Res Gestae

And although many of the various acts which he committed were very harsh, to express it mildly, yet it will suffice to mention a few which are familiar and generally known, and done in emulation of those which had taken place in Rome. For the principle of good or bad deeds is the same everywhere, even if the greatness of the situation is not the same.[*](That is, whether the place, the circumstances, and even the deeds themselves are unlike.)

He executed a philosopher called Coeranius, a man of no slight merit, after he had resisted tortures of savage cruelty, because in a letter to his wife of a personal nature he had added in Greek: But do you take note and crown the house door, which is a common proverbial expression, used in order that the hearer may know that something of greater importance than usual is to be done.

There was a simple-minded old woman who was in the habit of curing intermittent fevers with a harmless charm. He caused her to be put to death as a criminal, after

Among the papers of a distinguished townsman, of which an examination had been ordered for some business reason, the horoscope of a certain Valens was found; when the person concerned was asked why he had cast the nativity of the emperor, he defended himself against the false charge by saying that he had had a brother named Valens, and that he had died long ago. He promised to show this by proofs of full credibility, but they did not wait for the truth to be discovered, and he was tortured and butchered.

In the bath a young man was seen to touch alternately with the fingers of either hand first the marble[*](Of the wall or perhaps the floor of the bath.) and then his breast, and to count the seven vowels,[*](Of the Greek alphabet.) thinking it a helpful remedy for a stomach trouble. He was haled into court, tortured and beheaded.

At this point, as I turn my pen to Gaul, the order and series of events is a turmoil, since we find Maximus, who is now prefect, in the midst of many cruel deeds; for being in possession of extensive power, he was added as an ill-omened incentive to the emperor,[*](Valentinian.) who united with the majesty of his position unendurable tyranny. Therefore, whoever ponders what I have told, should also carefully weigh the rest which are passed over in silence; and, like a reasonable person, he will pardon me for not

For Valentinian, who was naturally savage, as bitterness (which is a foe to righteous conduct) increased in him after the coming of the aforesaid Maximinus, having no one to give better advice or to restrain him, was carried as if by surging waves and tempests from one cruel act to another; to such a degree that, when he was in a passion, often his voice and expression, his gait and his colour, were changed. For his cruelty we have the testimony of various sure pieces of evidence, of which it will suffice to set down a few.