XXX. in the neighbourhood of Pollentia, was thrown CHA P. into confufion by the fudden and impetuous charge of the Imperial cavalry; but, in a few moments, the undaunted genius of their leader gave them an order, and a field, of battle; and as foon as they had recovered from their astonishment, the pious confidence, that the God of the Chriftians would affert their caufe, added new ftrength to their native valour. In this engagement, which was long maintained with equal courage and fuccefs, the chief of the Alani, whose diminutive and favage form concealed a magnanimous foul, approved his fufpected loyalty, by the zeal with which he fought, and fell, in the fervice of the republic; and the fame of this gallant Barbarian has been imperfectly preferved in the verses of Claudian, fince the poet, who celebrates his virtue, has omitted the mention of his name. His death was followed by the flight and difmay of the fquadrons which he commanded; and the defeat of the wing of cavalry might have decided the victory of Alaric, if Stilicho had not immediately led the Roman and Barbarian infantry to the attack. The skill of the general, and the bravery of the foldiers, furmounted every obstacle. In the evening of the bloody day, the Goths retreated from the field of battle; the intrenchments of their camp were forced, and the scene of rapine and flaughter made fome atone 44 The veftiges of Pollentia are twenty five miles to the fouth-eaft of Turin. Urbs, in the fame neighbourhood, was a royal chace of the kings of Lombardy, and a small river, which excufed the prediction," penetrabis ad urbem." (Cluver. Ital. Antiq. tom. i. P. 83-85.) XXX. 47 4 CHAP. ment for the calamities which they had inflicted on the fubjects of the empire". The magnificent fpoils of Corinth and Argos enriched the veterans of the Weft; the captive wife of Alaric, who had impatiently claimed his promife of Roman jewels and Patrician handmaids 6, was reduced to implore the merey of the infulting foe; and many. thousand prifoners, released from the Gothic chains, difperfed through the provinces of Italy the praises of their heroic deliverer. The triumph of Stilicho was compared by the poet, and perhaps by the public, to that of Marius; who, in the fame part of Italy, had encountered and deftroyed another army of northern Barbarians. The huge bones, and the empty helmets, of the Cimbri and of the Goths, would easily be confounded by fucceeding generations; and pofterity might erect a common trophy to the memory of the two moft illuftrious generals who had vanquifhed, on the fame memorable ground, the two moft formidable enemies of Rome 48. The 45 Orofius wifhes, in doubtful words, to infinuate the defeat of the Romans. "Pugnantes vicimus, victores vic&ti fumus." Profper (in Chron.) makes it an equal and bloody battle, but the Gothic writers, Caffiodorius (in Chron.) and Jornandes (de Reb. Get. c. 29.) claim a decifive victory. 4 Demens Aufonidum gemmata monilia matrum, De Bell. Get. 627. 47 Claudian (de Bell. Get. 580-647.) and Prudentius (in Symmach. 1. ii. 694-719.) celebrate, without ambiguity, the Roman victory of Pollentia. They are poetical and party writers; yet fore credit is due to the most fufpicious witneffes, who are checked by the recent notoriety of facts. 48 Claudian's peroration is ftrong and elegant; but the identity of the Cimbric and Gothic fields, must be understood (like Virgil's Philippi, XXX. Boldnef's and retreat The eloquence of Claudian has celebrated, CHAP. with lavish applause, the victory of Pollentia, one of the most glorious days in the life of his patron; but his reluctant and partial muse bestows more of Alaric. genuine praise on the character of the Gothic king. His name is indeed branded with the reproachful epithets of pirate and robber, to which the conquerors of every age are fo juftly entitled; but the poet of Stilicho is compelled to acknowledge, that Alaric poffeffed the invincible temper of mind, which rifes fuperior to every misfortune, and derives new refources from adverfity. After the total defeat of his infantry, he efcaped, or rather withdrew, from the field of battle, with the greatest part of his cavalry entire and unbroken. Without wafting a moment to lament the irreparable lofs of fo many brave companions, he left his victorious enemy to bind in chains the captive images of a Gothic king "; and boldly refolved to break through the unguarded paffes of the Apennine, to fpread defolation over the fruitful face of Tuscany, and to conquer or die before the 50 Philippi, Georgic i. 490.) according to the loofe geography of a poet. Vercellæ and Pollentia are fixty miles from each other; and the latitude is ftill greater, if the Cimbri were defeated in the wide and barren plain of Verona (Maffei, Verona Illuftrata, P. i. P. 5462.). 49 Claudian and Prudentius must be strictly examined, to reduce the figures, and extort the historic fenfe of those poets. 50 Et gravant en airain ses frêles avantages De mes etats conquis enchainer les images. The practice of expofing in triumph the images of kings and provinces, was familiar to the Romans. The buft of Mithridates himfelf was twelve feet high, of maffy gold (Freinfhem. Supplement Livian. ciii. 47.). gates С НА Р. gates of Rome. XXX. unfufpecting provinces of Gaul. Ignorant of the CHAP. treafon, which had already betrayed his bold and judicious enterprife, he advanced towards the paffes of the mountains, already poffeffed by the Imperial troops; where he was expofed, almost at the fame inftant, to a general attack in the front, on his flanks, and in the rear. In this bloody action, at a small distance from the walls of Verona, the lofs of the Goths was not lefs heavy than that which they had fuftained in the defeat of Pollentia; and their valiant king, who efcaped by the fwiftnefs of his horse, must either have been flain or made prifoner, if the hafty rashness of the Alani had not difappointed the measures of the Roman general. Alaric fecured the remains of his army on the adjacent rocks; and prepared himself, with undaunted resolution, to maintain a fiege against the fuperior numbers of the enemy, who invefted him on all fides. But he could not oppofe the deftructive progrefs of hunger and disease; nor was it poffible for him to check the continual defertion of his impatient and capricious Barbarians. In this extremity he ftill found resources in his own courage, or in the moderation of his adverfary; and the retreat of the Gothic king was confidered as the deliverance of Italy. Yet the people, and even the clergy, incapable of forming any rational judgment of the bufinefs of peace and war, prefumed to arraign the policy of Stilicho, who fo often vanquished, so often furrounded, and so often 51 The Getic war and the fixth confulship of Honorius, obfcurely connect the events of Alaric's retreat and loffes. ་་ 1 difmiffed |