Res Gestae

Most of them are extravagantly given to venery, and are hardly contented with a multitude of concubines;[*](Cf. Hdt. i. 135.) they are

Except for the kings’ tables, they have no fixed hours for meal-times, but every man’s belly is, as it were, his sundial;[*](Cf. the parasite in the comedy Boeotia; Gell. iii. 3, 6.) when this gives the call, they eat whatever is at hand, and no one, after he is satisfied, loads himself with superfluous food.[*](Cf. Hdt. i. 133.)

They are immensely moderate and cautious, so much so that they sometimes march through an enemy’s gardens and vineyards without coveting or touching anything, through fear of poison or magic arts.

Besides this, one seldom sees a Persian stop to pass water or step aside in response to a call of nature;[*](Cf. Hdt. i. 133; Xenophon, Cyrop. viii. 8, 11.) so scrupulously do they avoid these and other unseemly actions.

On the other hand, they are so free and easy, and stroll about with such a loose and unsteady gait, that one might think them effeminate; but, in fact, they are most gallant warriors, though rather crafty than courageous, and to be feared only at long range. They are given to empty words, and talk madly and extravagantly. They are boastful, harsh and offensive, threatening in adversity and prosperity alike, crafty, haughty, cruel, claiming the power of life and death over slaves and commons. They flay men alive, either bit by bit or all at once, and no servant who waits upon them, or stands at table, is allowed to open his mouth, either to speak or to spit; to such a degree,

They stand in special fear of the laws, among which those dealing with ingrates and deserters are particularly severe; and some laws are detestable, namely, those which provide that because of the guilt of a single person all his relatives are put to death.[*](For example, when a king is assassinated.)

For the office of judge, upright men of proved experience are chosen, who have little need of advice from others; therefore they ridicule our custom, which at times places eloquent men, highly skilled in public law, behind the backs of judges without learning.[*](To prompt them.) But that one judge was forced to take his seat on the skin of another who had been condemned to death for injustice[*](See Hdt. v. 25; Val. Max. vi. 3, ext. 3; Diod. Sic. xv. 10.) is either a fiction of antiquity, or, if once customary, has long since been given up.

Through military training and discipline, through constant exercise in warfare and military manoeuvres, which we have often described, they cause dread even to great armies; they rely especially on the valour of their cavalry, in which all the nobles and men of rank undergo hard service; for the infantry are armed like the murmillones,[*](A kind of gladiator, see xvi. 12, 49, note. They were armed in the Gallic manner with a small oblong buckler, but without greaves or arm-guard.) and they obey orders like so many horse-boys. The whole throng of them always follows in the rear, as if doomed to perpetual slavery, without ever being supported by pay or gifts. And this nation, so bold and so well trained for the dust of Mars, would have brought many other peoples under the yoke in addition to those whom they fully subdued, were they not

Most of them are so covered with clothes gleaming with many shimmering colours, that although they leave their robes open in front and on the sides, and let them flutter in the wind, yet from their head to their shoes no part of the body is seen uncovered. To the use of golden armlets and neckchains, gems, and especially pearls, of which they possess a great number, they first became accustomed after their victory over Lydia and Croesus.[*](546 B.C.)

It remains for me to speak briefly about the origin of this gem.[*](I.e. pearls.) Among the Indians and the Persians pearls are found in strong, white sea-shells, being conceived at a definite time of the year by mixture with dew. For at that time they desire, as it were, a kind of copulation, and by often opening and shutting quickly they take in moisture by sprinkling with moonlight. Thereby becoming pregnant, they each bear two or three small pearls, or else uniones,[*](Uniones is applied to large pearls, of which only one is found in a single shell. Pliny, N.H. ix. 112, says that they are called uniones because one never finds two pearls of such similarity that they cannot be told from each other. Solinus, 53, 27, end, says it is because one never finds two of them together. But Aelian, Hist. Anim. x. 13, says that in one shell sometimes one such pearl is found, sometimes two, sometimes as many as twenty. Cf. Shakespeare, Hamlet, V. ii. 253, And in the cup a union shall he throw. ) so called because the shell-fish, when opened, sometimes yield only one pearl, but in that case they are of greater size.

And it is a proof that they are of ethereal origin, rather than that they are conceived and fed from nourishment derived from the sea, that when drops of morning dew fall upon these gems, they make them brilliant and round, but the dew of evening, on the contrary, makes them irregular, red, and sometimes spotted; and they become large or small under varying conditions, according to the quality of what they have taken in. Very often the

Their taking is difficult and dangerous, and their price is high, for the reason that they avoid shores that are usually frequented, to escape the snares of the pearlfishers, as some believe, and hide amid solitary rocks and the lairs of sea-hounds.[*](I.e. sharks.)

That this kind of gem is found and gathered in the lonely bays of the Britannic Sea,[*](Cf. Tac., Agr. 12; Pliny, N.H. ix. 116; Solin. 56, 3, 28.) although of less value than these, is well known to us.

After thus testing the spirit of the soldiers,[*](The narrative is resumed from the end of Julian’s speech, xxiii. 5, 24.) who with unanimous eagerness and the usual acclaim called God to witness that so successful a prince could not be vanquished, Julian, believing that their main purpose must speedily be accomplished, cut short the night’s rest[*](The text is uncertain see crit. note.) and ordered the trumpets to give the signal for the march. And having made every preparation which the difficulties of a dangerous war demanded, just as the clear light of day was appearing he passed the frontiers of

And being a general trained by experience and study of the art of war, and fearing lest, being unacquainted with the terrain, he might be entrapped by hidden ambuscades, he began his march with his army in order of battle. He also arranged to have 1500 mounted scouts riding a little ahead of the army, who advancing with caution on both flanks, as well as in front, kept watch that no sudden attack be made. He himself in the centre led the infantry, which formed the main strength of his entire force, and ordered Ncvitta on the right with several legions to skirt the banks of the Euphrates. The left wing with the cavalry he put in charge of Arintheus[*](Mentioned as commander of the cavalry in xxv. 5, 2; 7, 7; of the infantry, in xxvii. 5, 4, 9.) and Ormisda,[*](Cf. xvi. 10, 16.) to be led in close order through the level fields and meadows. Dagalaifus and Victor brought up the rear, and last of all was Secundinus,[*](Not elsewhere mentioned.) military leader in Osdruena.[*](A province of Mesopotamia.)

Then in order to fill the enemy (if they should burst out anywhere), even when they saw him from afar, with fear of a greater force than he had, by a loose order he so extended the ranks of horses and men, that the hindermost were nearly ten miles distant from the standard-bearers in the van. This is the wonderful device that Pyrrhus, the famous king of Epirus, is said often to have used; for he was most skilful in choosing suitable places for his camp,[*](Cf. Livy, xxxv. 14, 9; Frontinus, Strat. iv. 1, 14. Plutarch, Pyrrhus, viii. 2, says that he wrote a book on the art of war.) and able to disguise the look

His packs, servants, unarmed attendants, and every kind of baggage he placed between two divisions of the rank and file, in order that they might not be carried off (as often happens) by a sudden attack, if they were left unprotected. The fleet, although the river along which it went winds with many a bend, was not permitted to lag behind or get ahead.

After making a march of two days in this manner, we approached the deserted city of Dura, situated on the river bank. Here so many herds of deer were found, some of which were slain with arrows, others knocked down with heavy oars, that all ate to satiety; but the greater number of the animals, accustomed to rapid swimming, leaped into the river and with a speed that could not be checked escaped to their familiar deserts.

Then, after completing a leisurely march of four days, just as evening was coming on Count Lucillianus, with a thousand light-armed troops embarked in ships, was sent, by the emperor’s order, to capture the fortress of Anatha,[*](In Mesopotamia.) which, like many others, is girt by the waters of the Euphrates. The ships, according to orders, took suitable positions and blockaded the island, while a misty night hid the secret enterprise.

But as soon as daylight appeared, a man who went out to fetch water, suddenly catching sight of the enemy, raised a loud outcry, and by his excited shouts called the defenders to