Gothic nation, the possession of some vacant province of the western empire.

senate.

Debates of The political and secret transactions of two the Roman statesmen, who laboured to deceive each other A. D. 408. and the world, must for ever have been concealed in the impenetrable darkness of the cabinet, if the debates of a popular assembly had not thrown some rays of light on the correspondence of Alaric and Stilicho. The necessity of finding some artificial support for a government, which, from a principle, not of moderation, but of weakness, was reduced to negotiate with its own subjects, had insensibly revived the authority of the Roman senate; and the minister of Honorius respectfully consulted the legislative council of the republic. Stilicho assembled the senate in the palace of the Cæsars; represented, in a studied oration, the actual state of affairs; proposed the demands of the Gothic king, and submitted to their consideration the choice of peace or war. The senators, as if they had been suddenly awakened from a dream of four hundred years, appeared on this important occasion to be inspired by the courage, rather than by the wisdom, of their predecessors. They loudly declared, in regular speeches, or in tumultuary acclamations; that it was unworthy of the majesty of Rome, to purchase a precarious and disgraceful truce from a barbarian king; and that, in the judgment of a magnanimous people, the chance of ruin was always preferable to the certainty of dishonour.

The minister, whose pacific intentions were seconded only by the voices of a few servile and venial followers, attempted to allay the general ferment, by an apology for his own conduct, and even for the demands of the Gothic prince. The payment of a subsidy, which had excited the indignation of the Romans, ought not (such is the language of Stilicho) to be considered in the odious light, either of a tribute or of a ransom, extorted by the menaces of a barbarian enemy. Alaric had faith

fully asserted the just pretensions of the republic to the provinces which were usurped by the Greeks of Constantinople: he modestly required the fair and stipulated recompence of his services; and if he had desisted from the prosecution of his enterprise, he had obeyed, in his retreat, the peremptory, though private, letters of the emperor himself. These contradictory orders (he would not dissemble the errors of his own family) had been procured by the intercession of Serena. The tender piety of his wife had been too deeply affected by the discord of the royal brothers, the sons of her adopted father; and the sentiments of nature had too easily prevailed over the stern dictates of the public welfare. These ostensible reasons, which faintly disguise the obscure intrigues of the palace of Ravenna, were supported by the authority of Stilicho; and obtained, after a warm debate, the reluctant approbation of the senate. The tumult of virtue and freedom subsided; and the sum of four thousand pounds of gold was granted, under the name of a subsidy, to secure the peace of Italy, and to conciliate the friendship of the king of the Goths. Lampadius alone, one of the most illustrious members of the assembly, still persisted in his dissent; exclaimed with a loud voice, This is not a treaty of peace, but of servitude;' and escaped the danger of such bold opposition by immediately retiring to the sanctuary of a Christian church.

Intrigues of the palace,

But the reign of Stilicho drew towards its

end; and the proud minister might perceive the A. D. 408, symptoms of his approaching disgrace. The May. generous boldness of Lampadius had been applauded; and the senate, so patiently resigned to a long servitude, rejected with disdain the offer of invidious and imaginary freedom. The troops, who still assumed the name and prerogatives of the Roman le

1 Zosimus, lib. 5. p. 338, 339. He repeats the words of Lampadius, as they were spoken in Latin,-"Non est ista pax, sed pactio servitutis," and then translates them into Greek for the benefit of his readers.

gions, were exasperated by the partial affection of Stilicho for the barbarians: and the people imputed to the mischievous policy of the minister, the public misfortunes, which were the natural consequence of their own degeneracy. Yet Stilicho might have continued to brave the clamours of the people, and even of the soldiers, if he could have maintained his dominion over the feeble mind of his pupil. But the respectful attachment of Honorius was converted into fear, suspicion, and hatred. The crafty Olympius," who concealed his vices under the mask of Christian piety, had secretly undermined the benefactor, by whose favour he was promoted to the honourable offices of the imperial palace. Olympius revealed to the unsuspecting emperor, who had attained the twenty-fifth year of his age, that he was without weight, or authority, in his own government; and artfully alarmed his timid and indolent disposition by a lively picture of the designs of Stilicho, who already meditated the death of his sovereign, with the ambitious hope of placing the diadem on the head of his son Eucharius. The emperor was instigated by his new favourite, to assume the tone of independent dignity; and the minister was astonished to find, that secret resolutions were formed in the court and council, which were repugnant to his interest, or to his intentions. Instead of residing in the palace of Rome, Honorius declared that it was his pleasure to return to the secure fortress of Ravenna. On the first intelligence of the death of his brother Arcadius, he prepared to visit Constantinople, and to regulate, with the authority of a guardian, the provinces of the infant Theodosius." The representation of the difficulty and

He came from the coast of the Euxine, and exercised a splendid office, λαμπρας δε στρατείας εν τοις βασιλείοις αξιούμενος. His actions justify his character, which Zosimus (lib. 5. p. 340.) exposes with visible satisfaction. Augustin revered the piety of Olympius, whom he styles a true son of the church. (Baronius, Annal. Eccles. A. D. 408. No. 19, &c. Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. 13. p. 467, 468.) But these praises, which the African saint so unworthily bestows, might proceed, as well from ignorance, as from adulation.

Zosimus, lib. 5. p. 338, 339. Sozomen, lib. 9. c. 4. Stilicho offered to un

expense of such a distant expedition, checked this strange and sudden sally of active diligence; but the dangerous project of shewing the emperor to the camp of Pavia, which was composed of the Roman troops, the enemies of Stilicho, and his barbarian auxiliaries, remained fixed and unalterable. The minister was pressed, by the advice of his confident Justinian, a Roman advocate, of a lively and penetrating genius, to oppose a journey so prejudicial to his reputation and safety. His strenuous, but ineffectual efforts, confirmed the triumph of Olympius; and the prudent lawyer withdrew himself from the impending ruin of his patron.

Disgrace

of Stilicho.

In the passage of the emperor through Boand death logna, a mutiny of the guards was excited and A. D. 408, appeased by the secret policy of Stilicho; who Aug. 23. announced his instructions to decimate the guilty, and ascribe to his own intercession the merit of their pardon. After this tumult, Honorius embraced, for the last time, the minister whom he now considered as a tyrant, and proceeded on his way to the camp of Pavia; where he was received by the loyal acclamations of the troops who were assembled for the service of the Gallic war. On the morning of the fourth day, he pronounced, as he had been taught, a military oration in the presence of the soldiers, whom the charitable visits, and artful discourses, of Olympius had prepared to execute a dark and bloody conspiracy. At the first signal, they massacred the friends of Stilicho, the most illustrious officers of the empire; two prætorian prefects, of Gaul, and of Italy; two master-generals, of the cavalry, and infantry; the master of the offices; the quæstor, the treasurer, and the count of the domestics. Many lives were lost; many houses were plundered; the furious sedition continued to rage till the close of dertake the journey to Constantinople, that he might divert Honorius from the vain attempt. The eastern empire would not have obeyed, and could not have been conquered.

the evening; and the trembling emperor, who was seen in the streets of Pavia, without his robes or diadem, yielded to the persuasions of his favourite; condemned the memory of the slain; and solemnly approved the innocence and fidelity of their assassins. The intelligence of the massacre of Pavia filled the mind of Stilicho with just and gloomy apprehensions: and he instantly summoned, in the camp of Bologna, a council of the confederate leaders, who were attached to his service, and would be involved in his ruin. The impetuous voice of the assembly called aloud for arms, and for revenge; to march, without a moment's delay, under the banners of a hero, whom they had so often followed to victory; to surprise, to oppress, to extirpate the guilty Olympius, and his degenerate Romans; and perhaps to fix the diadem on the head of their injured general. Instead of executing a resolution, which might have been justified with success, Stilicho hesitated till he was irrecoverably lost. He was still ignorant of the fate of the emperor; he distrusted the fidelity of his own party; and he viewed with horror the fatal consequences of arming a crowd of licentious barbarians, against the soldiers and people of Italy. The confederates, impatient of his timorous and doubtful delay, hastily retired, with fear and indignation. At the hour of midnight, Sarus, a Gothic warrior, renowned among the barbarians themselves for his strength and valour, suddenly invaded the camp of his benefactor, plundered the baggage, cut in pieces the faithful Huns, who guarded his person, and penetrated to the tent, where the minister, pensive and sleepless, meditated on the dangers of his situation. Stilicho escaped with difficulty from the sword of the Goths; and, after issuing a last and generous admonition to the cities of Italy, to shut their gates against the barbarians, his confidence, or his despair, urged him to throw himself into Ravenna, which was already in the