The patrician
Orestes,

caped to his ships, and retired to his Dalmatian principality, on the opposite coast of the Hadriatic. By this shameful abdication, he protracted his life about five years, in a very ambiguous state, between an emperor and an exile, till he was assassinated at Salona by the ungrateful Glycerius, who was translated, perhaps as the reward of his crime, to the archbishopric of Milan (116).

The nations, who had asserted their independence after the death A. D. 475. of Attila, were established, by the right of possession or conquest, in the boundless countries to the north of the Danube; or in the Roman provinces between the river and the Alps. But the bravest of their youth enlisted in the army of confederates, who formed the defence and the terror of Italy (117); and in this promiscuous multitude, the names of the Heruli, the Scyrri, the Alani, the Turcilingi, and the Rugians, appear to have predominated. The example of these warriors was imitated by Orestes (118), the son of Tatullus, and the father of the last Roman emperor of the West. Orestes, who has been already mentioned in this history, had never deserted his country. His birth and fortunes rendered him one of the most illustrious subjects of Pannonia. When that province was ceded to the Huns, he entered into the service of Attila, his lawful sovereign, obtained the office of his secretary, and was repeatedly sent ambassador to Constantinople, to represent the person, and signify the commands, of the imperious monarch. The death of that conqueror restored him to his freedom; and Orestes might honourably refuse either to follow the sons of Attila into the Scythian desert, or to obey the Ostrogoths, who had usurped the dominion of Pannonia. He preferred the service of the Italian princes, the successors of Valentinian; and, as he possessed the qualifications of courage, industry, and experience, he advanced with rapid steps in the military profession, till he was elevated, by the favour of Nepos himself, to the dignities of patrician, and master-general of the troops. These troops had been long accustomed to reverence the character and authority of Orestes, who affected their manners, conversed with them in their own language, and was intimately connected with their national chieftains, by long habits of familiarity and friendship. At his solicitation they rose in arms against the obscure Greek, who presumed to claim their obedience; and when Orestes, from some secret motive, declined the purple, they consented, with the same facility, to acknowledge his

(116) Malchus, apud Phot. p. 172. Ennod. Epigram. lxxxii. in Sirmond Oper. tom. i. p. 1879. Some doubt may however be raised on the identity of the emperor and the archbishop.

(117) Our knowledge of these mercenaries, who subverted the Western empire, is derived from Procopius (de Bell. Gothico, l. i. c. i. p. 308.). The popular opinion, and the recent historians, represent Odoacer in the false light of a stranger, and a king, who invaded Italy with an army of foreigners, his native subjects.

(118) Orestes, qui eo tempore quando Attila ad Italiam venit, se illi junxit, et ejus notarius factus fuerat. Anonym. Vales. p. 716. He is mistaken in the date; but we may credit his assertion, that the secretary of Attila was the father of Augustulus.

that

son Augustulus, as the emperor of the West. By the abdication of
Nepos, Orestes had now attained the summit of his ambitious
hopes; but he soon discovered, before the end of the first year,
the lessons of perjury and ingratitude, which a rebel must incul-
cate, will be retorted against himself; and that the precarious sove-
reign of Italy was only permitted to choose, whether he would be
the slave, or the victim, of his Barbarian mercenaries. The dan-
gerous alliance of these strangers had oppressed and insulted the
last remains of Roman freedom and dignity. At each revolution,
their pay and privileges were augmented; but their insolence in-
creased in a still more extravagant degree; they envied the fortune
of their brethren in Gaul, Spain, and Africa, whose victorious arms
had acquired an independent and perpetual inheritance; and they
insisted on their peremptory demand, that a third part of the lands
of Italy should be immediately divided among them. Orestes,
with a spirit, which, in another situation, might be entitled to our
esteem, chose rather to encounter the rage of an armed multitude,
than to subscribe the ruin of an innocent people. He rejected the
audacious demand; and his refusal was favourable to the ambition
of Odoacer; a bold Barbarian, who assured his fellow-soldiers, that,
if they dared to associate under his command, they might soon ex-
tort the justice which had been denied to their dutiful petitions.
From all the camps and garrisons of Italy, the confederates, ac-
tuated by the same resentment and the same hopes, impatiently
flocked to the standard of this popular leader; and the unfortunate
patrician, overwhelmed by the torrent, hastily retreated to the
strong city of Pavia, the episcopal seat of the holy Epiphanius.
Pavia was immediately besieged, the fortifications were stormed,
the town was pillaged; and although the bishop might labour, with
much zeal and some success, to save the property of the church,
and the chastity of female captives, the tumult could only be ap-
peased by the execution of Orestes (119). His brother Paul was
slain in an action near Ravenna; and the helpless Augustulus, who
could no longer command the respect, was reduced to implore the
clemency, of Odoacer.

That successful Barbarian was the son of Edecon; who, in some remarkable transactions, particularly described in a preceding chapter, had been the colleague of Orestes himself.* The honour of an ambassador should be exempt from suspicion; and Edecon had listened to a conspiracy against the life of his sovereign. But

(119) See Ennodius (in Vit. Epiphan. Sirmond, tom. i. p. 1669, 1670.). He adds weight to the narrative of Procopius, though we may doubt whether the devil actually contrived the siege of Pavia, to distress the bishop and his flock.

* Manso observes that the evidence which des Ost-Gothischen Reiches. p. 32. But St. Maridentifies Edecon, the father of Odoacer, with the tin inclines to agree with Gibbon, note, vi. 75. colleague of Orestes, is not conclusive. Geschichte

M.

His son Augustulus, the last

emperor of

the West,

A. D. 476,

this apparent guilt was expiated by his merit or repentance: his rank was eminent and conspicuous; he enjoyed the favour of Attila; and the troops under his command, who guarded, in their turn, the royal village, consisted of a tribe of Scyrri, his immediate and hereditary subjects. In the revolt of the nations, they still adhered to the Huns; and, more than twelve years afterwards, the name of Edecon is honourably mentioned, in their unequal contest with the Ostrogoths; which was terminated, after two bloody battles, by the defeat and dispersion of the Scyrri (120). Their gallant leader, who did not survive this national calamity, left two sons, Onulf and Odoacer, to struggle with adversity, and to maintain as they might, by rapine or service, the faithful followers of their exile. Onulf directed his steps toward Constantinople, where he sullied, by the assassination of a generous benefactor, the fame which he had acquired in arms. His brother Odoacer led a wandering life among the Barbarians of Noricum, with a mind and a fortune suited to the most desperate adventures; and when he had fixed his choice, he piously visited the cell of Severinus, the popular saint of the country, to solicit his approbation and blessing. The lowness of the door would not admit the lofty stature of Odoacer: he was obliged to stoop; but in that humble attitude the saint could discern the symptoms of his future greatness; and addressing him in a prophetic tone, "Pursue", said he, " your design; proceed to Italy; your "will soon cast away this coarse garment of skins; and your "wealth will be adequate to the liberality of your mind (121).” The Barbarian, whose daring spirit accepted and ratified the prediction, was admitted into the service of the Western empire, and soon obtained an honourable rank in the guards. His manners were gradually polished, his military skill was improved, and the confederates of Italy would not have elected him for their general, unless the exploits of Odoacer had established a high opinion of his courage and capacity (122). Their military acclamations saluted him with the title of king: but he abstained, during his whole reign, from the use of the purple and diadem (123), lest he should

(120) Jornandes, c. 53, 54. p. 692-695. M. de Buat (Hist. des Peuples de l'Europe, tom. viii. p. 221-228.) has clearly explained the origin and adventures of Odoacer. I am almost inclined to believe that he was the same who pillaged Angers, and commanded a fleet of Saxon pirates on the Ocean. Greg. Turon. l. ii. c. 18. in tom. ii. p. 170.*

(121) Vade ad Italiam, vade vilissimis nunc pellibus coopertus: sed multis cito plurima largiturus. Anonym. Vales. p. 717. He quotes the life of St. Severinus, which is extant, and contains much unknown and valuable history; it was composed by his disciple Eugippius (A. D. 511.), thirty years after his death. See Tillemont, Mém. Ecclés. tom. xvi. p. 168-181.

(122) Theophanes, who calls him a Goth, affirms, that he was educated, nursed (rpayévtos), in Italy (p. 102.); and as this strong expression will not bear a literal interpretation, it must be explained by long service in the Imperial guards.

(123) Nomen regis Odoacer assumpsit, cum tamen neque purpura nec regalibus uteretur insigni

* According to St. Martin there is no foundation for this conjecture, vii. 75. — M.

offend those princes, whose subjects, by their accidental mixture, had formed the victorious army, which time and policy might insensibly unite into a great nation.

the Western

empire,

A. D. 476,

or

Royalty was familiar to the Barbarians, and the submissive people Extinction of of Italy was prepared to obey, without a murmur, the authority which he should condescend to exercise as the vicegerent of the emperor of the West. But Odoacer had resolved to abolish that A. D. 479. useless and expensive office; and such is the weight of antique prejudice, that it required some boldness and penetration to discover the extreme facility of the enterprise. The unfortunate Augustulus was made the instrument of his own disgrace: he signified his resignation to the senate; and that assembly, in their last act of obedience to a Roman prince, still affected the spirit of freedom, and the forms of the constitution. An epistle was addressed, by their unanimous decree, to the emperor Zeno, the son-in-law and successor of Leo; who had lately been restored, after a short rebellion, to the Byzantine throne. They solemnly "disclaim the ne"cessity, or even the wish, of continuing any longer the Imperial "succession in Italy; since, in their opinion, the majesty of a sole "monarch is sufficient to pervade and protect, at the same time, "both the East and the West. In their own name, and in the 66 name of the people, they consent that the seat of universal empire "shall be transferred from Rome to Constantinople; and they "basely renounce the right of choosing their master, the only vestige "that yet remained of the authority which had given laws to the "world. The republic (they repeat that name without a blush) "might safely confide in the civil and military virtues of Odoacer; "and they humbly request, that the emperor would invest him "with the title of Patrician, and the administration of the diocese "of Italy." The deputies of the senate were received at Constantinople with some marks of displeasure and indignation; and when they were admitted to the audience of Zeno, he sternly reproached them with their treatment of the two emperors, Anthemius and Nepos, whom the East had successively granted to the prayers of Italy. "The first," continued he, "you murdered; the second you have expelled: but the second is still alive, and whilst he lives he is your lawful sovereign." But the prudent Zeno soon deserted the hopeless cause of his abdicated colleague. His vanity was gratified by the title of sole emperor, and by the statues erected to his honour in the several quarters of Rome; he entertained a friendly, though ambiguous, correspondence with the patrician

66

bus. Cassiodor. in Chron. A. D. 476. He seems to have assumed the abstract title of a king, without applying it to any particular nation or country.*

* Manso observes that Odoacer never called and no coins are extant with his name. Geschichte himself king of Italy, did not assume the purple, Ost. Goth. Reiches, p. 36. ---- M.

banished to

villa.

Odoacer; and he gratefully accepted the Imperial ensigns, the sacred ornaments of the throne and palace; which the Barbarian was not unwilling to remove from the sight of the people (124).

Augustulus is In the space of twenty years since the death of Valentinian, nine the Lucullan emperors had successively disappeared; and the son of Orestes, a youth recommended only by his beauty, would be the least entitled to the notice of posterity, if his reign, which was marked by the extinction of the Roman empire in the West, did not leave a memorable era in the history of mankind (125). The patrician Orestes had married the daughter of count Romulus, of Petovio in Noricum: the name of Augustus, notwithstanding the jealousy of power, was known at Aquileia as a familiar surname; and the appellations of the two great founders, of the city and of the monarchy, were thus strangely united in the last of their successors (126). The son of Orestes assumed and disgraced the names of Romulus Augustus; but the first was corrupted into Momyllus by the Greeks, and the second has been changed by the Latins into the contemptible diminutive Augustulus. The life of this inoffensive youth was spared by the generous clemency of Odoacer; who dismissed him, ' with his whole family, from the Imperial palace, fixed his annual allowance at six thousand pieces of gold, and assigned the castle of Lucullus, in Campania, for the place of his exile or retirement (127). As soon as the Romans breathed from the toils of the Punic war, they were attracted by the beauties and the pleasures of Campania; and the country-house of the elder Scipio at Liternum exhibited a lasting model of their rustic simplicity (128). The delicious shores of the bay of Naples were crowded with villas; and Sylla applauded the masterly skill of his rival, who had seated himself on the lofty promontory of Misenum, that commands, on every side, the sea and land, as far as the boundaries of the horizon (129). The villa of

(124) Malchus, whose loss excites our regret, has preserved (in Excerpt. Legat. p. 93.) this extraordinary embassy from the senate to Zeno. The anonymous fragment (p. 717.), and the extract from Candidus (apud Phot. p. 176.), are likewise of some use.

(125) The precise year in which the Western empire was extinguished, is not positively ascertained. The vulgar era of A. D. 476 appears to have the sanction of authentic chronicles. But the two dates assigned by Jornandes (c. 46. p. 680.), would delay that great event to the year 479: and though M. de Buat has overlooked his evidence, he produces (tom. viii. p. 261-288.) many collateral circumstances in support of the same opinion.

(126) See his medals in Ducange (Fam. Byzantin. p. 81.), Priscus (Excerpt. Legat. p. 56.), Maffei (Osservazioni Letterarie, tom. ii. p. 314.). We may allege a famous and similar case. The meanest subjects of the Roman empire assumed the illustrious name of Patricius, which, by the conversion of Ireland, has been communicated to a whole nation.

(127) Ingrediens autem Ravennam deposuit Augustulum de regno, cujus infantiam misertus concessit ei sanguinem ; et quia pulcher erat, tamen donavit ei reditum sex millia solidos, et misit eum intra Campaniam cum parentibus suis libere vivere. Anonym. Vales. p. 716. Jornandes says (c. 46. p. 680.), in Lucullano Campaniæ castello exilii pœna damnavit.

(128) See the eloquent Declamation of Seneca (Epist. lxxxvi.). The philosopher might have recollected, that all luxury is relative; and that the elder Scipio, whose manners were polished by study and conversation, was himself accused of that vice by his ruder contemporaries (Livy, xxix. 19.). (129) Sylla, in the language of a soldier, praised his peritia castrametandi (Plin. Hist. Natur. xviii. 7.). Phædrus, who makes its shady walks (læta viridia) the scene of an insipid fable (ii. 5.), has thus described the situation:

Cæsar Tiberius quum petens Neapolim,