Res Gestae

Meanwhile, when Valentinian was attacked by a severe illness and was at the point of death, the Gauls who were at court in the emperor’s service,

For as prefect of the city,[*](This was later. He was proconsul in 371 and 372, and city prefect in 388.) in the administration of which office he died, through fear of the precarious situation of the tyrant,[*](Maximus, who slew Gratian and ruled for five years. His rise and fall are vividly described by Kipling in Puck of Pooke’s Hill. ) through whose choice he had risen to that high position as if for the lack of worthy men, he was compelled to assume the appearance of mildness and clemency.

Against these Gauls some with higher aims strove in the cause of Severus, then commander of the infantry, as a man fitted for attaining that rank; and, although he was strict and feared, yet he was more endurable and in every way to be preferred to the aforenamed aspirant.

But while these designs were being agitated to no purpose, the emperor was restored with the help of numerous remedies; and observing that he was hardly yet rescued from the danger of death,[*](And so might be left without a successor.) he purposed to bestow the imperial insignia upon his son Gratianus, who had by this time nearly reached the age of puberty.[*](He was nine years old.)

And when everything was ready, when the soldiers had been won over to accept this with willing minds, and Gratianus had appeared, the emperor advanced into the plain and mounted the tribunal; then, surrounded by a brilliant assemblage of men of high rank, he took the boy by the hand, led him into their midst, and commended the future emperor to the army in the following public address:—

It is a propitious sign of your devotion to me that I parade this robe of imperial rank, by which I have been judged preferable to other men, many and distinguished; so taking you as partners in my plans and favourers of my wishes, I shall proceed to an act of dutiful affection, which is timely since the god, through whose eternal aid the Roman state will endure unshaken, now promises success.

Therefore, my valiant men, accept I pray you with friendly minds my heart’s desire, convinced that we have wished this action, which the duties of affection sanction, not only to be brought to your knowledge, but also to be confirmed by your approval as agreeable to you and likely to be advantageous.

This son of mine, Gratianus, now become a man, has long lived among your children, and you love him as a tie between you and me; therefore, in order to secure the public peace on all sides, I plan to take him as my associate in the imperial power, if the propitious will of the god of heaven and of your dignity shall support what a father’s love suggests. He has not been, as we have been, brought up in a severe school from his very cradle, nor trained in the endurance of adversity, and (as you see) he is not yet able to endure the dust of Mars; but, in harmony with the glory of his family and the great deeds of his forefathers, he will forthwith rise (I speak with moderation, in fear of Nemesis) to greater heights.

For as I am wont to think, when I consider, as I often do, his character and his inclinations, although they are not yet fully developed: when he enters on the years of youth, since he has been instructed in the liberal arts and in the pursuit of skilful accomplishments, he will

The emperor had not yet ended his address when his words were received with joyful acclaim, and the soldiers, each according to his rank and feeling, striving to outdo the others, as though sharers in this prosperity and joy, hailed Gratianus as Augustus, with loud shouts mingled with the favouring clash of arms.