spring, by the fall of rains, or by the melting of the snows, are commonly swelled into broad and impetuous torrents. But the season happened to be remarkably dry; and the Goths could traverse, without impediment, the wide and stony beds, whose centre was faintly marked by the course of a shallow stream. The bridge and passage of the Addua were secured by a strong detachment of the Gothic army; and as Alaric approached the walls, or rather the suburbs, of Milan, he enjoyed the proud satisfaction of seeing the emperor of the Romans fly before him. Honorius, accompanied by a feeble train of statesmen and eunuchs, hastily retreated towards the Alps, with a design of securing his person in the city of Arles, which had often been the royal residence of his predecessors. But Honorius had scarcely passed the Po, before he was overtaken by the speed of the Gothic cavalry; since the urgency of the danger compelled him to seek a temporary shelter within the fortification of Asta, a town of Liguria or Piedmont, situate on the banks of the Tanarus. The siege of an obscure place, which contained so rich a prize, and seemed incapable of a long resistance, was instantly formed, and indefatigably pressed, by the king of the Goths; and the bold declaration, which the emperor might afterward make, that his breast had never been susceptible of fear, did not probably obtain much credit, even in his own court. In the last, and Every traveller must recollect the face of Lombardy, (See Fontenelle, tom. 5. p. 279.) which is often tormented by the capricious and irregular abundance of waters. The Austrians, before Genoa, were encamped in the dry bed of the Polcevera. "Ne sarebbe (says Muratori) mai passato per mente a qué buoni Alemanni, che quel picciolo torrente potesse, per cosi dire in un instante cangiarsi in un terribil gigante." (Annal. d'Italia, tom. 16. p. 443. Milan, 1753. 8vo. edit.) P Claudian does not clearly answer our question, Where was Honorius himself? Yet the flight is marked by the pursuit: and my idea of the Gothic war is justified by the Italian critics, Sigonius (tom. 1. p. 2. p. 369. de Imp. Occident. lib. 10.) and Muratori. (Annali d'Italia, tom. 4. p. 45.) 9 One of the roads may be traced in the Itineraries. (p. 98. 288. 294. with Wesseling's Notes.) Asta lay some miles on the right hand. Asta, or Asti, a Roman colony, is now the capital of a pleasant country, which, in the sixteenth century, devolved to the dukes of Savoy. (Leandro Alberti Descrizzione d'Italia, p. 382.) • Nec_me timor impulit ullus. He might hold this proud language, the next year at Rome, five hundred miles from the scene of danger. (6. Cons. Hon. 449.) almost hopeless extrémity, after the barbarians had already proposed the indignity of a capitulation, the imperial captive was suddenly relieved by the fame, the approach, and at length the presence, of the hero, whom he had so long expected. At the head of a chosen and intrepid vanguard, Stilicho swam the stream of the Addua, to gain the time which he must have lost in the attack of the bridge; the passage of the Po was an enterprise of much less hazard and difficulty; and the successful action, in which he cut his way through the Gothic camp under the walls of Asta, revived the hopes, and vindicated the honour, of Rome. Instead of grasping the fruit of his victory, the barbarian was gradually invested, on every side, by the troops of the west, who successfully issued through all the passes of the Alps; his quarters were straitened; his convoys were intercepted; and the vigilance of the Romans prepared to form a chain of fortifications, and to besiege the line of the besiegers. A military council was assembled of the long-haired chiefs of the Gothic nation; of aged warriors, whose bodies were wrapped in furs, and whose stern countenances were marked with honourable wounds. They weighed the glory of persisting in their attempt against the advantage of securing their plunder; and they recommended the prudent measure of a seasonable retreat. In this important debate Alaric displayed the spirit of the conqueror of Rome; and after he had reminded his countrymen of their achievements and of their designs, he concluded his animating speech, by the solemn and positive assurance, that he was resolved to find in Italy, either a kingdom, or a grave.* Battle of The loose discipline of the barbarians always A. D. 403. exposed them to the danger of a surprise; but March 29. instead of choosing the dissolute hours of riot Pollentia, t Hanc ego vel victor regno, vel morte tenebo Victus, humum The speeches (de Bell. Get. 479-549.) of the Gothic Nestor and Achilles are strong, characteristic, adapted to the circumstances, and possibly not less genuine than those of Livy. and intemperance, Stilicho resolved to attack the Christian Goths, whilst they were devoutly employed in celebrating the festival of Easter." The execution of the stratagem, or, as it was termed by the clergy, of the sacrilege, was intrusted to Saul, a barbarian and a Pagan, who had served, however, with distinguished reputation, among the veteran generals of Theodosius. The camp of the Goths, which Alaric had pitched in the neighbourhood of Pollentia, was thrown into confusion by the sudden 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 soon as they had recovered from their astonishment, the pious confidence, that the God of the Christians would assert their cause, added new strength to their native valour. In this engagement, which was long maintained with equal courage and success, the chief of the Alani, whose diminutive and savage form concealed a magnanimous soul, approved his suspected loyalty, by the zeal with which he fought, and fell, in the service of the republic; and the fame of this gallant barbarian has been imperfectly preserved in the verses of Claudian, since the poet, who celebrates his virtue, has omitted the mention of his name. His death was followed by the flight and dismay of his squadrons 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 soldiers, surmounted every obstacle. In the evening of the bloody day, the u Orosius (lib. 7. c. 37.) is shocked at the impiety of the Romans, who attacked, on Easter Sunday, such pious Christians. Yet, at the same time, public prayers were offered at the shrine of St. Thomas of Edessa, for the destruction of the Arian robber. See Tillemont, (Hist. des Emp. tom. 5. p. 529.) who quotes a homily, which has been erroneously ascribed to St. Chrysostom. The vestiges of Pollentia are twenty-five miles to the south-east of Turin. Urbs, in the same neighbourhood, was a royal chase of the kings of Lombardy, and a small river, which excused the prediction, "penetrabs ad urbem.” (Cluver. Ital. Antiq. tom. 1. p. 83-85.) Goths retreated from the field of battle; the intrenchments of their camp were forced, and the scene of rapine and slaughter made some atonement for the calamities which they had inflicted on the subjects of the empire. The magnificent spoils of Corinth and Argos enriched the veterans of the west; the captive wife of Alaric, who had impatiently claimed his promise of Roman jewels and patrician handmaids," was reduced to implore the mercy of the insulting foe; and many thousand prisoners, released from the Gothic chains, dispersed through the provinces of Italy the praises of their heroic deliverer. The triumphs of Stilicho was compared by the poet, and perhaps by the public, to that of Marius; who, in the same part of Italy, had encountered, and destroyed, another army of northern barbarians. The huge bones, and the empty helmets, of the Cimbri and of the Goths, would easily be confounded by succeeding generations; and posterity might erect a common trophy to the memory of the two most illustrious generals, who had vanquished, on the same memorable ground, the two most formidable enemies of Rome." Boldness The eloquence of Claudian has celebrated, and retreat 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. y Orosius wishes, in doubtful words, to insinuate the defeat of the Romans. Pugnantes vicimus, victores victi sumus." Prosper (in Chron.) makes it an equal and bloody battle; but the Gothic writers, Cassiodorius (in Chron.) and Jornandes (de Reb. Get. c. 29.) claim a decisive victory. z Demens Ausonidum gemmata monilia matrum, De Bell. Get. 627. a Claudian (de Bell. Get. 580-647.) and Prudentius (in Symmach. lib. 2. 694 -719.) celebrate, without ambiguity, the Roman victory of Pollentia. They are poetical and party writers; yet some credit is due to the most suspicious witnesses, who are checked by the recent notoriety of facts. b Claudian's peroration is strong and elegant; but the identity of the Cimbric and Gothic fields, must be understood (like Virgil's Philippi, Georgic 1. 490.) according to the loose geography of a poet. Vercellæ and Pollentia are sixty miles from each other; and the latitude is still greater, if the Cimbri were defeated in the wide and barren plain of Verona. (Maffei, Verona Illustrata, p. 1. p. 54—62.) e Claudian and Prudentius must be strictly examined to reduce the figures, and extort the historic sense of those poets. 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 so justly entitled; but the poet of Stilicho is compelled to acknowledge, that Alaric possessed the invincible temper of mind which rises superior to every misfortune, and derives new resources from adversity. After the total defeat of his infantry, he escaped, or rather withdrew, from the field of battle, with the greatest part of his cavalry entire and unbroken. Without wasting a moment to lament the irreparable loss of so many brave companions, he left his victorious enemy to bind in chains the captive images of a Gothic king; and boldly resolved to break through the unguarded passes of the Apennine, to spread desolation over the fruitful face of Tuscany, and to conquer or die before the gates of Rome. The capital was saved by the active and incessant diligence of Stilicho: but he respected the despair of his enemy; and, instead of committing the fate of the republic to the chance of another battle, he proposed to purchase the absence of the barbarians. The spirit of Alaric would have rejected such terms, the permission of a retreat, and the offer of a pension, with contempt and indignation; but he exercised a limited and precarious authority over the independent chieftains, who had raised him, for their service, above the rank of his equals: they were still less disposed to follow an unsuccessful general, and many of them were tempted to consult their interests by a private negotiation with the minister of Honorius. The king submitted to the voice of his people, ratified the treaty with the empire of the west, and repassed the Po, with the remains of the flourishing army which he had led into Italy. A considerable part of the Roman d Et gravant en airain ses frêles avantages De mes etats conquis enchainer les images. The practice of exposing in triumph the images of kings and provinces was familiar to the Romans. The bust of Mithridates himself was twelve feet high, of massy gold. (Freinshem. Supplement Livian. 103. 47.) |