Res Gestae

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.