with food and medicines; and the aged prelate repeated his visits, both in the day and night, with an assiduity that surpassed his strength, and a tender sympathy which enhanced the value of his services. Compare this scene with the field of Cannæ; and judge between Hannibal and the successor of St. Cyprian.'

The deaths of Etius and Valentinian had reThe emperor Avitus. laxed the ties which held the barbarians of Gaul in peace and subordination. The sea-coast was infested by the Saxons; the Alemanni and the Franks advanced from the Rhine to the Seine; and the

A. D. 455, July 10. ambition of the Goths seemed to meditate more extensive and permanent conquests. The emperor Maximus relieved himself, by a judicious choice, from the weight of these distant cares; he silenced the solicitations of his friends, listened to the voice of fame, and promoted a stranger to the general command of the forces in Gaul. Avitus," the stranger, whose merit was şo nobly rewarded, descended from a wealthy and honourable family in the diocess of Auvergne. The convulsions of the times urged him to embrace, with the same ardour, the civil and military professions; and the indefatigable youth blended the studies of literature and jurisprudence with the exercise of arms and hunting. Thirty years of his life were laudably spent in the public service; he alternately displayed his talents in war and negotiation; and the soldiers of Ætius, after executing the most important embassies, was raised to the station of prætorian prefect of Gaul. Either the merit of Avitus excited envy, or his moderation was desirous of repose, since he calmly retired to an estate, which he possessed in the neighbourhood of Clermont.

1 The general evidence for the death of Maximus, and the sack of Rome by the Vandals, is comprised in Sidonius, (Panegyr. Avit. 441-450.) Procopius, (de Bell. Vandal. lib. 1. c. 4, 5. p. 188, 189. and lib. 2. c. 9. p. 255.) Evagrius, (lib 2. c. 7.) Jornandes, (de Reb. Geticis, c. 45. p. 677.) and Chronicles of Idatius, Prosper, Marcellinus, and Theophanes, under the proper year.

m The private life and elevation of Avitus must be deduced, with becoming suspicion, from the panegyric pronounced by Sidonius Apollinaris, his subject, and his son-in-law.

A copious stream, issuing from the mountain, and falling headlong in many a loud and foaming cascade, discharged its waters into a lake about two miles in length, and the villa was pleasantly seated on the margin of the lake. The baths, the porticos, the summer and winter apartments, were adapted to the purposes of luxury and use; and the adjacent country afforded the various prospects of woods, pastures, and meadows." In this retreat where Avitus amused his leisure with books, rural sports, the practice of husbandry, and the society of his friends, he received the imperial diploma, which constituted him master-general of the cavalry and infantry of Gaul. He assumed the military command; the barbarians suspended their fury; and whatever means he might employ, whatever concessions he might be forced to make, the people enjoyed the benefits of actual tranquillity. But the fate of Gaul depended on the Visigoths; and the Roman general, less attentive to his dignity than to the public interest, did not disdain to visit Thoulouse in the character of an ambassador. He was received with courteous hospitality by Theodcric, the king of the Goths; but while Avitus laid the foundation of a solid alliance with that powerful nation, he was astonished by the intelligence, that the emperor Maximus was slain, and that Rome had been pillaged by the Vandals. A vacant throne, which he might ascend without guilt or danger, tempted his ambition; and the Visigoths were easily persuaded to sup

" After the example of the younger Pliny, Sidonius (lib. 2. c. 2.) has laboured the florid, prolix, and obscure description of his villa, which bore the name, (Avitacum) and bad been the property, of Avitus. The precise situation is not ascer tained. Consult however the notes of Savaron and Sirmond.

• Sidonius (lib. 2. epist. 9.) has described the country life of the Gallic nobles, in a visit which he made to his friends, whose estates were in the neighbourhood of Nismes. The morning-hours were spent in the spharisterium, or tennis-court; or in the library, which was furnished with Latin authors, profane and religious; the former for the men, the latter for the ladies. The table was twice served, at dinner and supper, with hot meat (boiled and roast) and wine. During the intermediate time, the company slept, took the air on horseback, and used the warm bath.

P Seventy lines of panegyric, (505–575.) which describe the importunity of Theodoric and of Gaul, struggling to overcome the modest reluctance of Avitus, are blown away by three words of an honest historian,-Romanum ambisset imperium. (Greg. Turon. lib. 2. c. 11. in tom. 2. p. 168.)

A. D. 455.

port his claim by their irresistible suffrage. They loved the of Avitus: they respected his virtues; person Aug. 15. and they were not insensible of the advantage, as well as honour, of giving an emperor to the west. The season was now approaching, in which the annual assembly of the seven provinces was held at Arles: their deliberations might perhaps be influenced by the presence of Theodoric and his martial brothers; but their choice would naturally incline to the most illustrious of their countrymen. Avitus, after a decent resistance, accepted the imperial diadem from the representatives of Gaul; and his election was ratified by the acclamations of the barbarians and provincials. The formal consent of Marcian, emperor of the east, was solicited and obtained: but the senate, Rome, and Italy, though humbled by their recent calamities, submitted with a secret murmur to the presumption of the Gallic usurper.

Character

ric, king

Theodoric, to whom Avitus was indebted for of Theodo-the purple, had acquired the Gothic sceptre by of the the murder of his elder brother Torismond; and Visigoths. A.D. 453 he justified this atrocious deed by the design -466. which his predecessor had formed of violating his alliance with the empire. Such a crime might not be incompatible with the virtues of a barbarian; but the manners of Theodoric were gentle and humane; and posterity may contemplate without terror the original picture of a Gothic king, whom Sidonius had intimately observed, in the hours of peace and of social intercourse. In an epistle, dated from the court of Thoulouse, the orator satisfies the curiosity of one of his friends, in the following description:"-" By the majesty of his appearance, Theodoric would command the respect of those

Isidore, archbishop of Seville, who was himself of the blood-royal of the Goths, acknowledges, and almost justifies, (Hist. Goth. p. 718.) the crime which their slave Jornandes had basely dissembled. (c. 43. p. 673.)

This elaborate description (lib. 1. ep. 2. p. 2-7.) was dictated by some political motive. It was designed for the public eye, and had been shewn by the friends of Sidonius, before it was inserted in the collection of his epistles. The first book was published separately. See Tillemont, Memoires Eccles. tom. 16. p. 264.

who are ignorant of his merit; and, although he is born a prince, his merit would dignify a private station. He is of a middle stature, his body appears rather plump than fat, and in his well-proportioned limbs, agility is united with muscular strength. If you examine his countenance, you will distinguish a high forehead, large shaggy eye-brows, an aquiline nose, thin lips, a regular set of white teeth, and a fair complexion, that blushes more frequently from modesty than from anger. The ordinary distribution of his time, as far as it is exposed to public view, may be concisely represented. Before day-break he repairs, with a small train, to his domestic chapel, where the service is performed by the Arian clergy; but those who presume to interpret his secret sentiments, consider this assiduous devotion as the effect of habit and policy. The rest of the morning is employed in the administration of his kingdom. His chair is surrounded by some military officers of decent aspect and behaviour: the noisy crowd of his barbarian guards occupies the hall of audience; but they are not permitted to stand within the veils, or curtains, that conceal the council-chamber from vulgar eyes. The ambassadors of the nations are successively introduced: Theodoric listens with attention, answers them with discreet brevity, and either announces or delays, according to the nature of their business, his final resolution. About eight (the second hour) he rises from his throne, and visits either his treasury or his stables. If he chooses to hunt, or at least exercise himself on horseback, his bow is carried by a favourite youth; but when the game is marked, he bends it with his own hand, and seldom misses the object of his aim: as a king, he disdains to bear arms in such ignoble warfare; but, as a soldier, he would blush to accept any military service which he

I have suppressed, in this portrait of Theodoric, several minute circumstances and technical phrases, which could be tolerable, or indeed intelligible, to those only, who, like the contemporaries of Sidonius, had frequented the markets where naked slaves were exposed to sale. (Dubos, Hist. Critique, tom. 1. p. 404.).

The gold or silver

could perform himself. On common days, his dinner is not different from the repast of a private citizen; but every Saturday, many honourable guests are invited to the royal table, which, on these occasions, is served with the elegance of Greece, the plenty of Gaul, and the order and diligence of Italy. plate is less remarkable for its weight, than for the brightness and curious workmanship; the taste is gratified without the help of foreign or costly luxury; the size and number of the cups of wine are regulated with a strict regard to the laws of temperance; and the respectful silence that prevails, is interrupted only by grave and instructive conversation. After dinner, Theodoric sometimes indulges himself in a short slumber; and as soon as he wakes, he calls for the dice and tables, encourages his friends to forget the royal majesty, and, is delighted when they freely express the passions, which are excited by the incidents of play. At this game, which he loves as the image of war, he alternately displays his eagerness, his skill, his patience, and his cheerful temper. If he loses, he laughs; he is modest and silent, if he wins. Yet, notwithstanding this seeming indifference, his courtiers choose to solicit any favour in the moments of victory; and I myself, in my applications to the king, have derived some benefit from my losses." About the ninth hour (three o'clock) the tide of business again returns, and flows incessantly till after sunset, when the signal of the royal supper dismisses the weary crowd of suppliants and pleaders. At the supper, a more familiar repast, buffoons and pantomimes are sometimes introduced to divert, not to offend, the company, by their ridiculous wit: but the female singers, and the soft effeminate modes of music, are severely banished, and such martial tunes as ani

t Videas ibi elegantiam Græcam, abundantiam Gallicanam, celeritatem Italam; publicam pompam, privatam diligentiam, regiam disciplinam.

"Tunc etiam ego aliquid obsecraturus feliciter vincor, et mihi tabula perit ut causa salvetur. Sidonius of Auvergne was not a subject of Theodoric; but he might be compelled to solicit either justice or favour at the court of Thoulouse.