Res Gestae

And so, when the signal had been given by the trumpet and they began to engage at close quarters, the Germans stood amazed, terrified by the fearful sight of the gleaming standards. For a while their ardour was blunted, but they quickly recovered and prolonged the fighting to the end of the day; and our vigorously attacking soldiers would have gained the fruit of victory without loss, had not Balchobaudes, tribune of the heavy-armed guard, a man by nature both boastful and cowardly, withdrawn in disorder at the approach of evening. And if the rest of the cohorts had followed his example and left the field, the affair would have come to such a sad ending that not one of our number could have survived to tell what had happened.

But the soldiers resisted with bold energy and courage, and were so superior in strength that they wounded 4000 of the enemy and

When therefore the battle was now broken off by the coming of night, and the wearied soldiers had recovered their strength, their distinguished general towards daybreak led forward his army in square formation[*](I.e., ready for battle; see note, p. 270.) ; and finding that the savages had slipped away under cover of darkness, free from worry about ambuscades he followed them over the open and easy plains, trampling underfoot the dying, and the contracted bodies of those whom, since the severity of the cold had drawn their wounds together, the extreme pain had taken off.

Then, after advancing farther but returning on finding none of the enemy, he learned that the Ascarii[*](Named, with the Eruli and the Batavi, among the court troops: (erant) inter auxilia Palatina sexaginta quinque (Not. Imper. Occid. v. 157, Seeck).) (whom he himself had sent by another route to plunder the tents of the Alamanni) had captured a king of the hostile army with a few of his followers, and had gibbeted him. Angered at this, he decided to punish the tribune who had ventured to take this action without consulting higher authority; and he would have condemned him to death, if it had not been clear from convincing evidence that the cruel deed had been committed through passion to which soldiers are prone.[*](That is, without the tribune’s knowledge and giving him no chance to intervene.)

When Jovinus returned to Paris after these brilliant victories, Valentinian went out joyfully to meet him, and shortly afterwards made him consul;[*](In 367.) and, you may be sure it added to his great happiness that he had received at that same time the head of Procopius, sent to him by Valens.

Besides these battles, many others less worthy of mention were fought in various parts of Gaul, which it would be superfluous to describe, both because their results led to nothing worth while, and because it is not fitting to spin out a history with insignificant details.

At this time or a little earlier[*](360–363.) a new form of portent appeared in Annonarian Tuscany,[*](Tuscia, or Etruria, was divided into Tuscia Annonaria (grain-bearing) and Tuscia Urbicaria or Suburbicaria (near the city, i.e. Rome).) and how it would turn out even those who were skilled in interpreting prodigies were wholly at a loss to know. For in the town of Pistoria,[*](Modern Pistoia.) at about the third hour of the day, in the sight of many persons, an ass mounted the tribunal and was heard to bray persistently, to the amazement both of all who were present and of those who heard of it from the reports of others; and no one could guess what was to come, until later the portended event came to pass.

For one Terentius, born in that city, a fellow of low origin and a baker by trade, by way of reward because he had brought Orfitus, an ex-prefect, into court on the charge of embezzlement, held the position of governor in that province. Emboldened[*](374 A.D.) by this, he proceeded to stir up many disturbances, and being convicted of cheating in a matter of business with some ship-captains,[*](The navicularii brought grain from abroad.) as was reported,

However, long before this happened, Apronianus was succeeded by Symmachus,[*](City-prefect in 364 and 365, father of the Symmachus from whom we have a collection of letters.) a man worthy to be classed among the conspicuous examples of learning and moderation, through whose efforts the sacred city enjoyed an unusual period of quiet and prosperity, and prides itself on a handsome bridge,[*](The Pons Aurelius, later called Pons Antoninus, now the Ponte Sisto (see Top. Diet. Anc. Rome, s.v. Pons Aurelius). It was restored by Valentinian in 365–6 and bore his name for a time. It was not built (condidit) by Symmachus (see crit. note), but he dedicated it by the emperors’ orders after his prefecture. See Dessau, Inscr. 769; C.I.L., vi. 31402.) which Symmachus himself, by the decision of our mighty emperors, dedicated, and to the great joy of the citizens, who proved ungrateful, as the result most clearly showed.

For after some years had passed, they set fire to Symmachus’ beautiful house in the Transtiberine district, spurred on by the fact that a common fellow among the plebeians had alleged, without any informant or witness, that the prefect had said that he would rather use his own wine for quenching lime-kilns[*](Cf. Pliny, N.H. xxxvi. 181.) than sell it at the price which the people hoped for.