fell disfigured, pierced through the breast like some victim at the altar, foully slain by repeated strokes.
By such treachery was credulity basely deceived, and at a banquet, which ought to be respected even on the Euxine Sea,Cf. xxii. 8, 33 f. before the eyes of the god of hospitalityCf. Cic., Pro Deiot. 6, 18. a stranger’s blood was shed, which bespattered the spendid linen cloths with foaming gore, was more than enough to sate the guests, who scattered in utmost horror. If the dead can feel grief,Cf. Livy xxi. 53, 5. the famous Fabricius Luscinus might groan at this arrogant act, when he recalled with what greatness of soul he rejected the promise of Demochares or (as some write)Gell. iii. 8; Cic., Off. iii. 22, 86. Nicias, the king’s attendant, made in a secret conference; for he said that he would kill king Pyrrhus, who at that time was reducing Italy to ashesCf. Sil. Ital. xv. 537 (of Italy to Hasdrubal), miseras quaerentem exurere belli reliquias.
in cruel warfare, by mixing poison with his cups; but Fabricius warned the king in a letter to beware of his more intimate servants. Such a place of respect in those days of old-time justice was held by the conviviality even of an enemy’s table.
True, some sought to excuse this recent extraordinary and shameful deed by the example of the assassination of Sertorius,Slain by his lieutenant-general Perperna at a banquet; Plut., Sert. 26; Flor. ii. 10, 9; Vell. ii. 30, 1. but those flatterers perhaps did not know that no act which is proved to be contrary to law is justified because another crime was similar or went unpunished, as Demosthenes, eternal glory of Greece, declares.In Androt. 7, quoted by Quint. v. 14, 4; cf. Gell. x. 19.
These are the noteworthy events that took place in Armenia. But Sapor, after the former disaster to his men, on learning of the murder of Papa, whom he was making great efforts to enlist on his side, overwhelmed with heavy grief and with his fear increased by the activity of our army, sowed the seeds of greater troubles for himself.
Accordingly, he sent Arraces as an envoy to the emperor, advising him to withdraw entirely from Armenia, since it was a continual source of troubles; or if that was not acceptable, proposing as an alternative that abandoning the division of HiberiaCf. xxvii. 12, 16 f. and withdrawing the garrisons of the Roman part, he should allow Aspacures, whom Sapor had made ruler of that nation, to reign alone.
To this Valens made answer to this effect: that he could not repeal anything of that which had been agreed upon by common consent, but would maintain it with the utmost vigour. In reply to this noble utterance a377–8 A.D. letter was brought from the king when the winter was already nearly ended,377–8. giving trivial and arrogant reasons. For he asserted that the weeds of discord could not be pruned away by the roots except in the presence of those who had been witnesses to the conclusion of the peace with Jovian, some of whom (as he had learned) had since died.
After this the emperor’s cares grew heavier.377 A.D. Now he was in condition rather to make a choice of plans than to discover any; and so, thinking it to be to the advantage of the State, he ordered Victor, commander of the cavalry, and Urbicius, general in Mesopotamia, to go quickly to the Persians, bearing an ultimatum in plain language: that it was criminal of a king who was just and contented with his own (as he boasted) wrongfully to covet Armenia, whose people had been granted permission to live independently; and that, unless the guard of soldiers given to SauromacesCf. xxvii. 12, 16. should return without hindrance at the beginning of the following year (as had been agreed), Sapor would be forced to do against his will what he had refrained from doing of his own accord.
This embassy was indeed straightforward and frank, had its members not erred in one particular; for they accepted without orders some small territories that offered themselves to them in that same Armenia. On their return the Surena, who ranked next to the king, came and offered to the emperor these same lands that our envoys had recklessly taken.
He was received courteously and handsomely377–8 A.D. entertained, but was sent back without obtaining what he asked, and in consequence great preparations were made for war, in the expectation that when the winter grew milder the emperor would invade Persia with three armies and for that purpose was in great haste hiring mercenaries from the Scythians.
Accordingly Sapor, having failed to gain that for which he had vainly hoped, and exasperated even more than usual because he had learned that our ruler was perparing for a campaign, defied Valens’ anger and instructed the Surena to recover by arms, in case anyone made opposition, the lands which Count Victor and Urbicius had taken over; also to do all possible harm to the soldiers appointed for the protection of Sauromaces.
These instructions were hastily carried out, as he had ordered, and could not be remedied or punished, since the Roman state was encompassed by another danger from all the Gothic peoples, who were lawlessly overrunning Thrace; these disasters can briefly be set forth, when I come also to that part of my narrative.Cf. xxxi. 2–5.
This is what happened in the eastern regions. During the course of these events the eternal power373 A.D. of Justice, the judge, sometimes tardy, but always strict, of right or wrong actions, avenged the disasters in Africa and the still unsatisfied and wandering shades of the envoys of Tripolis,Cf. xxviii. 6, 25. in the following manner.
Remigius, who (as we have saidCf. xxviii. 6, 8; xxix. 5, 2. ) favoured the general Romanus in his oppression of the provinces, after Leo had been appointed chief marshal of the court in his place, was now resting from public duties and gave himself up to rural life in his native place near Mayence.
While he was there passing a care-free life, Maximinus,Cf. xxviii. 1, 5 ff. the praetorian prefect, scorning him, now that he turned back to a life of leisure, and being wont to overrun all things like a dire pestilence, aspired to injure him in every possible manner. And in his desire to discover more secrets, he seized Caesarius, who had formerly been in the service of Remigius and later a secretary of the emperor, and tried by cruel tortures to learn what Remigius had done, and how much he had received for aiding the criminal acts of Romanus.
When Remigius (who, as has been said, was in retirement) learned of this, either driven by the consciousness of guilt or because the dread of false charges overcame his reason, he strangled himself, and so died.
In the year following these events, Gratianus was made consul as the colleague of Aequitius; and Valentinian, who after devastating several cantons of the Alamanni was building a fortification near Basle, which the neighbours call Robur,Near modern Hüningen. received the report of the prefect Probus, telling of the devastation in Illyricum.By the Quadi; xxix. 6, 6, 8.
On reading this with careful attention, as became a cautious general, he was distracted by anxious reflections and sending the secretary Paternianus, gave the matter the most searching investigation. As soon as he received through him a true account of what had happened, he hastened to set out at once, in order (as he intended) to crush by the first clash of his arms the savages who had ventured to violate our frontier.
But since autumn was waning and many difficulties stood in the way, all the principal men at the court strove by entreaties and prayersCf. Ter., Andr., 592, gnatam ut det oro, vixque id exoro. to hold him back until the beginning of spring. In the first place, they urged that the roads, hardened with frost, where neither any growth of grass would be found for fodder nor anything else fit for the use of the army, could not be penetrated. In the second place, they set before him the alleged savagery of the kings bordering on Gaul, and most of all of Macrianus, who was formidable, and (as was well known) had been left unsubdued,Cf. xxix. 4, 2. and would actually attack even fortified cities.
Calling to mind these things and adding other salutary advice, they led the emperor to a better opinion, and at once (as was for the advantage of the state) the said king was courteously summoned to the vicinity of Mayence, being himself also inclined (as was evident) to accepting a treaty. And he arrived enormously puffed up in every way, as if he expected to be the supreme arbiter of peace, and on the day set for the conference, with head high uplifted, he stood at the very edge of the Rhine while the clashing shields of his countrymen thundered all about him.
On the other side the Augustus embarked on some river-boats,Perhaps the same as the lusoriae naves of xvii. 2, 3, note; xviii. 2, 12. himself also hedged by a throng of military officers and conspicuous amid the brilliance of flashing standards, and cautiouslyCf. cunctator et tutus, xxvii. 10, 10. approached the shore. Finally, the savages ceased their immoderate gesticulation and barbaric tumult, and after much had been said and heard on both sides, friendship was confirmed between themCf. in medio, xviii. 5, 7, quodam medio fetiali. by the sanctity of an oath.