Volume 1 — PHOTIUS BIBLIOTHECA OR MYRIOBIBLON⁠[6] (continued 3)

The Indian sheep and goats are larger than asses, and as a rule have four young ones, sometimes six, at a time. There are neither tame nor wild pigs. The palm trees and dates are three times as large as those of Babylon. There is a river of honey that flows from a rock.

The author speaks at length of the Indians’ love of justice, their loyalty to their kings and their contempt of death. He also mentions a fountain, the water from which, when drawn off, thickens like cheese. If three obols’ weight of this thick mass be crushed, mixed with water, and given to any one to drink, he reveals everything that he has ever done, being in a state of frenzy and delirium the whole day. The king makes use of this test when he desires to discover the truth about an accused person. If he confesses, he is ordered to starve himself to death; if he reveals nothing, he is acquitted.

The Indians are not subject to headache, ophthalmia, or even toothache; to ulcers on the mouth, or sores in any other part of the body. They live 120, 130, 150, and some even 200 years.

There is a serpent a span in length, of a most beautiful purple colour, with a very white head, and without teeth. It is caught on the burning mountains, from which the sardonyx is dug. It does not sting, but its vomit rots the place where it falls. If it is hung up by the tail it discharges two kinds of poison, one yellow like amber, when it is alive, the other black, when it is dead. If one drinks only as much of the former as a grain of sesamum dissolved in water, his brain runs out through his nose and he dies immediately; if the other poison is administered, it brings on consumption, which does not prove fatal for at least a year.

There is a bird called dikaerum (meaning in Greek “just”), the size of a partridge’s egg. It buries its excrement in the ground in order to hide it. If any one finds it and takes only a morsel of it about the size of a grain of sesamum in the morning, he is overcome by sleep, loses consciousness, and dies at sunset.

There is also a tree called parebum, about the size of an olive, which is only found in the royal gardens. It bears neither flowers nor fruit, and has only fifteen very stout roots, the smallest of which is as thick as a man’s arm. If a piece of this root, about a span in length, be put near any body of matter, gold, silver, brass, stones, in fact, everything except amber, it attracts it; if a cubit’s length of it be used, it attracts lambs and birds, the latter being generally caught in this way. If you wish to solidify a gallon of water, you need only throw in a piece of the root the weight of an obol; the same with wine, which can be handled like wax, although on the next day it becomes liquid again. The root is also used as a remedy for those suffering from bowel complaints.

There is a river that flows through India, not large, but about two stades broad. It is called Hyparchus⁠[344] in Indian, meaning in Greek “bestowing all blessings.” During thirty days in the year it brings down amber. It is said that in the mountains there are trees on the banks of the river where it passes through, which at a certain season of the year shed tears like the almond, fir, or any other tree, especially during these thirty days. These tears drop into the river and become hard. This tree is called in Indian Siptakhora,⁠[345] meaning in Greek “sweet,” and from it the inhabitants gather amber. It also bears fruit in clusters like grapes, the stones of which are as large as the nuts of Pontus.

On these mountains there live men with the head of a dog, whose clothing is the skin of wild beasts. They speak no language, but bark like dogs, and in this manner make themselves understood by each other. Their teeth are larger than those of dogs, their nails like those of these animals, but longer and rounder. They inhabit the mountains as far as the river Indus. Their complexion is swarthy. They are extremely just, like the rest of the Indians with whom they associate. They understand the Indian language but are unable to converse, only barking or making signs with their hands and fingers by way of reply, like the deaf and dumb. They are called by the Indians Calystrii, in Greek Cynocephali (“dog-headed”). [They live on raw meat.] They number about 120,000.

Near the sources of this river⁠[346] grows a purple flower, from which is obtained a purple dye, as good in quality as the Greek and of an even more brilliant hue. In the same district there is an animal about the size of a beetle, red as cinnabar, with very long feet, and a body as soft as that of a worm. It breeds on the trees which produce amber, eats their fruit and kills them, as the woodlouse destroys the vines in Greece. The Indians crush these insects and use them for dyeing their robes and tunics and anything else they wish.⁠[347] The dye is superior to the Persian.

The Cynocephali living on the mountains do not practise any trade but live by hunting. When they have killed an animal they roast it in the sun. They also rear numbers of sheep, goats, and asses, drinking the milk of the sheep and whey made from it. They eat the fruit of the Siptakhora, whence amber is procured, since it is sweet. They also dry it and keep it in baskets, as the Greeks keep their dried grapes. They make rafts which they load with this fruit together with well-cleaned purple flowers and 260 talents of amber, with the same quantity of the purple dye, and 1000 additional talents of amber, which they send annually to the king of India. They exchange the rest for bread, flour, and cotton stuffs with the Indians, from whom they also buy swords for hunting wild beasts, bows, and arrows, being very skilful in drawing the bow and hurling the spear. They cannot be defeated in war, since they inhabit lofty and inaccessible mountains. Every five years the king sends them a present of 300,000 bows, as many spears, 120,000 shields, and 50,000 swords.

They do not live in houses, but in caves. They set out for the chase with bows and spears, and as they are very swift of foot, they pursue and soon overtake their quarry. The women have a bath once a month, the men do not have a bath at all, but only wash their hands. They anoint themselves three times a month with oil made from milk and wipe themselves with skins. The clothes of men and women alike are not skins with the hair on, but skins tanned and very fine. The richest wear linen clothes, but they are few in number. They have no beds, but sleep on leaves or grass. He who possesses the greatest number of sheep is considered the richest, and so in regard to their other possessions. All, both men and women, have tails above their hips, like dogs, but longer and more hairy. They are just, and live longer than any other men, 170, sometimes 200 years.

It is said that beyond their country, above the sources of the river, there are other men, black like the rest of the Indians. They do no work, do not eat grain nor drink water, but rear large numbers of cattle, cows, goats, and sheep, whose milk is their only food. When they drink milk in the morning and then again at mid-day, they eat a sweet root which prevents the milk from curdling in the stomach, and at night makes them vomit all they have taken without any difficulty.

In India there are wild asses⁠[348] as large as horses, or even larger. Their body is white, their head dark red, their eyes bluish, and they have a horn in their forehead about a cubit in length. The lower part of the horn, for about two palms distance from the forehead, is quite white, the middle is black, the upper part, which terminates in a point, is a very flaming red. Those who drink out of cups made from it are proof against convulsions, epilepsy, and even poison, provided that before or after having taken it they drink some wine or water or other liquid out of these cups. The domestic and wild asses of other countries and all other solid-hoofed animals have neither huckle-bones nor gall-bladder, whereas the Indian asses have both. Their huckle-bone is the most beautiful that I have seen, like that of the ox in size and appearance; it is as heavy as lead and of the colour of cinnabar all through. These animals are very strong and swift; neither the horse nor any other animal can overtake them. At first they run slowly, but the longer they run their pace increases wonderfully, and becomes faster and faster. There is only one way of catching them. When they take their young to feed, if they are surrounded by a large number of horsemen, being unwilling to abandon their foals, they show fight, butt with their horns, kick, bite, and kill many men and horses. They are at last taken, after they have been pierced with arrows and spears; for it is impossible to capture them alive. Their flesh is too bitter to eat, and they are only hunted for the sake of the horns and huckle-bones.

In the river Indus a worm is found resembling those which are usually found on fig-trees. Its average length is seven cubits, though some are longer, others shorter. It is so thick that a child ten years old could hardly put his arms round it. It has two teeth, one in the upper and one in the lower jaw. Everything it seizes with these teeth it devours. By day it remains in the mud of the river, but at night it comes out, seizes whatever it comes across, whether ox or camel, drags it into the river, and devours it all except the intestines. It is caught with a large hook baited with a lamb or kid attached by iron chains. After it has been caught, it is hung up for thirty days with vessels placed underneath, into which as much oil from the body drips as would fill ten Attic kotylae.⁠[349] At the end of the thirty days, the worm is thrown away, the vessels of oil are sealed and taken as a present to the king of India, who alone is allowed to use it. This oil sets everything alight—wood or animals—over which it is poured, and the flame can only be extinguished by throwing a quantity of thick mud on it.

There are trees in India as high as cedars or cypresses, with leaves like those of the palm-tree, except that they are a little broader and have no shoots. They flower like the male laurel, but have no fruit. The tree is called by the Indians karpion, by the Greeks myrorodon (unguent-rose); it is not common. Drops of oil ooze out of it, which are wiped off with wool and then squeezed into stone alabaster boxes. The oil is reddish, rather thick, and so fragrant that it scents the air to a distance of five stades. Only the king and his family are allowed to use it. The king of India sent some to the king of Persia, and Ctesias, who saw it, says that he cannot compare the perfume with any other.

The Indians also have very excellent cheese and sweet wine, both of which Ctesias tested himself.

There is a square fountain in India, about five ells in circumference. The water is in a rock, about three cubits’ depth down, and the water itself three fathoms. The Indians of highest rank—men, women, and children—bathe in it [not only for cleanliness, but as a preventive of disease]. They plunge feet foremost into the water, and when they jump into it, it throws them out again on to dry land, not only human beings, but every animal, living or dead, in fact, everything that is thrown into it except iron, silver, gold, and copper, which sink to the bottom. The water is very cold, and agreeable to drink; it makes a loud noise like that of water boiling in a caldron. It cures leprosy and scab. In Indian it is called balladē, and in Greek ophelimē (useful).

In the mountains where the Indian reed grows there dwells a people about 30,000 in number. Their women only have children once in their life, which are born with beautiful teeth in the upper and lower jaw. Both male and female children have white hair on the head and eyebrows. Up to the age of thirty the men have white hair all over the body; it then begins to turn black, and at the age of sixty it is quite black. Both men and women have eight fingers and eight toes. They are very warlike, and 5000 of them—bowmen and spearmen—accompany the king of India on his military expeditions. Their ears are so long that their arms are covered with them as far as the elbow, and also their backs, and one ear touches the other.

[In Aethiopia there is an animal called crocottas,⁠[350] vulgarly kynolykos (dog-wolf), of amazing strength. It is said to imitate the human voice, to call men by name at night, and to devour those who approach it. It is as brave as a lion, as swift as a horse, and as strong as a bull. It cannot be overcome by any weapon of steel. In Chalcis in Euboea there are sheep which have no gall-bladder, and their flesh is so bitter that even the dogs refuse to eat it. They also say that beyond the gates of Mauretania the rain is abundant in summer, and that it is scorching hot in winter. Among the Cyonians there is a fountain which gives out oil instead of water, which the people use in all their food. In Metadrida there is another fountain, some little distance from the sea, the flow of which is so violent at midnight that it casts up on land fishes in such numbers that the inhabitants, unable to pick them up, leave most of them to rot on the ground.]⁠[351]

Ctesias relates these fables as perfect truth, adding that he himself had seen with his own eyes some of the things he describes, and had been informed of the rest by eye-witnesses. He says that he has omitted many far more marvellous things, for fear that those who had not seen them might think that his account was utterly untrustworthy.

LXXIII

Read the Aethiopica of Heliodorus.⁠[352] The work is dramatic, and the style employed is suited to the subject, being full of simplicity and charm. The narrative is diversified by actual, expected, or unexpected incidents that appeal to the feelings, by strange escapes from danger, by clear and pure diction. If, as is only natural, there is a tendency to use figures of speech, they are easy to understand, and vividly illustrate the subject-matter. The periods are symmetrical, and concisely arranged with a view to brevity. The composition in other respects corresponds to the subject. The story is about the love of a man and a woman, and shows a desire for the strict observance of propriety.

The characters are Theagenes and Chariclea, two chaste lovers who, through all their wanderings and frequent captivities, keep their modesty intact. Their names, and a brief account of their fortunes and sufferings, are given. The Athenian festival, at which Chariclea is a priestess and Theagenes a competitor in the stadium. How they fall in love with each other at sight; Chariclea’s consequent illness; how she is carried off, with her consent, by Theagenes and Calasiris from the house of her reputed father Charicles. Voyage to Zacynthus, during which the captain of the ship is smitten with love for Chariclea; Calasiris pretends to accept his offer of marriage. Chariclea and her party are hospitably received on shore, and informed by the fisherman who gives them lodging that Trachinus, the captain of a band of robbers, intends to carry her off. The flight of Calasiris and Chariclea, the pursuit and capture of the ship by Trachinus. He falls in love with Chariclea, who pretends to be willing to marry him. Calasiris and Theagenes, pretending to be her father and brother, request [that they may be allowed to remain on the vessel], and their request is granted. Storm at sea; their narrow escape from shipwreck, and landing on the coast of Egypt. Trachinus speaks of his intended marriage to Chariclea. The stratagem of her supposed father, Calasiris, and arrangements for the wedding-feast. Pelorus is persuaded by Calasiris that Chariclea is in love with him, which leads to a quarrel between Pelorus and Trachinus about her. A regular battle takes place, in which many of the pirates are slain by themselves,⁠[353] and several by Chariclea. Her grief at seeing Theagenes covered with wounds. Attack by Egyptian brigands. Their astonishment at the sight of Chariclea, whom they carry off with Theagenes to Thyamis, the captain of the Bucoli,⁠[354] as the brigands were called. He also falls in love with Chariclea, who again pretends that Theagenes is her brother. The Bucoli are in turn attacked and routed; flight of Thyamis and Hermuthis,⁠[355] followed by Cnemon⁠[356] and Theagenes. Chariclea remains in the cave,⁠[357] at the entrance of which lies the dead body of Thisbe, the sight of which plunges Theagenes⁠[358] into unbearable grief, until Chariclea addresses him from the cave. The mystery of the death of Thisbe; grief of Hermuthis. Departure of Cnemon and Hermuthis, Chariclea and Theagenes. Cnemon, leaving Hermuthis, meets Calasiris. They tell each other their adventures. Cnemon tells the story of Thisbe and Demaenete his stepmother, his banishment, and other misfortunes; Calasiris that of Charicles, Chariclea, and Theagenes. Both lament their misfortunes. Then Cnemon imparts the welcome news that Theagenes and Chariclea are still alive, since he himself has been a fellow-prisoner with them in the hands of Thyamis. Nausicles, with whom Calasiris is living, brings in Chariclea in the name of Thisbe. Hearing this name, Cnemon, knowing that Thisbe is dead, is puzzled; but his perplexity changes to joy at the discovery that Chariclea is alive. First search for Theagenes, and marriage of Cnemon and Nausiclea. Calasiris sets out with Chariclea to find Theagenes. An old woman is found lamenting over her son who has fallen in battle, and addressing him with the aid of magic arts, Calasiris and Chariclea meanwhile looking on. The old woman entreats the corpse to tell her whether her other son will return. The son, cursing his mother as guilty of violent and unlawful acts, informs her that her son will be killed, but that she will die before him, for having insulted the dead. Her death from accidentally falling on a fragment of a spear.

Thyamis, Theagenes, and the rest of the robber band set out for Memphis, the first-named desiring to recover the priesthood which his younger brother, Petosiris, has seized. This causes a great disturbance in the city. Arsace,⁠[359] who is in command of the city, endeavours to put an end to the strife by ordering the two brothers to contend in single combat, the priesthood to be given to the victor. The combat takes place against the wish of Petosiris, who is unskilled in the use of arms, whereas Thyamis is an experienced soldier. Thyamis at once scares his brother, who flings away his arms and takes to flight, being twice pursued round the walls of the city by his brother. Theagenes—with whom Arsace, the wife of Oroöndates, has fallen in love—is attending on Thyamis. Calasiris and Chariclea come on the scene. Calasiris, seeing his sons engaged in mortal combat, runs up to them with a shout and with difficulty succeeds in stopping the fight, since they do not recognize him. Chariclea falls into the arms of Theagenes. The brothers lay down their arms, and Thyamis is appointed to the priesthood by his father, who soon afterwards dies.

Plot of Arsace against Theagenes and Chariclea, in which she is zealously assisted by her maid Cybele, who invites them to the palace. Arsace’s uncontrollable love for Theagenes, her schemes, methods of ill-treatment, allurements, and plots. Cybele, who intends to give a cup of poisoned wine to Chariclea, by mistake drinks it herself and dies. Theagenes and Chariclea are cruelly treated and tortured because Theagenes rejects the advances of Arsace. Chariclea is condemned to be burnt, but the flames are extinguished by the stone pantarbē.⁠[360] Thus Chariclea escapes for the moment, but Arsace, in her rage, prepares to have her put to death the next day. Arsace’s husband, Oroöndates, sends [his eunuch Bagoas] to bring the lovers by night to his camp, Cybele’s son, disappointed in his desire to marry Chariclea, having hastened to inform his master of his wife’s misconduct.

Attack by the Aethiopians; Theagenes and Chariclea carried off to Hydaspes, king of Aethiopia. Their consecration for sacrifice—Theagenes to the sun, Chariclea to the moon. Games and sacrifices in the presence of Sisimithres, chief of the gymnosophists,⁠[361] and Persine, the king’s wife. Chariclea demands to be allowed to plead her cause before the king. Her demand is granted, Sisimithres being appointed judge; it is proved by the evidence of witnesses that Chariclea is really the daughter of Hydaspes and Persine. Hydaspes is with difficulty persuaded of the truth of this, but in obedience to the custom of the country is still determined that she shall be sacrificed. Opposition of the people and release of Chariclea, to the joy of all. Chariclea threatened with another danger. Theagenes is still bound for the sacrifice and in spite of her earnest entreaties and various pleas, her father refuses to release him. Chariclea, in great distress of mind, tells her mother all that has happened to herself and Theagenes. The latter’s exploit with the bull and the delight of the people. He also defeats the mightiest wrestler among the Aethiopians amidst shouts of applause. Nevertheless, he is crowned and led to the sacrifice. Charicles, who happens to be present, having come from Athens, begs the king to restore to him his supposed daughter. The king promises to do so if he can find her, but he is unable to do so. Charicles seizes Theagenes and drags him before the king, exclaiming, “This is the man who stole my daughter from Athens.” An investigation is held, Theagenes is declared not guilty with the approval of Sisimithres, who secures the abolition of human sacrifice for the future, amid general rejoicing. Thus Theagenes and Chariclea, after all their trials and perils, become man and wife. Chariclea crowned with the mitre of the priesthood by her mother, and Theagenes by his father-in-law. Sacrifice offered and preparations made for the mystic nuptial rites.

This romance was written by Heliodorus, son of Theodosius, a Phoenician of Emesa. It is said that he was afterwards a bishop.

LXXIV

Read the thirty-six political orations of Themistius.⁠[362] Some are addressed to the emperor Constantius, others to Valens, the younger Valentinian, and Theodosius, and contain encomiums and panegyrics of these emperors. The style is clear, free from redundancies, but somewhat florid. The language is official,⁠[363] with a tendency to solemnity. Themistius flourished in the reign of Valens, as is clear from his works. He was still a young man in the time of Constantius, by whom he was elected a member of the senate, as is evident from the letter addressed by the emperor himself to that body on behalf of Themistius. His father, who was also a philosopher, was named Eugenius. We have seen his commentaries on all the works of Aristotle, and concise and useful paraphrases of the Analytics, the Soul, the Physics, and similar works. He also did something for the interpretation of Plato, and, in fact, was a lover and student of philosophy.

Also read the sixteen speeches of Lesbonax.⁠[364] This Lesbonax....

LXXV

Read the little treatise of John Philoponus⁠[365] against the divinely-inspired doctrine of the holy and consubstantial Trinity, set forth by John Scholasticus, archbishop of Constantinople, in his catechetical speech, delivered at the first indiction⁠[366] during the reign of Justin.

The style is what one would expect from the author, being clear but altogether lacking in energy and dignity. His arguments are not only blasphemous, but utterly unsound and feeble, and he shows himself unable to give even a superficial colouring of truth to his fallacious arguments against the true faith. Inventing natures, substances and godheads, like the insolent babbler that he is, he pours forth a stream of blasphemy against the Christian faith, going minutely into such points as “how many does one mean?” Thus, in his ingenious trifling, as he considers it, or rather his puerile want of taste, he insolently boasts that he despises the mystical rites of our Church. It is not only in these particular arguments that he appears weak and silly, but in all the other works he has written, with the exception of those in which he has plagiarized from others, while falsely laying claim to originality. He is far removed from those writers who know how to distinguish the true from the false, and are capable of attaining subtlety of thought. As for the writings falsely claimed by him as his own, they have generally preserved the character of their authors, except that in some cases his vicious style and equipment have destroyed the noble manliness of the original writers. They resemble those compounds which, naturally excellent, owing to the manner in which they are reared and nourished, show signs of spuriousness and degeneracy. In this work he introduces quotations from the holy Fathers, such as Gregory the Theologian, Basil the Great, the sorely-tried Athanasius and Saint Cyril, but they in no way assist his impious design.

LXXVI

Read the Antiquities of the Jews, by Flavius Josephus,⁠[367] in twenty books. He begins with the Mosaic cosmogony, and although his account agrees in the main with that generally accepted, he sometimes differs. The work ends with the war between the Jews and Romans, at the time when Agrippa,⁠[368] son of the great Agrippa,⁠[369] who deprived Jesus, son of Gamaliel, of the high priesthood, and bestowed it upon Matthias, son of Theophilus, was king of the Jews. Antiochus⁠[370] and his general Lysias were the first to introduce a bold innovation in reference to the tenure of the high priesthood. They removed Onias named Menelaus from that office, put him to death, and deprived his son of the right of succession, appointing in his place Alcimus called Iacimus, of the tribe of Aaron, but belonging to a different family. Before this it had been the law from the time of Aaron that the high priest should hold office for life, and that the son should succeed the father. But when Alcimus died, after having been high priest for three years, the office remained in abeyance for seven years. After Matthias and his sons of the Asmonean family were entrusted with the leadership of the Jewish people, and made war on the Macedonians, Jonathan was appointed high priest. To this family also belonged Judas, who was called Aristobulus, who first placed the diadem on his head, thus filling the office of both high priest and king. A year later he died, and left his brother Alexander his successor in the kingdom and priesthood, who held these dignities for twenty-seven years. From this time the kingship and priesthood combined remained in the Asmonean family until the time of Hyrcanus, whom Pompey, after the conquest of Jerusalem, deprived of his kingdom, but allowed him to hold the office of high priest. After thirty-three years he was taken prisoner by the Parthian generals Barzapharnes and Pacorus, who appointed as king Antigonus, the son of the brother of Aristobulus. After Antigonus had reigned three years and three months, the Roman general Sosius and Herod the First, the son of Antipater, a priest of Ascalon, and of Cypris the Arabian, overthrew him, and took him to Antioch, where he was put to death by Antony. This was the end of the Asmonean dynasty, and Herod was made king of the Jews by the Romans. He bestowed the high priesthood upon any one without distinction, setting an example for his successors to follow. As stated above, the author, in his twenty books, beginning from the creation of the world, goes down to the beginning of the last war between the Jews and the Romans, at the time when Agrippa, son of Agrippa, had been appointed king of the Jews by the Romans and Gessius Florus⁠[371] had succeeded Albinus as governor of Judaea. The Jews, unable to endure Florus’s wickedness and cruelty, revolted, thinking it better to perish at once together in freedom than gradually and in slavery. It was in the second year of Florus’s governorship and the twelfth year of the reign of Nero, that the war broke out, with which the history of Josephus ends. Of his style we have already spoken.

Josephus was by birth a Jew and a priest, belonging to a family descended from a long line of priests on the father’s side. On the mother’s side he was of royal blood, for the children of Asmoneus, from whom her family was derived, had for a long time held both the high priesthood and the rank of king. His father’s name was Matthias. He was born in the first year of the reign of the emperor Gaius,⁠[372] and from boyhood was an earnest student. In his sixteenth year, he began to devote his attention to the three sects of the Jews, and conscientiously examined them, so that after having tried them all he might be able to choose the best. These sects are the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes. Having gone through them all, he retired into the wilderness, living there for three years with a man⁠[373] who led a solitary and ascetic life. This man’s clothes were made of the leaves of trees, his food consisted of natural herbs and fruit, and he bathed frequently both by night and day, to keep himself chaste. When he was nineteen, Josephus returned to the city and joined the sect of the Pharisees, which is said to resemble the sect called Stoic among the Greeks. In his thirtieth year, he was sent by the people of Jerusalem to investigate the condition of affairs in Galilee, where there was great confusion and things were in a very unsettled state. He was then appointed commander-in-chief of Galilee, and showed himself an efficient administrator. He successfully escaped plots of different kinds laid against him by his political rivals, and by showing a spirit of moderation in dealing with his enemies often brought them over to his side. Having taken up arms against the Romans against his will, after a brave resistance at Iotapata he was taken prisoner by Vespasian, who treated him kindly at the time and still more so after he became emperor. Not only Vespasian, but his sons and successors, Titus and Domitian, entertained the highest regard for him; the Roman citizenship was bestowed upon him, and he became very wealthy. He finished his History in the fifty-sixth year of his age, in the thirteenth year of the reign of Domitian.

LXXVII

Read the new edition of the continuation of the Chronicle of Dexippus⁠[374] by Eunapius,⁠[375] in fourteen books. It begins with the reign of Claudius Caesar, when the history of Dexippus ends, and goes down to the time of Honorius and Arcadius, the sons of Theodosius. The work actually ends at the time when Arsacius, after the banishment of John Chrysostom, was raised to the archbishopric of Constantinople,⁠[376] and the wife of Arcadius died of a miscarriage. This Eunapius was a native of Sardes in Lydia, and an impious heathen. He slanders and abuses in every way and without restraint all who have adorned the empire by their piety, especially Constantine the Great; on the other hand, he extols the impious, above all Julian the Apostate. Indeed, it almost seems as if the work was written as an elaborate panegyric upon him.

His style is elegant, if one cuts out terms and expressions such as “fowl-like,” “more deer-like,” “more swine-like,” “hawk-like,” “crow-like,” “ape-like,” “a tear like a river,” and so on, which vitiate and debase the nobility of the rest of the language. He also makes use of figures of speech capriciously, a fault which the rule of historical writing forbids, but in general his forcible style combined with urbanity palliates the offence. His method of composition, his clearness and his use of periods are exactly suited, and appropriate to historical narrative; sometimes, however, the style is wordy with a tendency towards forensic rather than historical language. In construction he introduces numerous innovations, but not so as to cause unpleasantness nor to afford an excuse for attacking his methods.⁠[377]

He wrote two volumes, covering the same period. In the first, he bespatters with abuse the pure faith of us Christians, glorifies the heathen superstition, and attacks many pious emperors. In the second volume, which he calls a “new edition,” he has cut out the insults and brutal abuse which he had showered upon Christian piety, and, having connected the rest of the body of the work, calls it, as we have said, a “new edition,” although it still shows considerable traces of the original frenzy. We have come across old copies of both editions, both in separate volumes and combined, and, having read both, are in a position to estimate the difference. The result is that in the new edition many passages, owing to the omissions, are mutilated and obscure, although generally the author shows a great regard for clearness. Somehow or other in this second edition he has not connected the narrative with due regard to the omissions, and so has spoiled the meaning.

LXXVIII

Read the Byzantine History of Malchus the sophist⁠[378] in seven books. It begins with the final illness and death of the emperor Leo in the seventeenth year of his reign. The author gives an account of the proclamation and accession of Zeno, his expulsion from the throne and life as a private individual, the accession and abdication of the usurper Basiliscus. The restoration of Zeno to the throne and the murder of Basiliscus, his wife and children being unjustly put to death at the same time. Harmatius, who had restored Zeno, met with a similar recompense, being put to death by Onulphus. The author also gives an account of the rebellion of Theodoric the son of Triarius; the friendship of Theodoric the son of Malamir,⁠[379] and his war with Theodoric the son of Triarius; the second revolt against Zeno, the rebellion of Marcian, the conspiracy⁠[380] of Zeno’s mother-in-law, and the banishment of Marcian for life. Verina’s plot against Illus, the treacherous seizure of Epidamnus by Theodoric the son of Malamir. Having described these events the author then touches upon Roman affairs. The seventh book ends with the death of Nepos, who, having driven out Glycerius, assumed the imperial power, ordered Glycerius’s hair to be cut like a cleric’s and made him chief priest instead of emperor. Nepos himself was subsequently slain at the instigation of Glycerius. These seven books show that the author had already written an account of preceding events, as also appears from the beginning of the first book of the seven. The end of the seventh book further shows that he had intended to continue the history, if his life had been spared.

Malchus, a native of Philadelphia, is a most admirable historian. His style is pure, free from redundancies and easy to understand; the language is ornate and explicit, if somewhat pompous; he does not hesitate to employ unfamiliar expressions characterized by emphasis, euphony, and sublimity. Speaking generally, his language is a model for the historian. A sophist by profession, and one of the greatest of rhetoricians, he appears to have been a member of the Christian Church.

LXXIX

Read the History by Candidus⁠[381] in three books. It begins with the accession of Leo, a native of Dacia in Illyria, military tribune and in command of the troops in Selymbria, who obtained the throne by the aid of Aspar. Aspar was an Alan and a soldier from his early years. He had been three times married, and had three sons, Ardaburius, Patricius, and Ermenarichus.⁠[382] The narrative goes down to the proclamation of Anastasius as emperor. The author was a native of Isauria Tracheia,⁠[383] as he himself tells us, and by profession clerk to certain influential Isaurians. By religion he was an orthodox Christian, as appears from his eulogy of the fourth synod and his well-justified attack on innovators. His style is not suited for history. He makes use of poetical expressions that are insipid and childish; the composition is harsh and discordant, inclined to dithyrambic bombast or degenerating into carelessness and inelegance. He introduces new constructions, which do not, as in the case of other writers, lend additional smoothness and charm to the work, but make it disagreeable to read and utterly unattractive. While here and there his style shows improvement, his history is obviously a medley of most different materials. He maintains that the name Isauria is derived from Esau.

The first book describes the influence of Aspar and his sons, the election of Leo to the throne by Aspar, the great fire that broke out in Constantinople, and Aspar’s measures for the general welfare. Of Tatian and Vivian; the dispute of Aspar and the emperor concerning them, and what they said to one another. How this led to an alliance of the emperor with the Isaurians through Tarasicodissas, the son of Rusumbladeotes, whose name was changed to Zeno when he became Leo’s son-in-law, after the death of his first wife. How Ardaburius, to oppose the emperor, also endeavoured to win over the Isaurians. How a certain Martin, the friend of Ardaburius, informed Tarasicodissas of Ardaburius’s plot against the emperor; how mutual suspicion was aggravated until finally the emperor Leo decided to put to death Aspar and his sons Ardaburius and Patricius the Caesar. Aspar was killed; Patricius, however, unexpectedly recovered from his wounds, and Aspar’s other son Ermenarichus, who happened not to be with his father at the time, also escaped. Leo gives Tarasicodissas the hand of his daughter Ariadne in marriage, changes his name to Zeno, and appoints him general of the East. The successes and reverses of Basiliscus in Africa. How Leo desired and schemed to secure the election of his son-in-law Zeno as emperor, but could not prevail upon his subjects to consent. A little before his death, however, he proclaimed his grandson Leo, the son of Ariadne, who, after his grandfather’s death, with the assent of the senate placed the crown upon the head of his father. Then follows a detailed genealogy of the Isaurians, in which the author does his best to prove that they were descendants of Esau. How Zeno, deceived by Verina, fled with his wife and mother, abandoning the city and the throne. How Verina, hoping that Patricius the magister would marry her and make himself emperor, by treachery drove out her son-in-law,⁠[384] but was deceived in her hopes, for those in authority raised her brother Basiliscus to the throne. The terrible massacre of Isaurians in Constantinople. Nepos, the emperor of Rome, succeeded by Augustulus, the son of Orestes. Such is the contents of the first book.

The second book relates how Patricius the magister, who had carried on an intrigue with Verina, was slain by her indignant brother Basiliscus. How Verina conceived a hatred of her brother on this account, assisted Zeno with money to recover the throne, was persecuted by her brother, and, had not Armatus⁠[385] secretly got her away from the church, would probably have lost her life. Armatus, who had carried on an intrigue with the wife of Basiliscus, obtained great influence and was entrusted with the conduct of the war against Zeno; but subsequently entered into an agreement with Illus and went over to Zeno. Armatus was held in great esteem by Zeno, and his son was raised to the rank of Caesar. Nevertheless, he was afterwards put to death, and his son, deprived of the rank of Caesar, became one of the readers at Blachernae. Basiliscus before this had declared his son Marcus Caesar and afterwards emperor. Illus, having become reconciled to Zeno, prepared to help him to recover the throne. Basiliscus, against whom his own adherents revolted, fled with his children and his wife Zenonis, was treacherously induced by Armatus to leave the church in which he had taken refuge, and banished to Cappadocia, where he was put to death with all his family. When the impious Peter⁠[386] was disturbing the Churches of the East, Zeno sent Calandion to be consecrated patriarch of Antioch. The emperor being in want of money succeeded in obtaining some by methods suggested to him.⁠[387] Many who conspired against him were seized and put to death. Illus rendered great services to the empire by his valour in war and military successes, by his ambitious⁠[388] political measures and by his just dealings. After the death of the Roman emperor Nepos and the expulsion of his son Augustulus, Odoacer⁠[389] obtained possession of Italy and the city of Rome itself. But the western Gauls rebelled against him, and both they and Odoacer sent ambassadors to Zeno, who rather favoured Odoacer. A certain Alan who attempted to kill Illus, after he had wounded him, declared that he had been bribed by Epinicius, an intimate of Verina. Epinicius was handed over to Illus, and after obtaining a promise that he should be forgiven and rewarded, disclosed Verina’s designs against Illus. Zeno hands Verina over to Illus, who banished her to a fortress in Cilicia, and thus secured his safety. Illus, who had become very intimate with the impious Pamprepius,⁠[390] to whom he had been introduced by Marsus, gradually became ruined. Civil war against Zeno begun by Marcian and Procopius, sons of the Roman emperor Anthemius. After they had been defeated, Marcian was ordained a priest, and Procopius took refuge with Theodoric in Thrace. Marcian, in banishment in Cappadocia, escaped and stirred up revolt in Ancyra in Galatia until at length he was captured and banished to Isauria. The origin of the emperor’s increasing hatred of Illus. This is the contents of the second book.

The third book, amongst other things, relates how Illus rose in open revolt against Zeno, declared Leontius emperor and Verina empress; how the revolt failed, and Illus and Leontius were besieged,⁠[391] captured, and beheaded. It also contains an account of events to the death of Zeno.

LXXX

Read the Histories of Olympiodorus,⁠[392] in twenty-two books. They begin with the seventh consulship of the emperor Honorius and the second of Theodosius, and go down to the time when Valentinian, the son of Placidia and Constantius, was proclaimed emperor of the Romans. The author, a heathen, was a native of Thebes in Egypt, a poet by profession, according to his own account. His style is clear but loose and wanting in vigour, and sometimes degenerates into commonplace vulgarity, so that the work does not deserve to be considered a history. Perhaps that is the reason why the author himself, conscious of these defects, declares that his work is not a history, but a collection of materials for a history, so destitute of regular form did he himself consider his style and phraseology. He is not distinguished for form, except so far as one might assert that he now and again approaches simplicity; but even in this, owing to the excessive meanness and paltriness of his diction, he is unsuccessful and gradually descends to vulgar mannerism. He calls his work Silva, but divides it into books and strives to embellish it with prefaces. It is dedicated to the emperor Theodosius, the son of Arcadius, and nephew of Honorius and Placidia.

The rise of Stilicho to power; his appointment by Theodosius the Great to the guardianship of his children Arcadius and Honorius, his marriage to Serena, betrothed to him by her uncle the emperor himself. Marriage of his daughter Thermantia to Honorius, and his rise to the height of his power. His many successful foreign wars. His death at the hands of the cruel and inhuman Olympius, whom he had himself recommended to the emperor.

Alaric, chieftain of the Goths, whom Stilicho had previously sent for that he might retain Illyricum for Honorius (to whom that prefecture had been assigned by his father Theodosius), in consequence of the murder of Stilicho, and because the promises made to him had not been kept, besieges and sacks Rome. He carries off an enormous amount of booty together with Placidia, the sister of Honorius, who was in the city at the time. Before its capture he declares emperor a distinguished citizen named Attalus, the city prefect. Another reason for Alaric’s conduct was that Sarus, also a Goth, captain of a small band, not more than 200 or 300 in number, and a brave and invincible warrior, had been offered an alliance by the Romans as being hostile to Alaric, who thus became their irreconcilable enemy.

During the siege of Rome the inhabitants were reduced to cannibalism. Alaric, while Stilicho was still alive, received 4000 pounds of gold for the expenses of his expedition. After the death of Stilicho his widow Serena is strangled, it being thought that she might have been responsible for Alaric’s attack on the city. His son Eucherius had already been put to death.

During the reign of Honorius the name Bucellarii⁠[393] was given not only to Roman, but also to foreign soldiers; and similarly, the name Foederati⁠[394] to a mixed and irregular body of troops.

Olympius, who intrigued against Stilicho, appointed master of the offices,⁠[395] but afterwards deprived of his post. He recovers it and is again deprived of it. He is beaten to death by order of Constantius, the husband of Placidia, after his ears have first been cut off. Thus the impious wretch meets with due punishment at last.

The chief men of the Goths with Radagaisus, about 12,000 in number, called Optimati, are defeated by Stilicho, who enters into an alliance with Radagaisus.

Illness and death of Alaric, who is succeeded by his wife’s brother Ataulf.

The author says that dry bread was called bucellatum, and jestingly suggests that the soldiers were called bucellarii for this reason.⁠[396]

Constantine, having made himself tyrant in Gaul, sends ambassadors to Honorius, excusing himself on the ground that he had been forced to assume the purple by the soldiers, and asking forgiveness and recognition as his colleague. Honorius, being in great straits, agrees to his request. This Constantine had been declared emperor during a revolt of the soldiers in Britain, where, before the seventh consulship of Honorius, they had proclaimed a certain Marcus emperor. He was soon removed by them and Gratian appointed in his stead. After four months, they grew tired of him also, and put him to death, Constantine being promoted to the rank and title of Augustus. Having appointed Justin and Neobigastes to the command of his forces, he left Britain and crossed over to Bononia,⁠[397] a town on the coast, the first in Gallic territory. There he spent some time, gaining over all the soldiery of Gaul and Aquitaine, and occupied the whole of Gaul as far as the Alps which separate Italy and Gaul. He had two sons, Constans and Julian, the former of whom he raised to the rank of Caesar, and bestowed the dignity of Nobilissimus⁠[398] upon the latter.

Attalus, created rival emperor to Honorius, marches towards Ravenna, where Jovian,⁠[399] praetorian prefect⁠[400] and patrician,⁠[401] Valens, magister utriusque militiae,⁠[402] Potamius the quaestor, and Julian primicerius notariorum,⁠[403] are sent to him as envoys by Honorius. They inform Attalus that they have been sent by Honorius to discuss the question of admitting him to a partnership in the empire. He refuses, but offers to allow Honorius to retire unharmed to some island or anywhere else he pleased. Jovian gladly accepts this proposal, further proposing that Honorius should be mutilated. Attalus rebukes Jovian, saying that there is no reason for mutilating Honorius, if he voluntarily abdicates. Jovian, after several unsuccessful embassies, remains with Attalus as his patricius. Meanwhile, the command of Ravenna devolves upon the praepositus⁠[404] Eusebius, who, soon afterwards, by the cruelty of Allobich and by public decree is flogged to death in the sight of the emperor. After a considerable time, Attalus, who does not remain loyal to Alaric (chiefly owing to Jovian, who had betrayed the ambassadors of Honorius), is deprived of the throne, and afterwards joins the suite of Alaric as a private individual. He is subsequently restored, but again compelled to abdicate. Finally, he sets out for Ravenna, is captured, and, after the thumb and forefinger of his right hand have been cut off, is banished.

Soon afterwards, Allobich pays the penalty for the murder of the praepositus Eusebius, and is put to death before the emperor. The tyrant Constantine, when informed of the death of Allobich, sets out in haste for Ravenna, to make a treaty with Honorius, but being alarmed, turns back.

Rhegium⁠[405] was the chief town of Bruttii,⁠[406] whence the historian says Alaric intended to cross over to Sicily, but was prevented from doing so by a sacred statue. This statue is said to have been consecrated by the ancients as a protection against the fires of Aetna and the passage of barbarians from over seas. In one foot it contained a fire that was never extinguished, in the other a supply of water that never failed. When it was subsequently destroyed by Asclepius, the manager of Constantius and Placidia’s Sicilian property, the inhabitants suffered greatly from Aetna and the barbarians.

The tyrant Constantine and his son Constans, who was first Caesar and afterwards Augustus, having been defeated and put to flight, his general, Gerontius, gladly makes peace with the barbarians and proclaims Maximus, one of the domestics⁠[407] and his own son,⁠[408] emperor. He then pursues Constans, puts him to death, and sets out after Constantine. While these events are taking place, Constantius and Ulphilas are sent by Honorius against Constantine; having reached Arelate,⁠[409] where Constantine was living with his son Julian, they lay siege to it. Constantine takes refuge in a church and is ordained priest, having been solemnly promised that his life should be spared. The city gates are thrown open to the besiegers, and Constantine and his son taken to Honorius. But the emperor, bearing a grudge against them for the murder of his cousins by Constantine, orders them to be put to death in violation of his oath, thirty miles from Ravenna. Gerontius, on the arrival of Constantius and Ulphilas, takes to flight, and is seized by his mutinous troops, who resented his severe discipline. The house where he seeks refuge is set on fire, but he offers a brave resistance to the mutineers, together with one of his servants, an Alan by birth. At last, he slays the Alan and then his wife, at their earnest request, and then stabs himself. His son Maximus, on hearing of this, takes refuge with friendly barbarians.⁠[410]

Jovinus, meanwhile, is proclaimed emperor at Moguntiacum⁠[411] in upper Germany, with the aid of Goar the Alan and Guntiar,⁠[412] a Burgundian chieftain. On the advice of Attalus, Ataulf joins him with his forces. But Jovinus, being offended at the presence of Ataulf, in mysterious language blames Attalus who had advised Ataulf to join him. Sarus also is on the way to join Jovinus, but Ataulf, hearing of this, collects a force of 10,000 men and waylays Sarus, whose followers numbered only twenty-eight. Sarus fights with marvellous heroism, and is with difficulty taken alive by a soldier, who threw a bag over his head, and afterwards slain. Sarus had revolted from Honorius, who had treated the murder of Sarus’s servant, Bellerides, as a matter of indifference and had refused to find out and punish his murderer.

Donatus and the Huns, and the skilfulness of their kings in shooting with the bow. The author relates that he himself was sent on a mission to Donatus, and gives a tragic account of his wanderings and perils by sea. How Donatus, being deceived by an oath, was unlawfully put to death. How Charaton, the first of the kings, being incensed at the murder, was appeased by gifts from the emperor. Such are the events of the first decade of the history.

The second begins as follows. Jovinus, contrary to the advice of Ataulf, proclaims his own brother Sebastian Augustus. Ataulf, deeply offended, thereupon sends envoys to Honorius, promising to send him the heads of the tyrants and offering to make peace. Oaths having been exchanged, the envoys return, and the head of Sebastian is sent to the emperor. Jovinus, besieged by Ataulf, surrenders, is sent to the emperor and executed by the praetorian prefect Dardanus with his own hand. Both heads are exposed outside Carthage,⁠[413] where those of Constantine and Julian, of Maximus and Eugenius, who had aspired to the throne during the reign of the great Theodosius and had met with the same fate, had already been exposed.

The restoration of Placidia to her brother Honorius is urgently demanded from Ataulf by Constantius, who afterwards became her husband. But as the promises made to him remain unfulfilled, especially in regard to the supply of corn, he refuses to give her back and prepares for war instead of peace.

Ataulf, when requested to restore Placidia, asks for the corn promised him. Although those who had promised it are unable to supply it, they agree to do so if Placidia is restored; the barbarian makes a similar pretence of complying. In the meantime he sets out for Massilia,⁠[414] hoping to capture it by treachery. But having been severely, almost mortally, wounded by the most noble Boniface, he returns to his own quarters, abandoning the city which joyfully acclaims and extols Boniface.⁠[415]

Ataulf, determined to marry Placidia, in spite of the request of Constantius for her restitution, raises his demands so that, if they are not granted, he may appear to have a good excuse for detaining her.

Constantius, who was formerly consul elect, is created consul at Ravenna, Constans being at the same time made consul at Constantinople. Sufficient gold was found among the property of Heraclian, who had been put to death⁠[416] as aspiring to the throne, to defray the expenses of the consulship, although the amount was not so great as had been expected. The amount in gold which was found was about £4600, and the value of the real estate 2000 litrae (£92,000). All this was made over to Constantius by Honorius “at one asking.” Constantius, as he rode along,⁠[417] had a dejected and sullen appearance, with his great eyes and neck and broad head; his whole body was bent over his horse and he looked askance on either side, in order as the old expression has it, “to appear worthy of empire.”⁠[418] At feasts and banquets, however, he was agreeable and sociable, and often even condescended to vie with the mimes who performed at table.

On the advice and with the assistance of Candidian the marriage of Ataulf with Placidia was celebrated at the beginning of January in the city of Narbo (Narbonne), in the house of Ingenius, one of the most distinguished citizens. Placidia sat in the inner apartment dressed in Roman style and in royal robes, with Ataulf by her side, wearing a woollen tunic and Roman costume. Amongst other wedding presents Ataulf gave his bride fifty beautiful youths dressed in silk, each bearing in his hands two very large dishes, one filled with gold, the other with precious, or rather priceless, stones, the spoils of Rome when it was sacked by the Goths. Then wedding-songs were sung, Attalus leading the chorus, accompanied by Rusticius and Phoebadius. The ceremony ended with great demonstrations of joy and games, in which Romans and barbarians alike took part.

After the capture of Rome by the Goths, Albinus, the city prefect, when the normal condition of things was restored, reported to the emperor that the amount of corn distributed to the people was insufficient, since their number was increasing, as many as 14,000 strangers having passed through in one day.⁠[419]

Ataulf, after Placidia had borne him a son whom he called Theodosius, courted the friendship of the Romans still more, but the opposition of Constantius and his supporters made his and Placidia’s efforts vain. The son soon died and his parents, deeply grieved, buried him in a silver coffer in a church near Barcino (Barcelona). Soon afterwards Ataulf himself was murdered, while looking after his horses in the stable, as he had been in the habit of doing. He was slain by a certain Goth in his service, named Dubius, who had long been on the watch for an opportunity to satisfy an old-standing hatred. Dubius’s master,⁠[420] chief of a Gothic tribe, had been killed by Ataulf, who had taken Dubius into his own household. Dubius, to avenge his first master, slew his second. Ataulf, before he died, ordered his brother to give back Placidia and, if possible, to cultivate the friendship of Rome. He was succeeded by Singeric, the brother of Sarus, who secured the throne by violence and intrigue rather than legally or on the score of relationship. He put to death Ataulf’s children by a former marriage, tearing them from the arms of bishop Sigesarus, and by way of insult compelled Placidia to walk in procession in front of his horse with other captives as far as the twelfth milestone from the city. After he had reigned seven days Singeric was slain and succeeded by the Gothic chieftain Walia.

The historian relates that he heard from a person of distinction named Valerius about certain silver statues that were consecrated to keep off the barbarians. In the reign of Constantius, when Valerius was governor of Thrace, he received information of the whereabouts of a treasure. He proceeded to the spot and learnt from the inhabitants that it was regarded as sacred, and that certain statues had been consecrated there in accordance with ancient rites. Valerius reported this to the emperor, who gave him written permission to remove them. The spot was excavated, and three statues of solid silver were found, lying in barbaric guise, with arms akimbo, clothed in parti-coloured barbaric raiment, with long hair, turned towards the north, the country of the barbarians. When these statues were removed, the Goths a few days afterwards first overran and ravaged Thrace, and a little later Huns and Sarmatians made inroads into Illyricum and Thrace itself; for these consecrated districts lay between Thrace and Illyricum, and from the number of the statues consecrated, they appear to have been intended as a protection against these barbarous nations.

The historian tells us of the sufferings and perils of his voyage. He says also that he landed at Athens, and that by his support and efforts Leontius was appointed to the chair of sophistic, although he did not desire it. Concerning the philosopher’s cloak,⁠[421] he says that no one in Athens, particularly a stranger, was allowed to wear it, unless permitted to do so by the general vote of the sophists, and unless his right had been confirmed by their rules and regulations. The following were the rites on such occasions. All newcomers (novices), young and old, were taken to the public baths. Those who were by age fit to wear the cloak were brought forward by the scholastics⁠[422] who escorted them; then, while some ran in front and pushed them back, others, running behind, pushed them forward and resisted them, amid shouts of “Stop, stop, he must not wash.” Those who pushed back those who tried to hinder the progress of the novice were considered to be victorious in the contest. After a considerable time, and after a long disputation had taken place in accordance with custom, he who was being escorted was taken into a warm room and washed. Having dressed himself, he received permission to wear the cloak on his way from the bath, being accompanied by a numerous and distinguished throng. Large sums are voted for the presidents of the schools, who are called Acromitae.⁠[423]

The Vandals call the Goths Truli, because, when they were hard pressed by famine, they bought a trula of wheat from the Vandals for a gold coin.⁠[424] The trula does not contain more than a third of a pint.

When the Vandals were ravaging Spain, the Romans who took refuge in the fortified cities were so destitute of food that they were driven to cannibalism. A woman who was the mother of four children ate them all, in each case pretending that she did so to provide some food for the rest and save their lives, but when she had eaten them all she was stoned to death by the people.

Euplutius the chamberlain is sent to Walia, king of the Goths, to make a treaty of peace with him and to recover Placidia. Walia receives him kindly and on receipt of 600,000 measures of corn, Placidia is released and handed over to Euplutius to be escorted to her brother Honorius.

When a discussion arose in Athens how books could be fastened together and people wanted to know how much glue should be used, Philtatius, the writer’s companion, who was well acquainted with all matters connected with literature, showed them what to do. A statue was erected in his honour by the grateful citizens.

About the oasis the author relates much that appears incredible. First, the climate is so healthy, that not only do none of the inhabitants suffer from epilepsy, but those who come from other parts are cured of it. Next, he speaks of the vast tracts of sand, and the wells, dug 200, 300, sometimes even 500 cubits deep, which spirt up a stream of water, from which the husbandmen who have taken part in the work in turn draw water to irrigate their fields. The trees bear fruit perpetually, and the corn which grows there is finer than any other and whiter than snow. There are sometimes two crops of barley in a year and three of millet. The inhabitants water their little plots of land every third day in summer, every sixth day in winter, which makes the soil very fertile. Clouds are rarely, if ever, seen. About the clocks made there. The author says that the oasis was formerly an island, which had been detached from the mainland, and that it is called by Herodotus the islands of the blest, but that Herodorus (who wrote the lives of Orpheus and Musaeus) calls it Phaeacis. He argues that it was an island, first, from the fact that sea shells are found adhering to stones upon the mountain which leads to the oasis from the Thebaid, and, secondly, because of the vast quantity of sand, which fills three oases. For he tells us that the oases are three in number, two large, an outer and an inner, opposite each other but a hundred miles apart, while the third is small and a great distance from the other two. A further argument that it was an island is that fish are often found that have been carried there by birds, and the remains of fish that have been eaten, so that one may conjecture that the sea was not far off. The author says also that Homer’s family belonged to the Thebaid.

During the eleventh consulship of Honorius and the second of Constantius, the marriage of Placidia was arranged. She herself was greatly opposed to it, which incensed Constantius against her household. Nevertheless, on the first day of his consulship, her brother the emperor Honorius took her by the hand and, although she protested, delivered her over to Constantius, and the wedding was celebrated with great magnificence. They had two children, a daughter Honoria and a son Valentinian, who at the urgent request of Placidia received the title Nobilissimus during the lifetime of Honorius. After the death of the latter and the suppression of the usurper John,⁠[425] he became emperor. Honorius unwillingly agreed to accept Constantius as his partner in the empire, and Placidia received the title of Augusta from her brother and her husband. Theodosius the cousin of Honorius and emperor of the East, to whom an embassy was sent to inform him of the elevation of Constantius, refused to receive it. Constantius soon became tired of the throne, since he could no longer come and go when and where he pleased, and his dignity forbade him to indulge in his customary amusements. This seriously affected his health; and, after he had been on the throne six months, a vision appeared to him and addressed him with the words, “Six are gone, the seventh begins.” He died of pleurisy, and with him died the indignation aroused by the refusal to acknowledge his accession. The projected attack on the East abandoned. Walia, king of the Goths, dies and is succeeded by Theodoric.⁠[426]

The author relates various perils at sea from which he barely escaped with his life. While talking of a marvellous star (called Urania⁠[427] by the sailors), he was leaning heavily against the mast, which nearly gave way and precipitated him into the water. He also tells of a parrot, with which he himself lived twenty years, which mimicked nearly all the acts of a human being. It used to dance and sing, call people by their names and the like. He also relates that, when he was staying at Thebes and Soëne⁠[428] for the sake of gathering information, the chiefs and prophets of the barbarians at Talmis,⁠[429] called Blemmyes,⁠[430] were eager to meet him owing to his reputation. “They took me as far as Talmis,” he says, “that I might examine the country, which is distant five days’ journey from Philae⁠[431] as far as the city called Prima. This was the nearest city of the Thebaid to barbarian soil, and was hence called by the Romans Prima (first), the name being still preserved although it has long been in possession of the barbarians with four other cities, Phoenicon, Chiris, Thapis, and Talmis.” In this district he heard that there were emerald mines, which furnished an abundant supply of those precious stones for the Egyptian kings. The prophets of the barbarians invited him to inspect them, but this was impossible without the king’s permission.

He tells a wonderful story about a certain Libanius, an Asiatic, who appeared at Ravenna during the reign of Honorius and Constantius, a most consummate magician. He declared that he could work wonders and promised to perform them against the barbarians without the aid of soldiers. After his promise had been put to the test, the report reached the ears of Placidia, who threatened to apply for a divorce against Constantius, unless the magician and infidel were removed. Libanius was accordingly put to death. Constantius was an Illyrian from Naisus⁠[432] in Dacia, who, having served in numerous campaigns from the time of Theodosius the Great, was afterwards raised to the throne. In many respects he was worthy of praise and of a generous disposition, until his marriage with Placidia, when he became grasping and covetous. After his death, numerous petitions against him from those who had been financially injured by him were presented at Ravenna. But the indifference of Honorius and Placidia’s intimacy with him made these petitions useless and thwarted the power of justice.

After the death of Constantius, Honorius lavished the greatest affection upon his sister, which, however, soon turned to mistrust and hatred, aggravated by the intrigues of Spadusa and Elpidia (Placidia’s nurse), in whom she had the greatest confidence, and Leontius her steward. There were frequent riots in Ravenna, where a large number of barbarians, who sided with her in consequence of her marriage with Ataulf and with Constantius, frequently came to blows with the imperial guards. At length the quarrel became so bitter that, as the result of the hatred instead of love which her brother now felt for her, Placidia, finding herself unable to resist, retired with her children to Constantinople. Boniface alone remained loyal to her, sent her money when he was able from Africa where he was governor, and rendered her every service in his power. He also subsequently assisted her to regain the throne.

Honorius died of dropsy on the 27th of August, and an announcement of the news was sent to the East. In the meantime, a certain John seized the throne. While his inauguration was taking place, a voice was heard, as if proceeding from some oracle uttering the words, “He falls, he does not stand,” whereupon the people, as if to break the spell, shouted, “He stands, he does not fall.”

Boniface was an heroic soldier, who often distinguished himself against the barbarians, sometimes with large, sometimes with small forces, sometimes even in single combat; in a word, he entirely freed Africa from many barbarous nations. He was a lover of justice and despised wealth.

The author says that each of the large houses in Rome contained all the conveniences of a well-arranged city—a hippodrome, fora, temples, fountains, and baths. This leads him to exclaim: “One house is a town; a city has ten thousand towns.” There were also public baths of great size; those called Antoninianae had 1600 seats for the convenience of bathers, made of polished marble; those called Diocletianae twice as many. The wall of Rome, according to the measurement of Ammon the geometrician, at the time when it was first overrun by the Goths, was twenty-one miles in circumference.

Many Roman families received yearly incomes from their property to the amount of about forty centenarii of gold (£160,000), not mentioning the corn and wine and other produce, which, if sold, would equal a third of the above amount. Families next in rank enjoyed an income of fifteen or ten centenarii (£60,000-£40,000). Probus, the son of Olympius, who was prefect of the city during the tyranny of John, spent twelve centenarii of gold (£48,000). Before the taking of Rome, Symmachus the orator,⁠[433] a senator of moderate rank, and a certain Maximus, one of the wealthy citizens, spent twenty (£80,000) and forty (£160,000) centenarii respectively on their sons’ praetorships. The shows given by the praetors lasted a week.

The author says that the scene of the wanderings of Odysseus was not the coast of Sicily, but the farthest shores of Italy; that, after crossing the ocean, he descended into Hades and made many perilous voyages over that sea; an opinion which he attempts to confirm by various arguments. I have read many other writers who agree with him.

Placidia is sent back with her children from Constantinople by Theodosius to oppose the tyrant John. She is confirmed in her title of Augusta, and Valentinian in that of Nobilissimus. They set out accompanied by an army, both horse and foot, under the command of Ardaburius, his son Aspar,⁠[434] and Candidian.⁠[435] At Thessalonica Helion, the master of offices, who had been sent by Theodosius, put the royal robes on Valentinian, then only five years old. On his way home, Ardaburius is captured by the soldiers of John and taken to the tyrant, with whom he becomes on friendly terms.⁠[436] His son Aspar and Placidia were meanwhile overwhelmed by grief and anxiety; but Candidian, by capturing many towns and winning great renown, dispelled their grief and raised their spirits. The tyrant John was put to death, and Placidia with the Caesar her son entered Ravenna. Helion, the master of offices and a patrician, took possession of Rome, and in the midst of a vast throng of people arrayed the seven-year-old Valentinian in the royal robes. At this point the history ends.

LXXXI

Read three short treatises by Theodore⁠[437] On Persian Magic and wherein it differs from Christianity,⁠[438] dedicated to Mastubius, an Armenian and suffragan bishop. In the first book the accursed doctrine of the Persians, introduced by Zarades,⁠[439] concerning Zuruam,⁠[440] whom he makes the beginning of all things and calls Fortune, is expounded; how that, having offered a libation to beget Hormisdas,⁠[441] he begot both him and Satan. Of the mixing of blood.⁠[442] Having set forth this impious and disgraceful doctrine in plain words he refutes it in the first book. In the other two books he discusses the Christian faith, beginning from the creation of the world and at the same time rapidly going down to the law of grace.⁠[443]

This Theodore is believed to be Theodore of Mopsuestia, since he mentions with approval the heresy of Nestorius, especially in the third book. He also foolishly talks of the restoration of sinners to their former condition.

LXXXII

Read the History of the events that happened after the death of Alexander the Great, by Dexippus,⁠[444] in four books; also his Historical Epitome, a chronicle going down to the time of Claudius.⁠[445] Also read his Scythica, describing the wars between the Scythians⁠[446] and Romans and other things of note. His style is free from redundancies, massive,⁠[447] and dignified; he might be called a second Thucydides, although he writes more clearly. His characteristics are chiefly shown in his last-mentioned work.

In his record of events after the death of Alexander, he relates how the throne fell to his brother Arrhidaeus, the son of Philip of Macedon and Philinna of Larissa. The yet unborn child of Roxana by Alexander, should it be a son, was to be associated with him in the government, together with Perdiccas, who was chosen by the Macedonians to administer the affairs of the empire. The division of Alexander’s empire. In Asia, Ptolemy Lagus obtained the government of Egypt, Libya, and the country beyond adjacent to Egypt, Cleomenes, who had been appointed by Alexander satrap of this district, being made subordinate to him. Laomedon of Mytilene obtained Syria; Philotas Cilicia; Pithon Media; Eumenes Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, and the shores of the Euxine as far as Trapezus (Trebizond); Antigonus Pamphylia and Cilicia as far as Phrygia; Asander Caria; Menander Lydia; Leonnatus the Phrygian Hellespont. In Europe, Lysimachus obtained Thrace and the Chersonese; Antipater the whole of Macedonia, Greece, Illyria, the country of the Triballi and the Agrianes, and all the mainland over which he had been appointed sole commander from the time of Alexander. The general charge of affairs and the defence of the kingdom was entrusted to Craterus; Perdiccas obtained the chiliarchy⁠[448] of Hephaestion, the highest dignity amongst the Macedonians.

Porus and Taxilus were rulers of India, to Porus being allotted the country between the Indus and the Hydaspes, the rest to Taxilus. Pithon received the country of the neighbouring peoples, except the Paramisades. The districts near the Caucasian mountains, conterminous with India, were given to the Bactrian Oxyartes, the father of Roxana, whose son, born after his father’s death, was also called Alexander. Siburtius ruled the Arachosians and Gedrosians; Stasanor of Soli the Arei and Drangi; Philip the Sogdiani; Radaphernes the Hyrcanians; Neoptolemus the Carmanians; Peucestes the Persians. Oropius was ruler of Sogdiana, not by inheritance from his father, but by favour of Alexander. When in consequence of a revolt he was accused and threatened with the loss of his kingdom, he held it in conjunction with Philip. Babylon was given to Seleucus, Mesopotamia to Archelaus. Such were the countries and their rulers as distributed by Perdiccas after the death of Alexander. In this and other parts of his narrative Dexippus is generally in agreement with Arrian.⁠[449]

LXXXIII

Read the twenty books of the Histories of Dionysius of Halicarnassus.⁠[450] He begins with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy after the capture of Troy, describes in detail the foundation of Rome, the birth of Romulus and Remus, and other events down to the war of the Romans with Pyrrhus, king of Epirus. The work ends at the third year of the 128th Olympiad, where, the author says, the history by Polybius of Megalopolis begins. Dionysius flourished in the Augustan age, since he tells us that he sailed to Italy after the end of the civil war between Antony and Augustus, and lived there for twenty-two years. During this time he acquired an accurate knowledge of the Latin language and of Roman antiquities, and, having thoroughly equipped himself with materials, he began to write his history. His style and diction are marked by innovation, which drives the narrative out of the beaten track, but his fondness for detail produces a certain simplicity of sentiment, so that the language does not seem to be carried away into harshness and unpleasantness. He is fond of digressions which relieve the reader and prevent his becoming tired of history, and refresh and revive him. In a word, the elegance of his style, the admixture of detail and digression, soften the composition, which has a tendency to harshness.

LXXXIV

Also read the same author’s Synopsis of the above twenty books in five volumes. In this his style is more elegant but not nearly so agreeable; at the same time the work is more useful, since nothing is inserted except what is absolutely necessary. From his style, concise and free from redundancies, he may be described as a king laying down the law; his composition and diction send forth a sound which reaches the ears of the hearer somewhat more harshly. His manner is not unsuitable for synopsis, but by no means adapted for a perfect and complete history. It is evident that the writer lived before Dion Coccaeus⁠[451] and Appian⁠[452] of Alexandria, who also wrote on Roman history.

LXXXV

Read the twenty books of Heraclian,⁠[453] bishop of Chalcedon, Against the Manichaeans.⁠[454] His style is concise, free from redundancies, lofty, not wanting in clearness, at the same time tempered with dignity. He combines atticism with ordinary language, like a teacher of boys entering into a contest of superatticism. He refutes the Gospel, Book of the Giants, and the Treasures of the Manichaeans. He also gives a list of those who wrote against the Manichaean impiety before him—Hegemonius, who wrote out the disputation of Archelaus against Manes; Titus,⁠[455] who was supposed to be an opponent of the Manichaeans, whereas he rather attacked the writings of Addas;⁠[456] George of Laodicea,⁠[457] who uses nearly the same arguments as Titus against the impious heresy; Serapion, bishop of Thmuis;⁠[458] lastly, Diodorus,⁠[459] who wrote twenty-five books against the Manichaeans, in the first seven of which he imagines that he is refuting the Living Gospel of Manes, instead of the work of Addas named Modion,⁠[460] as is really the case. In the remaining books he explains and clears up the meaning of certain passages in the Scriptures which the Manichaeans were in the habit of appropriating to support their own views. Such is his account of Diodorus. Any statements in the works of these Fathers (as the pious Heraclian calls them) that do not appear to be sufficiently emphatic, he briefly confirms, carefully supplies what is missing, and quotes with approval in their entirety passages which are adequate for the purpose, adding further reflections of his own.

The man is full of philosophical vigour, and is admirably equipped with the theoretical knowledge of other branches of learning. Hence he energetically combats and overthrows the trifling fables of Manichaeus,⁠[461] and from the consideration of what exists refutes the fabulous nonsense about Being (that which is).

This treatise against the Manichaeans was written at the request of a certain Achillius, whom the author calls his faithful and beloved son. This Achillius, seeing that the Manichaean heresy was growing, begged that it might be publicly refuted, and this work was written, an unexceptionable triumph over impiety. This most pious Heraclian flourished in....

LXXXVI

Read the Letters written by the holy Father St. John Chrysostom to different people after his unjust and inhuman banishment. The most useful of them are the seventeen addressed to the pious deaconess Olympias,⁠[462] and those to Innocent,⁠[463] pope of Rome, in which he relates all that had happened to him, as far as he was able to do so in the form of letters. These letters are characteristic of the man. The style is brilliant, clear, persuasive, somewhat florid, and agreeable. The letters to Olympias, however, seem to have been written with greater care; the importance of the matters discussed, to which the epistolary style is not adapted, necessitates a corresponding dignity of composition.

LXXXVII

Read the Adventures of Clitophon and Leucippe by Achilles Tatius, of Alexandria,⁠[464] in eight books. It is a dramatic work, introducing some unseemly love episodes. The diction and composition are excellent, the style distinct, and the figures of speech, whenever they are employed, are well adapted to the purpose. The periods as a rule are aphoristic, clear and agreeable, and soothing to the ear. But the obscenity and impurity of sentiment impair his judgment, are prejudicial to seriousness, and make the story disgusting to read or something to be avoided altogether. Except for the names of the characters and his abominable indecency, the story, in method of treatment and invention, has a great resemblance to the Aethiopica of Heliodorus.

LXXXVIII

Read an account of the Proceedings of the Synod of Nicaea,⁠[465] in the form of a history, in three volumes. The author states that Hosius,⁠[466] bishop of Cordova, and Viton and Vincent, two Roman priests, were present as legates on the part of Silvester, pope of Rome,⁠[467] together with Eustathius,⁠[468] patriarch of Antioch, while Alexander the priest represented Metrophanes of Constantinople; Silvester, who was more than a hundred years old, in consequence of his great age was unable to be present. Alexander, bishop of Alexandria,⁠[469] also attended, together with Athanasius, who afterwards succeeded him in the episcopate, Macarius,⁠[470] bishop of Jerusalem, and a number of other bishops and priests. The synod was summoned in the sixteenth year of the reign of Constantine, and its proceedings lasted six years, until he had reigned twenty-one years and six months.

The author relates that Arius was condemned and anathematized, but again endeavoured to obtain admission to the Church, in which he was supported by Eusebius,⁠[471] bishop of Nicomedia, and Eutocius the Arian, an ordained priest, whom the emperor’s sister Constantia commended to her brother on her deathbed. Although these endeavoured to bring back Arius to the Church, divine justice did not permit its enemy to insult its temple and its shrine. He was condemned to die in the latrines on the very day when he and his supporters had resolved to profane the Church of God and His holy rites by his entrance. His death took place in a public place, the latrines being near the forum. The author states that Constantine the Great rejoiced that the incorruptible judge God had solved the question by his sentence, and wrote a number of letters, recording his opinion of the justice of the end that had overtaken Arius. In this the author’s account agrees with those of Athanasius the Great, Theodoret, and many others. Some, however, think that Arius came by his disgraceful end, not in the reign of Constantine, but in that of his son Constantius.

Such is the contents of this book. In another copy, containing the same account, the title gives the name of the author as Gelasius, bishop of Caesarea⁠[472] in Palestine. The style is mean and common. Who this Gelasius was, I have been unable to discover for certain, since up to the present I have met with three bishops of Caesarea named Gelasius, and have at least read the works of two. One of these works is a polemic Against the Anomoeans,⁠[473] the two others, one of which we have just referred to, deal with ecclesiastical matters. The title, where we have found it, is Three Books of Ecclesiastical History by Gelasius, Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine.

The work begins as follows: The proceedings of the holy, great, and universal synod of bishops, assembled, so to speak, from all the provinces of the Roman empire and Persia, and so on. It ends with the death of Constantine the Great, at the time when he received remission of sins by divine baptism, whereby the stains of guilt such as all men contract in life were washed off. The author says that he was baptized and initiated into the holy mysteries by an orthodox priest, not, as some state, by a heretic. His baptism was delayed, because he had earnestly desired to be baptized in the waters of Jordan. The writer states that he lived in the time of Basiliscus,⁠[474] who seized the throne after Zeno had been driven out, and that he found and read the account of the proceedings of the council written on an old parchment, while living in his father’s house. From his recollections of this, and with the aid of other writings which supplied him with useful information, he compiled his history. He also mentions and cites some passages from a certain Gelasius, whom he also calls Rufinus. He says that he was a native of Cyzicus, and that his father was a priest in the same place. So says the author of this work, and such is its contents.

LXXXIX

The other book, which I have referred to above, is entitled Preface of the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine to the Continuation of the History of Eusebius Pamphili. It begins as follows: Others who have applied themselves to writing and have determined to hand down to posterity a record of historical events, and so on. The author states that he was encouraged to write the work by his uncle Cyril,⁠[475] bishop of Jerusalem. I have read elsewhere that this Cyril and Gelasius translated the history of Rufinus⁠[476] the Roman into Greek, but did not compose any history of their own. It is evident that this Gelasius was older than the other, if he flourished in the time of Cyril of Jerusalem. He also certainly differs from him in the greater eloquence of his language, although both are inferior to the author of the treatise Against the Anomoeans, also called bishop of Palestine. For the latter Gelasius, by his diction, learning, and logical methods, his use of which, however, is somewhat inept, leaves the other two far behind, whose style appears to be much inferior. I have not yet been able to learn whether any of these is the author of the work referred to, or who compiled it and supplemented it by his own additions.

XC

Read two volumes of Libanius.⁠[477] The author’s imaginary speeches, written for the purpose of giving practice in oratory, are more useful than the rest. The excessive elaboration and over-nicety of the latter impair their native and so to say spontaneous grace and charm, and destroy their clearness. Much obscurity is also caused by parentheses, and sometimes by the omission of what is indispensable. In other respects he is a canon and model of Attic style. His letters also have a considerable reputation. Several other works of different kinds are also ascribed to him.

XCI

Read the History of the Reign of Alexander by Arrian⁠[478] in seven books. It relates how he made a treaty with the Athenians and the rest of the Greeks with the exception of the Lacedaemonians; how he crossed over into Asia and defeated the Persians in three battles. At the Granicus⁠[479] he routed the satraps of Darius, who had an army of 20,000 horse and almost as many infantry; at Issus⁠[480] he put Darius himself and his army to flight and captured his wife and children; at Arbela (or Gaugamela)⁠[481] Darius was finally defeated, and while trying to escape was seized and put to death by his own soldiers. Bessus, who succeeded him, was mutilated and slain by Alexander for his treason towards Darius. How Alexander was wounded seven times in battle and how he carried off the royal treasure at Pasargadae.⁠[482] Being persuaded that Philotas was conspiring against him, he put him to death with his father Parmenio. Alexander conquers Sogdiana⁠[483] and defeats the Asiatic Scythians. How Clitus was murdered by him in a fit of drunkenness; his remorse when he became sober. Conspiracy of the royal pages against Alexander and their punishment. The capture of the Sogdian rock and the wife of Oxyartes, the chief of the district, with his daughter Roxana, afterwards the lawful wife of Alexander. How Alexander set out from Bactria against the Indians, defeated them in several battles, and besieged and captured several of their cities. Storming of the rock of Aornus⁠[484] and invasion of the country of the Ascanians. Having bridged the Indus, Alexander crossed over, defeated Porus, king of India, in a single engagement and took him prisoner. He was generously treated by Alexander, who not only allowed him to keep his kingdom, but actually enlarged it. How the rivers of India, like the Nile, are swollen in summer, but subside in winter. There was also another Porus, an Indian ruler, a man of bad character, in pursuit of whom Alexander crossed the Hydaspes⁠[485] and subdued the neighbouring Indian tribes, took by siege their large and populous towns, and went on to the Hyphasis.⁠[486] While he was preparing to cross this river, the soldiers began to show signs of discontent, complaining of their toils and endless marches, in consequence of which Alexander left India. Here the fifth book ends.

In the sixth book, the numerous battles and brilliant victories of Alexander on his way home are related. In these engagements he received two wounds besides those already mentioned, and although the seventh wound seemed likely to prove fatal, he eventually recovered. He returned from India by land, Nearchus,⁠[487] with part of the army, being sent back by sea. Both divisions met in Carmania,⁠[488] whence Alexander marched into Persia, Nearchus being ordered to sail to Susiana⁠[489] and the mouth of the Tigris. The voyage of Nearchus is described by Arrian in his Indica, written in the Ionic dialect.

Alexander repairs the neglected tomb of Cyrus, and allows the gymnosophist⁠[490] Calanus, who was attacked by illness, to put himself to death on the funeral pile. His splendid marriages and those of his generals. His wives were Roxana, Arsinoë, the eldest daughter of Darius, and Parysatis, the youngest daughter of Ochus. Drypetis, another daughter of Darius, was given to Hephaestion; Amastrinē to Craterus; Artacana and Artonē, daughters of Artabazus, to Ptolemy and Eumenes; the daughter of Barsinē and Mentor to Nearchus; the daughter of Spitamenes to Seleucus. The rest of his friends received in marriage the daughters of the most distinguished Medians and Persians, to the number of eighty. The discharged Macedonian soldiers were sent home, Antipater being ordered to bring back some of the new levies in their place. Harpalus⁠[491] takes to flight with a large sum of money from the treasury. The death of Hephaestion and the great grief of Alexander; his splendid funeral obsequies. At the same time ambassadors arrived from Libya and Carthage, and even from Italy, to Alexander, who, when he saw the Italians, predicted the future greatness of their country. When he wished to advance to Babylon, the seers foretold his death, and when an unknown person unexpectedly sat down on his throne, his end was regarded as still more certain. Nevertheless, he equipped a fleet to operate against the numerous Arabian tribes who believed in only two gods, Uranus and Dionysus. While preparations were being made he was seized with illness and died. Many contradictory stories are told of his death. He lived thirty-two years and eight months, and reigned twelve years and eight months. Arrian extols him as possessed of almost every virtue. The seventh book ends here, being continued by the Indica, in one book.

XCII

The same author also wrote an account of what took place after Alexander’s death, in ten books.⁠[492] He describes the sedition in the army, the proclamation of Arrhidaeus (the son of Alexander’s father, Philip, by a Thracian woman named Philinna) on condition that Roxana’s child, when born, if it were a son, should share the throne with him. Arrhidaeus was then again proclaimed under the name of Philip. A quarrel broke out between the infantry and the cavalry. The chief and most influential commanders of the latter were Perdiccas the son of Orontes, Leonnatus the son of Anthes, Ptolemy the son of Lagus, Lysimachus the son of Agathocles, Aristonus the son of Pisaeus, Pithon the son of Crateuas, Seleucus the son of Antiochus, and Eumenes of Cardia. Meleager was in command of the infantry. Communications passed between them, and at length it was agreed between the infantry, who had already chosen a king, and the cavalry, that Antipater should be general of the forces in Europe; that Craterus should look after the kingdom of Arrhidaeus; that Perdiccas should be chiliarch⁠[493] of the troops which had been under the command of Hephaestion, which amounted to entrusting him with the care of the whole empire; and that Meleager should be his lieutenant. Perdiccas, under the pretence of reviewing the army, seized the ringleaders of the disturbance, and put them to death in the presence of Arrhidaeus, as if he had ordered it. This struck terror into the rest, and Meleager was soon afterwards murdered. After this Perdiccas became the object of general suspicion and himself suspected everybody. Nevertheless, he made appointments to the governorships of the different provinces, as if Arrhidaeus had ordered him. Ptolemy, son of Lagus, was appointed governor of Egypt and Libya, and of that part of Arabia that borders upon Egypt, with Cleomenes, formerly governor of Egypt under Alexander, as his deputy. The part of Syria adjacent was given to Laomedon; Cilicia to Philotas; Media to Pithon; Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, and the country on the shore of the Euxine as far as Trapezus (a Greek colony from Sinope), to Eumenes of Cardia; Pamphylia, Lycia, and greater Phrygia to Antigonus; Caria to Cassander; Lydia to Menander; Phrygia on the Hellespont to Leonnatus. This Phrygia had formerly been given by Alexander to a certain Calas and subsequently handed over to Demarchus. Such was the distribution of Asia.

In Europe, Thrace and the Chersonese, together with the countries bordering on Thrace as far as Salmydessus on the Euxine, were given to Lysimachus; the country beyond Thrace, as far as the Illyrians, Triballians, and Agrianians, Macedonia itself, and Epirus as far as the Ceraunian mountains, together with the whole of Greece, to Craterus and Antipater. Such was the division of Europe. At the same time several provinces remained under their native rulers, according to the arrangement made by Alexander, and were not affected by the distribution.

Meanwhile, Roxana bore a son, who was immediately acclaimed king by the soldiers. After the death of Alexander there were numerous disturbances. Antipater carried on war against the Athenians and the rest of the Greeks commanded by Leosthenes. He was at first defeated and in great straits, but was subsequently victorious. Leonnatus, however, who came to his assistance, fell in battle. Lysimachus also, recklessly fighting against Seuthes the Thracian with an inferior force, was defeated, although his troops greatly distinguished themselves. Perdiccas also made war upon Ariarathes, king of Cappadocia, because he refused to give up his kingdom to Eumenes, upon whom it had been bestowed. Having defeated him in two battles and taken him prisoner, he hanged him and reinstated Eumenes. Craterus, by the assistance he rendered to Antipater against the Greeks, chiefly contributed to their defeat, after which they unhesitatingly obeyed Craterus and Antipater. This is the contents of the first five books.