Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, John C. Rolfe (Translator), val2.15

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[88] Then the king, on his return to Ravenna, acted no longer as a friend of God, but as an enemy to His law; forgetful of all His kindness and of the favour which He had shown him, trusting to his own arm, believing, too, that the emperor Justinus stood in great fear of him, he sent and summoned to Ravenna Johannes,¹ who at that time sat upon the apostolic throne, and said to him: Go to the emperor Justinus in Constantinople, and tell him among other things to restore² those who have become reconciled and joined the Catholic Church.

[89] To him the Pope Johannes replied: What you will do, O king, do quickly. Lo! here I stand before you. But this thing I will not promise you to do, nor will I give the emperor your command. But anything else which you may enjoin upon me with God’s help I shall be able to obtain from him.

[90] Thereupon the king in anger gave orders that a ship should be built, and that Johannes should be embarked on it with the other bishops; that is, Ecclesius of Ravenna, Eusebius of Fanum Fortunae,³ Sabinus of Campania, and two others; and with them the senators Theodorus, Importunus, and Agapitus, with another Agapitus. But God, who does not desert his faithful worshippers, conducted them in safety.

[91] The emperor Justinus received the Roman bishop on his arrival as he would have received Saint Peter, gave him audience, and promised that he would do everything that was asked, except that those who had become reconciled and returned to the Catholic faith could by no means be restored to the Arians.⁴

[92] But while all this was going on, Symmachus, the head of the senate, whose daughter Boethius had married, was brought from Rome to Ravenna. There the king, fearing that through resentment at the death of his son-in-law,⁵ Symmachus might take some step in opposition to his rule, ordered him to be put to death under a false accusation.

[93] Then Pope Johannes returned from Justinus; Theodoric received him in a hostile spirit, and ordered him to be deemed as one of his enemies; a few days later Johannes died. When the people were marching before his dead body, suddenly one of the crowd was possessed by a devil and fell down; but when they had come, with the coffin in which Johannes was carried, to the place where the stricken man lay, he suddenly got up sound and well and took his place in the front of the funeral procession. When the people and the senators beheld this, they began to take relics⁶ from the Pope’s garments. Then the body was escorted out of the city attended by the great rejoicing of the people.

Res Gestae. Ammianus Marcellinus. John C. Rolfe (Translator). Cambridge, MA. 1935-1940.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by Tufts University.

Current edition Perseus

History (English) (Ammianus Marcellinus. Ammianus Marcellinus, with an English translation, Vols. I-III. Rolfe, John C., translator. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; W. Heinemann, 1935-1940 (printing).)

Editions (1)

Res Gestae Perseus (Ammianus Marcellinus. Ammianus Marcellinus, with an English translation, Vols. I-III. Rolfe, John C., editor. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; W. Heinemann, 1935-1940 (printing).) — val2.15 focus

[88] Rediens igitur rex Ravennam,¹ tractans non ut dei amicus sed legi eius inimicus, immemor factus omnis eius beneficii et gratiae quam ei dederat, confidens in brachio suo, item² credens quod eum pertimesceret lustinus imperator, mittens et evocans Ravennam Iohannem, sedis apostolicae praesulem, et dicit ad eum: Ambula Constantinopolim ad Iustinum imperatorem, et dic ei inter alia, ut reconciliatos³ in catholica restituat religione.

[89] Cui papa Iohannes ita respondit: Quod facturus es, rex, facito citius;⁴ ecce in conspectu tuo adsto. Hoc tibi ego non promitto me facturum, nec illi dicturus sum. Nam in aliis causis, quas⁵ mihi iniunxeris, obtinere ab eodem, annuente deo, potero.

[90] Iubet ergo rex iratus navem fabricari⁶ et super impositum eum cum aliis episcopis, id est Ecclesium Ravennatem et Eusebium Fanestrem, et Sabinum Campanum, et alios duos, simul et senatores Theodorum, Importunum, Agapitum, et alium Agapitum. Sed deus, qui fideles cultores suos non deserit, cum prosperitate perduxit.

[91] Cui Iustinus imperator venienti ita occurrit ac si Beato Petro; cui data legatione, omnia repromisit facturum praeter reconciliatos, qui se fidei catholicae dederunt, Arrianis restitui nullatenus posse.

[92] Sed dum haec aguntur, Symmachus caput senati, cuius Boethius filiam habuit uxorem, deducitur de Roma Ravennam. Metuens vero rex ne dolore⁷ generi aliquid adversus regnum eius tractaret, obiecto crimine iussit interfici.

[93] Revertens⁸ Iohannes papa a Iustino, quem Theodericus cum dolo suscepit et in offensa sua eum esse iubet. Qui post paucos dies defunctus est. Ergo euntes populi ante corpusculum eius, subito unus de turba adeptus a daemonio cecidit, et dum pervenissent cum lectulo ubi latus⁹ erat usque ad hominem, subito sanus surrexit et praecedebat in exsequias. Quod videntes populi et senatores, coeperunt reliquias de veste eius tollere. Sic cum summo gaudio populi deductus est corpus eius foris civitatem.

Notes on the current edition

History

1. The first Roman pope of that name, successor to Hormisdas.

2. To the Arians; see note 1, § 94, p. 569.

3. On the Metaurus river, in Umbria; cf. Tac., Hist. iii. 50. Also called Fanum, Caes., B.C. i. 11, 4 (modern Fano) and Colonia Julia Fanestris; cf. Mela, ii. 4, 64; Dessau, Inscrr. 6651, 6652; C.I.L. xi, 6238, 6240.

4. See note 1.

5. Boethius; see 85–87, above.

6. Cf. Amm. xxii. 11, 10.

Ammianus Marcellinus Res Gestae val2.15

John C. Rolfe (Translator)

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