unexpected honour from the lowest depth of misery to the highest rank, exceeded all the legitimate bounds of the power conferred on him, and with preposterous violence threw everything into confusion. For by his near relationship to the royal family, and his connection with the name of Constantine, he was so inflated with pride, that if he had had more power, he would, as it seemed, have ventured to attack even the author of his prosperity. 2. Ilis wife added fuel to his natural ferocity; she was a woman immoderately proud of her sisterly relationship to Augustus, and had been formerly given in marriage by the elder Constantine to King Hannibalianus,' his brother's son. She was an incarnate fury: never weary of inflam ing his savage temper, thirsting for human blood as insatiably as her husband. The pair, in process of time, becoming more skilful in the infliction of suffering, employed a gang of underhand and crafty talebearers, accustomed in their wickedness to make random additions to their discoveries, which consisted in general of such falsehoods as they themselves delighted in; and these men loaded the innocent with calumnies, charging them with aiming at kingly power, or with practising infamous acts of magic. 3. And among his less remarkable atrocities, when his power had gone beyond the bounds of moderate crimes, was conspicuous the horrible and sudden death of a certain noble citizen of Alexandria, named Clematius. His mother-in-law, having conceived a passion for him, could not prevail on him to gratify it; and in consequence, as 1 Hannibalianus was another nephew of Constantine. That emperor raised his own three sons. Constantine, Constantius, and Constans, to the dignity of Caesar; and of his two favourite nephews, Dalmacius and Hannibalianus, he raised the first, by the title of Casar, to un equality with his cousins; "in favour of the latter ho invented the new and singular appellation of Fortitissimus, to which he annexed the flattering distinction of a robe of purple and gold. But of the whole series of Roman princes in any age of the empire Hannibalianus alone was distinguished by the title of king, a name which the subjects of Tiberius would have, detested as the "profane and cruel insult of capricious tyranny."-Gibbon, exviii. The editor of Bohn's edition alls in a note: "The title given to Hannibalianus did not apply to him as a Roman prince, but as king of a territory assigned to him in Asia. This territory consisted of Pontus, Cappadocia, and the lesser Armenia, the city of Cæsaren being chosen for his residence."--Gibbon, Boln's edition, vol. ii, pp. 256, 257. was reported, she, having obtained an introduction by a secret door into the palace, won over the queen by the present of a costly necklace, and procured a fatal warrant to be sent to Honoratus, at that time count-governor of the East, in compliance with which Clematius was put to death, a man wholly innocent of any kind of wickedness, without being permitted to say a word in his defence. 4. After this iniquitous transaction, which struck others. also with fear lest they should meet with similar treatment, as if cruelty had now obtained a licence, many were condemned on mere vague suspicion; of whom some were put to death, others were punished by the confiscation of their property, and driven forth as exiles from their homes, so that having nothing left but their tears and complaints, they were reduced to live on the contributions of their friends; and many opulent and famous houses were shut up, the old constitutional and just authority being changed into a government at the will of a bloodthirsty tyrant. 5. Nor amid these manifold atrocities was any testimony of an accuser, not even of a suborned one, sought for, in order to give at least an appearance of these crimes being committed according to law and statute, as very commonly even the most cruel princes have done: but whatever suited the implacable temper of Caesar was instantly accomplished in haste, as if its accordance with human and divine law had been well considered. 6. After these deeds a fresh device was adopted, and a body of obscure men, such as, by reason of the meanness of their condition, were little likely to excite suspicion, were sent through all the districts of Antioch, to collect reports, and to bring news of whatever they might hear. They, travelling about, and concealing their object, joined clandestinely in the conversational circles of honourable men, and also in disguise obtained entrance into the houses of the rich. When they returned they were secretly admitted by back doors into the palace, and then reported all that they had been able to hear or to collect; taking care with an unanimous kind of conspiracy to invent many things, and to exaggerate for the worse all they reallyknew; at the same time suppressing any praises of Cæsar which had come to their cars, although these were wrung AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS. (BK. XIV. CH. from many, against their consciences, by the dread impending evils. 7. And it had happened sometimes that, if in his secr chamber, when no domestic servant was by, the master the house had whispered anything into his wife's car, th very next day, as if those renowned seers of old, Amphia raus or Marcius, had been at hand to report it, th emperor was informed of what had been said; so tha even the walls of a man's secret chamber, the only wit nesses to his language, were viewed with apprehension. 8. And Cesar's fixed resolution to inquire into thes and other similar occurrences was increased by the queen who constantly stimulated his desire, and was driving or the fortunes of her husband to headlong destruction, while she ought rather, by giving him useful advice, to have led him back into the paths of truth and mercy, by feminine gentleness, as, in recounting the acts of the Gordiani, wo have related to have been done by the wife of that trucu lent emperor Maximinus, 9. At last, by an unsurpassed and most pernicious baseness, Gallus ventured on adopting a course of fearful wickedness, which indeed Gallienus, to his own exceed ing infamy, is said formerly to have tried at Rome; and, taking with him a few followers secrotly armed, he used to rove in the evening through the streets and among the shops, making inquiries in the Greek language, in which he was well skilled, what were the feelings of individuals towards Cæsar. And he used to do this boldly in the city. where the brillancy of the lamps at night often equalled the light of day. At last, being often recognized, and considering that if he went out in this way ho should be known, he took care never to go out except openly in broad daylight, to transact whatever business which he thought of serious importance. And these things caused bitter though secret lamentation, and discontent to many. 10. But at that time Thalassius was the present prefect' of the palace, a man of an arrogant temper; and ho, per "There was among the commanders of the soldiery one prefect who was especially entitled Præsens, or Præsentalis, because his office was to be always in the court or about the person of the prince, and because the emperor's body-guard was under his particular orders.' H. Valesius. ceiving that tho hasty fury of Gallus gradually increased to the danger of many of the citizens, did not mollify it by either delay or wise counsels, as men in high office havo very often pacified the anger of their princes; but by untimely opposition and reproof, did often excite him the more to frenzy; often also informing Augustus of his actions, and that too with exaggeration, and taking care, I know not with what intention, that what he did should not be unknown to the emperor. And at this Caesar soon beenmo more vehemently exasperated, and, as if raising more on high than over the standard of his contumacy, without any regard to the safety of others or of himself, ho bore himself onwards liko a rapid torrent, with an impo tuosity which would listen to no reason, to sweep away all the obstacles which opposed his will. II. § 1. Non indeed was the East the only quarter which this plague affected with its various disasters. For the Isaurians also, a people who were accustomed to frequent alternations of peace, and of turbulence which threw everything into confusion with sudden outbreaks-impunity having fostered their growing audacity and encouraged it to evil-broke out in a formidable war. Being especially excited, as they gave out by this indignity, that some of their allies, having been taken prisoners, were in an unprecedented manner exposed to wild beasts, and in the games of the amphitheatre, at Iconium, a town of Pisidia. 2. And as Cicero' says, that "even wild beasts, when reminded by hunger, generally return to that place where they have been fed before." So they all, descending like a whirlwind from their high and pailless mountains, camo into the districts bordering on the sea: in which hiding themselves in roads full of lurking-places, and in defiles, when the long nights were approaching, the moon being at that time new, and so not yet giving her full light, they lay wait for the sailors; and when they perceived that they were wrapped in sleep, they, crawling on their hands and feet along the cables which held the anchors, and raising themselves up by them, swung themselves into the boats, The passage is found in Cicero's Oration pro Cluentio, c. 25, AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS. [BK. XIV. CH. II. and so came upon the crews unexpectedly, and, their natural ferocity being inflamed by covetousness, they spared not even those who offered no resistance, but slow them all, and carried off a splendid booty with no more trouble than if it had been valueless. 3. This conduct did not last long, for when the deaths of the crews thus plundered and slaughtered became known, no one afterwards brought a vessel to the stations on that coast; but, avoiding them as they would have avoided the deadly precipices of Sciron,' they sailed on, without halting, to the shores of Cyprus, which lio oppo site to the rocks of Isauria. 4. Therefore as time went on, and no foreign vessels went there any more, they quitted the sea const, and be took themselves to Lycaonia, a country which lies on the borders of Isauria. And there, occupying the roads with thick barricades, they sought a living by plundering the inhabitants of the district, as well as travellers. These outrages aroused the soldiers who were dispersed among the many municipal towns and forts which lie on the borders. And they, endeavouring to the utmost of their strength to repel these banditti, who were spreading every day more widely, sometimes in solid bodies, at others in small straggling parties, were overcome by their vast numbers. 5. Since the Isaurians, having been born and brought up amid the entangled defiles of lofty mountains, could bound over them as over plain and easy paths, and attacked all who came in their way with missiles from a distance, terrifying them at the same time with savage yells. 6. And very often our infantry were compelled in pursuit of them to climb lofty crags, and, when their feet slipped to catch hold of tho shrubs and briars to raise themselves to the summits; without ever being able to deploy into battle array, by reason of the narrow and difficult naturo of the ground, nor even to stand firm; while their enemy running round in every direction hurled down upon them fragments of rock from_abovo till they retired down the declivities with great danger. Seiron was a pirato slain by Theseus, v. Ov. Metam. vii. 44, and. the Epistle of Ariadne to Thesetis. "Cum fuerit Seiron lectus, forvusque Procrustes," |