高考英语 可能考的名著《HISTORY OF ROMAN-3》35素材

1、HISTORY OF ROMAN-3Chapter XXXV: Invasion By Attila.Part I. Invasion Of Gaul By Attila. - He Is Repulsed By Aetius AndThe Visigoths. - Attila Invades And Evacuates Italy. - The DeathsOf Attila, Aetius, And Valentinian The Third. It was the opinion of Marcian, that war should be avoided,as long as it

2、is possible to preserve a secure and honorablepeace; but it was likewise his opinion, that peace cannot behonorable or secure, if the sovereign betrays a pusillanimousaversion to war. This temperate courage dictated his reply tothe demands of Attila, who insolently pressed the payment of theannual t

3、ribute. The emperor signified to the Barbarians, thatthey must no longer insult the majesty of Rome by the mention ofa tribute; that he was disposed to reward, with becomingliberality, the faithful friendship of his allies; but that, ifthey presumed to violate the public peace, they should feel that

4、he possessed troops, and arms, and resolution, to repel theirattacks. The same language, even in the camp of the Huns, wasused by his ambassador Apollonius, whose bold refusal to deliverthe presents, till he had been admitted to a personal interview,displayed a sense of dignity, and a contempt of da

5、nger, whichAttila was not prepared to expect from the degenerate Romans. 1He threatened to chastise the rash successor of Theodosius; buthe hesitated whether he should first direct his invincible armsagainst the Eastern or the Western empire. While mankind awaitedhis decision with awful suspense, he

6、 sent an equal defiance tothe courts of Ravenna and Constantinople; and his ministerssaluted the two emperors with the same haughty declaration.Attila, my lord, and thy lord, commands thee to provide a palacefor his immediate reception. 2 But as the Barbarian despised,or affected to despise, the Rom

7、ans of the East, whom he had sooften vanquished, he soon declared his resolution of suspendingthe easy conquest, till he had achieved a more glorious andimportant enterprise. In the memorable invasions of Gaul andItaly, the Huns were naturally attracted by the wealth andfertility of those provinces;

8、 but the particular motives andprovocations of Attila can only be explained by the state of theWestern empire under the reign of Valentinian, or, to speak morecorrectly, under the administration of Aetius. 3Footnote 1: See Priscus, p. 39, 72.Footnote 2: The Alexandrian or Paschal Chronicle, whichint

9、roduces this haughty message, during the lifetime ofTheodosius, may have anticipated the date; but the dull annalistwas incapable of inventing the original and genuine style ofAttila.Footnote 3: The second book of the Histoire Critique delEtablissement de la Monarchie Francoise tom. i. p. 189 - 424,

10、throws great light on the state of Gaul, when it was invaded byAttila; but the ingenious author, the Abbe Dubos, too oftenbewilders himself in system and conjecture. After the death of his rival Boniface, Aetius had prudentlyretired to the tents of the Huns; and he was indebted to theiralliance for

11、his safety and his restoration. Instead of thesuppliant language of a guilty exile, he solicited his pardon atthe head of sixty thousand Barbarians; and the empress Placidiaconfessed, by a feeble resistance, that the condescension, whichmight have been ascribed to clemency, was the effect of weaknes

12、sor fear. She delivered herself, her son Valentinian, and theWestern empire, into the hands of an insolent subject; nor couldPlacidia protect the son- in-law of Boniface, the virtuous andfaithful Sebastian, 4 from the implacable persecution whichurged him from one kingdom to another, till he miserab

13、ly perishedin the service of the Vandals. The fortunate Aetius, who wasimmediately promoted to the rank of patrician, and thriceinvested with the honors of the consulship, assumed, with thetitle of master of the cavalry and infantry, the whole militarypower of the state; and he is sometimes styled,

14、by contemporarywriters, the duke, or general, of the Romans of the West. Hisprudence, rather than his virtue, engaged him to leave thegrandson of Theodosius in the possession of the purple; andValentinian was permitted to enjoy the peace and luxury of Italy,while the patrician appeared in the glorio

15、us light of a hero anda patriot, who supported near twenty years the ruins of theWestern empire. The Gothic historian ingenuously confesses, thatAetius was born for the salvation of the Roman republic; 5 andthe following portrait, though it is drawn in the fairest colors,must be allowed to contain a

16、 much larger proportion of truth thanof flattery. * His mother was a wealthy and noble Italian, andhis father Gaudentius, who held a distinguished rank in theprovince of Scythia, gradually rose from the station of amilitary domestic, to the dignity of master of the cavalry. Their son, who was enroll

17、ed almost in his infancy in the guards,was given as a hostage, first to Alaric, and afterwards to theHuns; ! and he successively obtained the civil and militaryhonors of the palace, for which he was equally qualified bysuperior merit. The graceful figure of Aetius was not above themiddle stature; bu

18、t his manly limbs were admirably formed forstrength, beauty, and agility; and he excelled in the martialexercises of managing a horse, drawing the bow, and darting thejavelin. He could patiently endure the want of food, or ofsleep; and his mind and body were alike capable of the mostlaborious effort

19、s. He possessed the genuine courage that candespise not only dangers, but injuries: and it was impossibleeither to corrupt, or deceive, or intimidate the firm integrityof his soul. 6 The Barbarians, who had seated themselves in theWestern provinces, were insensibly taught to respect the faithand val

20、or of the patrician Aetius. He soothed their passions,consulted their prejudices, balanced their interests, and checkedtheir ambition. * A seasonable treaty, which he concluded withGenseric, protected Italy from the depredations of the Vandals;the independent Britons implored and acknowledged his sa

21、lutaryaid; the Imperial authority was restored and maintained in Gauland Spain; and he compelled the Franks and the Suevi, whom he hadvanquished in the field, to become the useful confederates of therepublic. Footnote 4: Victor Vitensis (de Persecut. Vandal. l. i. 6, p. 8,edit. Ruinart) calls him, a

22、cer consilio et strenuus in bello: buthis courage, when he became unfortunate, was censured asdesperate rashness; and Sebastian deserved, or obtained, theepithet of proeceps, (Sidon. Apollinar Carmen ix. 181.) Hisadventures in Constantinople, in Sicily, Gaul, Spain, and Africa,are faintly marked in

23、the Chronicles of Marcellinus and Idatius. In his distress he was always followed by a numerous train; sincehe could ravage the Hellespont and Propontis, and seize the cityof Barcelona. Footnote 5: Reipublicae Romanae singulariter natus, quisuperbiam Suevorum, Francorumque barbariem immensis caedibu

24、sservire Imperio Romano coegisset. Jornandes de Rebus Geticis, c.34, p. 660.Footnote *: Some valuable fragments of a poetical panegyric onAetius by Merobaudes, a Spaniard, have been recovered from apalimpsest MS. by the sagacity and industry of Niebuhr. Theyhave been reprinted in the new edition of

25、the ByzantineHistorians. The poet speaks in glowing terms of the long(annosa) peace enjoyed under the administration of Aetius. Theverses are very spirited. The poet was rewarded by a statuepublicly dedicated to his honor in Rome. Danuvii cum pace redit, Tanaimque furore Exuit, et nigro candentes ae

26、there terras Marte suo caruisse jubet. Dedit otia ferro Caucasus, et saevi condemnant praelia reges. Addidit hiberni famulantia foedera Rhenus Orbis . Lustrat Aremoricos jam mitior incola saltus; Perdidit et mores tellus, adsuetaque saevo Crimine quaesitas silvis celare rapinas, Discit inexpertis Ce

27、rerem committere campis; Caesareoque diu manus obluctata labori Sustinet acceptas nostro sub consule leges; Et quamvis Geticis sulcum confundat aratris, Barbara vicinae refugit consortia gentis. Merobaudes, p. 1Footnote !: - cum Scythicis succumberet ensibus orbis, Telaque Tarpeias premerent Arctoa

28、secures, Hostilem fregit rabiem, pignus quesuperbi Foederis et mundi pretium fuit. Hinc modo voti Rata fides, validis quod dux premat impiger armis Edomuit quos pace puer; bellumque repressit Ignarus quid bella forent. Stupuere feroces In tenero jam membra Getae. Rex ipse, verendum Miratus pueri dec

29、us et prodentia fatum Lumina, primaevas dederat gestare faretras, Laudabatque manus librantem et tela gerentem Oblitus quod noster erat Pro nescia regis Corda, feris quanto populis discrimine constet Quod Latium docet arma ducem. Merobaudes, Panegyr. p. 15. - M.Footnote 6: This portrait is drawn by

30、Renetus ProfuturusFrigeridus, a contemporary historian, known only by someextracts, which are preserved by Gregory of Tours, (l. ii. c. 8,in tom. ii. p. 163.) It was probably the duty, or at least theinterest, of Renatus, to magnify the virtues of Aetius; but hewould have shown more dexterity if he

31、had not insisted on hispatient, forgiving disposition.Footnote *: Insessor Libyes, quamvis, fatalibus armis Ausus Elisaei solium rescindere regni, Milibus Arctois Tyrias compleverat arces, Nunc hostem exutus pactis proprioribus arsit Romanam vincire fidem, Latiosque parentes Adnumerare sib, sociamqu

32、e intexere prolem. Merobaudes, p. 12. - M. From a principle of interest, as well as gratitude, Aetiusassiduously cultivated the alliance of the Huns. While heresided in their tents as a hostage, or an exile, he hadfamiliarly conversed with Attila himself, the nephew of hisbenefactor; and the two fam

33、ous antagonists appeared to have beenconnected by a personal and military friendship, which theyafterwards confirmed by mutual gifts, frequent embassies, and theeducation of Carpilio, the son of Aetius, in the camp of Attila. By the specious professions of gratitude and voluntaryattachment, the patr

34、ician might disguise his apprehensions of theScythian conqueror, who pressed the two empires with hisinnumerable armies. His demands were obeyed or eluded. When heclaimed the spoils of a vanquished city, some vases of gold,which had been fraudulently embezzled, the civil and militarygovernors of Nor

35、icum were immediately despatched to satisfy hiscomplaints: 7 and it is evident, from their conversation withMaximin and Priscus, in the royal village, that the valor andprudence of Aetius had not saved the Western Romans from thecommon ignominy of tribute. Yet his dexterous policy prolongedthe advan

36、tages of a salutary peace; and a numerous army of Hunsand Alani, whom he had attached to his person, was employed inthe defence of Gaul. Two colonies of these Barbarians werejudiciously fixed in the territories of Valens and Orleans; 8and their active cavalry secured the important passages of theRho

37、ne and of the Loire. These savage allies were not indeed lessformidable to the subjects than to the enemies of Rome. Theiroriginal settlement was enforced with the licentious violence ofconquest; and the province through which they marched was exposedto all the calamities of a hostile invasion. 9 St

38、rangers to theemperor or the republic, the Alani of Gaul was devoted to theambition of Aetius, and though he might suspect, that, in acontest with Attila himself, they would revolt to the standard oftheir national king, the patrician labored to restrain, ratherthan to excite, their zeal and resentme

39、nt against the Goths, theBurgundians, and the Franks. Footnote 7: The embassy consisted of Count Romulus; of Promotus,president of Noricum; and of Romanus, the military duke. Theywere accompanied by Tatullus, an illustrious citizen of Petovio,in the same province, and father of Orestes, who had marr

40、ied thedaughter of Count Romulus. See Priscus, p. 57, 65. Cassiodorus(Variar. i. 4) mentions another embassy, which was executed byhis father and Carpilio, the son of Aetius; and, as Attila was nomore, he could safely boast of their manly, intrepid behavior inhis presence.Footnote 8: Deserta Valenti

41、nae urbis rura Alanis partiendatraduntur. Prosper. Tyronis Chron. in Historiens de France, tom.i. p. 639. A few lines afterwards, Prosper observes, that landsin the ulterior Gaul were assigned to the Alani. Withoutadmitting the correction of Dubos, (tom. i. p. 300,) thereasonable supposition of two

42、colonies or garrisons of Alani willconfirm his arguments, and remove his objections.Footnote 9: See Prosper. Tyro, p. 639. Sidonius (Panegyr. Avit.246) complains, in the name of Auvergne, his native country, - Litorius Scythicos equites tunc forte subacto Celsus Aremorico, Geticum rapiebat in agmen

43、Per terras, Averne, tuas, qui proxima quaedue Discursu, flammis, ferro, feritate, rapinis, Delebant; pacis fallentes nomen inane.another poet, Paulinus of Perigord, confirms the complaint: - Nam socium vix ferre queas, qui durior hoste. See Dubos, tom. i. p. 330. The kingdom established by the Visig

44、oths in the southernprovinces of Gaul, had gradually acquired strength and maturity;and the conduct of those ambitious Barbarians, either in peace orwar, engaged the perpetual vigilance of Aetius. After the deathof Wallia, the Gothic sceptre devolved to Theodoric, the son ofthe great Alaric; 10 and

45、his prosperous reign of more thanthirty years, over a turbulent people, may be allowed to prove,that his prudence was supported by uncommon vigor, both of mindand body. Impatient of his narrow limits, Theodoric aspired tothe possession of Arles, the wealthy seat of government andcommerce; but the ci

46、ty was saved by the timely approach ofAetius; and the Gothic king, who had raised the siege with someloss and disgrace, was persuaded, for an adequate subsidy, todivert the martial valor of his subjects in a Spanish war. YetTheodoric still watched, and eagerly seized, the favorable momentof renewing

47、 his hostile attempts. The Goths besieged Narbonne,while the Belgic provinces were invaded by the Burgundians; andthe public safety was threatened on every side by the apparentunion of the enemies of Rome. On every side, the activity ofAetius, and his Scythian cavalry, opposed a firm and successfulr

48、esistance. Twenty thousand Burgundians were slain in battle;and the remains of the nation humbly accepted a dependent seat inthe mountains of Savoy. 11 The walls of Narbonne had been shakenby the battering engines, and the inhabitants had endured thelast extremities of famine, when Count Litorius, a

49、pproaching insilence, and directing each horseman to carry behind him twosacks of flour, cut his way through the intrenchments of thebesiegers. The siege was immediately raised; and the moredecisive victory, which is ascribed to the personal conduct ofAetius himself, was marked with the blood of eig

50、ht thousandGoths. But in the absence of the patrician, who was hastilysummoned to Italy by some public or private interest, CountLitorius succeeded to the command; and his presumption soondiscovered that far different talents are required to lead a wingof cavalry, or to direct the operations of an i

51、mportant war. Atthe head of an army of Huns, he rashly advanced to the gates ofThoulouse, full of careless contempt for an enemy whom hismisfortunes had rendered prudent, and his situation madedesperate. The predictions of the augurs had inspired Litoriuswith the profane confidence that he should en

52、ter the Gothiccapital in triumph; and the trust which he reposed in his Paganallies, encouraged him to reject the fair conditions of peace,which were repeatedly proposed by the bishops in the name ofTheodoric. The king of the Goths exhibited in his distress theedifying contrast of Christian piety an

53、d moderation; nor did helay aside his sackcloth and ashes till he was prepared to arm forthe combat. His soldiers, animated with martial and religiousenthusiasm, assaulted the camp of Litorius. The conflict wasobstinate; the slaughter was mutual. The Roman general, after atotal defeat, which could b

54、e imputed only to his unskilfulrashness, was actually led through the streets of Thoulouse, notin his own, but in a hostile triumph; and the misery which heexperienced, in a long and ignominious captivity, excited thecompassion of the Barbarians themselves. 12 Such a loss, in acountry whose spirit and finances were long since exhausted,could not easily be repaired; and the Goths, assuming, in theirturn, the sentiments of ambition and revenge, would have plantedtheir victorious standards on the banks of the Rhone, if thepresence of Aetius