CHAP. was solicited and obtained: but the senate, Rome, XXX. and Italy, though humbled by their recent calamities, submitted with a secret murmur to the presumption of the Gallic usurper. Theodoric, Visigoths, A. D. 453 -466. Character of Theodoric, to whom Avitus was indebted for the king of the purple, had acquired the Gothic sceptre by the murder of his elder brother Torismond; and he justified this atrocious deed by the design 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 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 the public view, may be concisely re 66 presented. Before day-break, he repairs, with a "small train, to his domestic chapel, where the ser"vice 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 em 66 XXX. ployed in the administration of his kingdom. His CHAP. "chair is surrounded by some military officers of de"cent 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 at"tention, 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 66 66 visits, either his treasury, or his stables. If he "chooses to hunt, or at least to 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 : 66 as a king, he disdains to bear arms in such ignoble "warfare; but as a soldier, he would blush to ac"cept any military service which he could perform "himself. On common days, his dinner is not dif"ferent from the repast of a private citizen; but 66 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. The gold or silver plate is less remarkable for its weight, "than for the brightness and curious workmanship: "the taste is gratified without the help of foreign "and costly luxury; the size and number of the 66 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 in"structive 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 CHAP. His expedition into Spain, A. D. 456. 66 66 66 '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 indiffer"ence, his courtiers choose to solicit any favour in the "moments of victory; and I myself, in my applica"tions 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 sun-set, when the signal of the royal supper dismisses the weary crowd of suppliants "and pleaders. At the supper, a more familiar re"past, buffoons and pantomimes are sometimes in"troduced, to divert, not to offend, the company, 66 66 66 by their ridiculous wit: but female singers, and "the soft effeminate modes of music, are severely "banished, and such martial tunes as animate the "soul to deeds of valour are alone grateful to the "ear of Theodoric. He retires from table; and the "nocturnal guards are immediately posted at the "entrance of the treasury, the palace, and the pri"vate apartments." When the king of the Visigoths encouraged Avitus to assume the purple, he offered his person and his forces, as a faithful soldier of the republic. The exploits of Theodoric soon convinced the world that he had not degenerated from the warlike virtues of his ancestors. After the establishment of the Goths in Aquitain, and the passage of the Vandals into Africa, the Suevi, who had fixed their kingdom in Gallicia, aspired to the conquest of Spain, and threatened to extinguish the feeble remains of the Roman dominion. The provincials of Carthagena and Tarragona, afflicted by a hostile invasion, re XXX. presented their injuries and their apprehensions. CHAP. Count Fronto was despatched, in the name of the emperor Avitus, with advantageous offers of peace and alliance; and Theodoric interposed his weighty mediation, to declare that, unless his brother-in-law, the king of the Suevi, immediately retired, he should be obliged to arm in the cause of justice and of Rome. "Tell him," replied the haughty Rechiarius, "that I despise his friendship and his arms; but that "I shall soon try whether he will dare to expect my "arrival under the walls of Thoulouse." Such a challenge urged Theodoric to prevent the bold designs of his enemy: he passed the Pyrenees at the head of the Visigoths: the Franks and Burgundians served under his standard; and though he professed himself the dutiful servant of Avitus, he privately stipulated, for himself and his successors, the absolute possession of the Spanish conquests. The two armies, or rather the two nations, encountered each other on the banks of the river Urbicus, about twelve miles from Astorga; and the decisive victory of the Goths appeared for awhile to have extirpated the name and kingdom of the Suevi. From the field of battle Theodoric advanced to Braga, their metropolis, which still retained the splendid vestiges of its ancient commerce and dignity. His entrance was not polluted with blood, and the Goths respected the chastity of their female captives, more especially of the consecrated virgins: but the greatest part of the clergy and people were made slaves, and even the churches and altars were confounded in the universal pillage. The unfortunate king of the Suevi had escaped to one of the ports of the ocean; but the obstinacy of the winds opposed his flight; he was delivered to his implacable rival; and Rechiarius, who neither desired nor expected mercy, received with manly constancy the death which he would probably have inflicted. XXX. CHAP. After this bloody sacrifice to policy or resentment, Theodoric carried his victorious arms as far as Merida, the principal town of Lusitania, without meeting any resistance; but he was stopped in the full career of success, and recalled from Spain, before he could provide for the security of his conquests. In his retreat towards the Pyrenees, he revenged his disappointment on the country through which he passed; and, in the sack of Polentia and Astorga, he showed himself a faithless ally, as well as a cruel enemy. Whilst the king of the Visigoths fought and vanquished in the name of Avitus, the reign of Avitus had expired; and both the honour and the interest of Theodoric were deeply wounded by the disgrace of a friend, whom he had seated on the throne of the Western empire. Avitus is deposed, Oct. 16. The pressing solicitations of the senate and people A.D. 456, persuaded the emperor Avitus to fix his residence at Rome, and to accept the consulship for the ensuing year. On the first day of January, his son-in-law, Sidonius Apollinaris, celebrated his praises in a panegyric of six hundred verses; but this composition, though it was rewarded with a brass statue, seems to contain a very moderate proportion, either of genius or of truth. The poet, if we may degrade that sacred name, exaggerates the merit of a sovereign and a father; and his prophecy of a long and glorious reign was soon contradicted by the event. Avitus, at a time when the Imperial dignity was reduced to a preeminence of toil and danger, indulged himself in the pleasures of Italian luxury: age had not extinguished his amorous inclinations; and he is accused of insulting, with indiscreet and ungenerous raillery, the husbands whose wives he had seduced or violated. But the Romans were not inclined either to excuse his faults, or to acknowledge his virtues. The several parts of the empire became every day more alienated |