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Iulianus C. vii Alamannorum reges Galliam incubantes aggreditur, et barbaros apud Argentoratum acie fundit.

[1] Quo dispalato foedo terrore, Alamannorum reges Chonodomarius et Vestralpus, Urius quin etiam et Ursicinus, cum Serapione et Suomario et Hortario, in unum robore virium suarum omni collecto, bellicumque canere bucinis iussis, venere¹ prope urbem Argentoratum, extrema metuentem Caesarem arbitrati retrocessisse, cum ille tum² etiam perficiendi munimenti studio stringeretur.

[2] Erexit autem confidentiam caput altius attollentum scutarius perfuga, qui commissi criminis metuens poenam, transgressus ad eos post ducis fugati discessum, armatorum tredecim milia tantum remansisse cum Iuliano docebat—is enim numerus eum sequebatur—barbara feritate certaminum rabiem undique concitante.

[3] Cuius asseveratione eadem subinde replicantis, ad maiora stimulati fiducia, missis legatis, satis pro imperio Caesari mandaverunt, ut terris abscederet virtute sibi quaesitis et ferro; qui ignarus pavendi, nec ira nec dolore perculsus, sed fastus barbaricos ridens, tentis legatis ad usque perfectum opus castrorum, in eodem gradu constantiae stetit immobilis.

[4] Agitabat autem miscebatque omnia, sine modo ubique sese diffunditans, et princeps audendi periculosa, rex Chonodomarius, ardua subrigens supercilia, ut saepe secundis rebus elatus.

[5] Nam et Decentium Caesarem superavit, aequo Marte congressus, et civitates erutas multas vastavit et opulentas, licentiusque diu nullo refragante Gallias persultavit. Ad cuius roborandam fiduciam, recens quoque fuga ducis accessit, numero praestantis et viribus.

[6] Alamanni enim scutorum insignia contuentes, norant eos milites permisisse paucis suorum latronibus terrain, quorum metu aliquotiens, antequam³ gradum conferrent, amissis pluribus abiere dispersi. Quae anxie ferebat sollicitus Caesar, quod trudente ipsa necessitate, digresso periculi socio,⁴ cum paucis (licet fortibus) populosis gentibus occurrere cogebatur.

[7] Iamque solis radiis rutilantibus, tubarumque concinente clangore, pedestres copiae lentis incessibus educuntur, earumque lateri equestres iunctae⁵ sunt turmae, inter quas cataphractarii erant et sagittarii, formidabile genus armorum.

[8] Et quoniam a loco, unde Romana promota sunt signa, ad usque vallum barbaricum quarta leuga signabatur et decima, id est unum et viginti milia passuum, utilitati securitatique recte consulens Caesar, revocatis procursatoribus⁶ iam antegressis, indictaque solitis vocibus quiete, cuneatim circumsistentes alloquitur, genuina placiditate sermonis:

[9] Urget ratio salutis tuendae communis, ut parcissime dicam, non iacentis animi Caesarem hortari vos et orare,-commilitones mei—ut adulta robustaque virtute confisi, cautiorem viam potius eligamus, ad toleranda vel ad depellenda quae sperantur, non praeproperam et ancipitem.

[10] Ut enim in periculis iuventutem impigram esse convenit et audacem, ita (cum res postulat) regibilem et consultam. Quid igitur censeo, si arbitrium affuerit vestrum, iustaque sustinet indignatio, paucis absolvam.

[11] Iam dies in meridiem vergit, lassitudine nos itineris fatigatos, scrupulosi tramites excipient et obscuri, nox senescente luna nullis sideribus adiuvanda, terrae protinus aestu flagrantes, nullis aquarum subsidiis fultae; quae si dederit quisquam commode posse transiri, ruentibus hostium examinibus post otium cibique refectionem et potus, quid nos agamus?⁷ Quo vigore inedia siti laboreque membris marcentibus occurramus?

[12] Ergo quoniam negotiis difficillimis quoque⁸ saepe dispositio tempestiva prospexit, et statum nutantium rerum, recto consilio in bonam partem accepto, aliquotiens divina remedia repararunt, hic quaeso vallo fossaque circumdati, divisis vigiliis, quiescamus, somnoque et victu congruis potiti pro tempore, pace dei sit dictum, triumphaturas aquilas et vexilla victricia primo lucis moveamus exordio.

[13] Nec finiri perpessi quae dicebantur, stridore dentium infrendentes, ardoremque pugnandi hastis illidendo scuta monstrantes, in hostem se duci iam conspicuum exorabant, caelestis dei favore, fiduciaque sui, et fortunati rectoris expertis virtutibus freti, atque (ut exitus docuit) salutaris quidam genius praesens ad dimicandum eos (dum adesse potuit), incitabat.

[14] Accessit huic alacritati plenus celsarum potestatum assensus, maximeque Florenti praefecti praetorio, periculose quidem sed ratione secunda pugnandum esse censentis, dum starent⁹ barbari conglobati, qui si diffluxissent, motum militis in seditiones nativo calore propensioris ferri non posse aiebat, extortam sibi victoriam (ut putavit) non sine ultimorum conatu graviter toleraturi.¹⁰

[15] Addiderat autem fiduciam nostris consideratio gemina, recordantibus quod anno nuper emenso, Romanis per transrhenana spatia fusius volitantibus, nec visus est quisquam laris sui defensor, nec obvius stetit, sed concaede arborum densa undique semitis clausis, sidere urente brumali, aegre vixere barbari longius amendati, quodque imperatore terras eorum ingresso, nec resistere ausi, nec apparere, pacem impetraverunt, suppliciter obsecrantes.

[16] Sed nullus mutatam rationem temporis advertebat, quod tune tripertito exitio premebantur, imperatore urgente per Raetias, Caesare proximo nusquam elabi permittente, finitimis, quos hostes fecere discordiae, modo non occipitia conculcantibus hinc indeque cinctorum. Postea vero pace data discesserat imperator, et sedata iurgiorum materia, vicinae gentes iam concordabant, et turpissimus ducis Romani digressus ferociam natura conceptam auxit in maius.

[17] Alio itidem modo res est aggravata Romana, ex negotio tali. Regii duo fratres vinculo pacis adstricti, quam anno praeterito impetraverant a Constantio, nec tumultuare nec commoveri sunt ausi. Sed paulo postea uno ex his Gundomado, qui potior erat, fideique firmioris, per insidias interempto, omnis eius populus cum nostris hostibus conspiravit et confestim Vadomarii plebs (ipso invito,¹¹ ut asserebat) agminibus bella cientium barbarorum sese coniunxit.

[18] Cunctis igitur summis infimisque approbantibus tune opportune congrediendum, nec de rigore animorum quicquam remittentibus, exclamavit subito signifer Perge, felicissime omnium Caesar, quo te fortuna prosperior ducit; tandem per te virtutem et consilia militare sentimus. Praevius¹² ut faustus antesignanus et fortis, experieris quid miles sub conspectu bellicosi ductoris testisque individui gerendorum, modo adsit superum numen, viribus efficiet excitatis.

[19] His auditis cum nullae laxarentur indutiae, promotus exercitus prope collem advenit molliter editum, opertum segetibus iam maturis, a superciliis Rheni haut longo intervallo distantem; ex cuius summitate speculatores hostium tres equites exciti, subito nuntiaturi Romanum exercitum adventare, festinarunt ad sues, unus vero pedes qui sequi non potuit, captus agilitate nostrorum, indicavit per triduum et trinoctium flumen transisse Germanos.

[20] Quos cum iam prope densantes semet in cuneos nostrorum conspexere ductores, steterunt vestigiis fixis, antepilanis hastatisque et ordinum primis, velut insolubili muro fundatis, et pari cautela hostes stetere cuneati.

[21] Cumque ita ut ante dictus docuerat perfuga, equitatum omnem a dextro latere sibi vidissent oppositum, quicquid apud eos per equestres copias praepollebat, in laevo cornu locavere confertum. Eisdemque sparsim pedites miscuere discursatores et leves, profecto ratione tuta poscente.

[22] Norant enim licet prudentem ex equo bellatorem cum clibanario nostro congressum, frena retinentem et scutum, hasta una manu vibrata, tegminibus ferreis abscondito bellatori nocere non posse, peditem vero inter ipsos discriminum vertices, cum nihil caveri solet praeter id quod occurrit, humiliter et¹³ occulte reptantem, latere forato iumenti, incautum rectorem praecipitem agere, levi negotio trucidandum.

[23] Hoc itaque disposito, dextrum sui latus struxere clandestinis insidiis et obscuris. Ductabant autem populos omnes pugnaces et saevos Chonodomarius et Serapio, potestate excelsiores ante alios reges.

[24] Et Chonodomarius quidem nefarius turbinis¹⁴ totius incentor, cuius vertici flammeus torulus aptabatur, anteibat cornu sinistrum, audax et fidens ingenti robore lacertorum, ubi ardor proelii sperabatur, immanis, equo spumante sublimior, erectus in iaculum formidandae vastitatis, armorumque nitore conspicuus ante alios,¹⁵ et strenuus¹⁶ miles et utilis praeter ceteros ductor.

[25] Latus vero dextrum Serapio agebat etiam tum adultae lanuginis iuvenis, efficacia praecurrens aetatem; Mederichi fratris Chonodomarii filius, hominis quoad vixerat perfidissimi; ideo sic appellatus, quod pater eius diu obsidatus pignore tentus in Galliis, doctusque Graeca quaedam arcana, hunc filium suum, Agenarichum genitali vocabulo dictitatum, ad Serapionis transtulit nomen.

[26] Hos sequebantur potestate proximi reges, numero quinque, regalesque decem, et optimatum series magna, armatorumque milia triginta et quinque, ex variis nationibus partim mercede, partim pacto vicissitudinis reddendae quaesita.

[27] Iamque torvum concrepantibus tubis, Severus dux Romanorum, aciem dirigens laevam, cum prope fossas armatorum refertas venisset, unde dispositum erat ut abditi repente exorti cuncta turbarent, stetit impavidus, suspectiorque de obscuris, nec referre gradum nec ulterius ire temptavit.

[28] Quo viso, animosus contra labores maximos Caesar, ducentis equitibus saeptus, ut ardor negotii flagitabat, agmina peditum impetu¹⁷ veloci discurrerent, verbis hortabatur et gestu.¹⁸

[29] Et quoniam alloqui pariter omnes nec longitude spatiorum extenta, nec in unum coactae multitudinis permitteret crebritas, (et alioqui vitabat gravioris invidiae pondus, ne videretur id affectasse quod soli sibi deberi Augustus existimabat) incautior sui hostium tela praetervolans, his et similibus notos pariter et ignotos ad faciendum fortiter accendebat.

[30] Advenit—o socii—iustum pugnandi iam tempus, olim exoptatum mihi vobiscum, quod antehac arcessentes, arma inquietis¹⁹ motibus poscebatis.

[31] Item cum ad alios postsignanos, in acie locatos extrema, venisset, En inquit commilitones, diu speratus praesto est dies, compellens nos omnes, elutis pristinis maculis, Romanae maiestati reddere proprium decus. Hi sunt barbari quos rabies et immodicus furor ad perniciem rerum suarum coegit occurrere, nostris viribus opprimendos.

[32] Alios itidem bellandi usu diutino callentes, aptius ordinans, his exhortationibus adiuvabat: Exsurgamus—viri fortes—propulsemus²⁰ fortitudine congrua illisa nostris partibus probra, quae contemplans Caesaris nomen cunctando suscepi.

[33] Quoscumque autem pugnae signum inconsulte poscentes, rupturosque imperium irrequietis motibus praevideret, Quaeso inquit ne hostes vertendos in fugam sequentes avidius, futurae victoriae gloriam violetis, neu quis ante necessitatem ultimam cedat. Nam fugituros procul dubio deseram, hostium terga caesuris adero indiscretus, si hoc pensatione moderata fiat et cauta.

[34] Haec aliaque in eundem modum saepius replicando, maiorem exercitus partem primae barbarorum opposuit fronti, et subito Alamannorum peditum fremitus, indignationi mixtus auditus est, unanimi conspiratione vociferantium, relictis equis secum oportere versari regales, ne siquid contigisset adversum, deserta miserabili plebe, facilem discedendi copiam reperirent.

[35] Hocque comperto, Chonodomarius iumento statim²¹ desiluit, et secuti eum residui idem fecere,²² nihil morati; nec enim eorum quisquam ambigebat partem suam fore victricem.

[36] Dato igitur aeneatorum accentu sollemniter signo ad pugnandum utrimque, magnis concursum est viribus. Paulisper²³ praepilabantur missilia, et properantes concito²⁴ quam considerato cursu Germani, telaque dextris explicantes, involavere nostrorum equitum turmas, frendentes immania, eorumque ultra solitum saevientium, comae fluentes horrebant, et elucebat quidam ex oculis furor, quos contra pertinax miles, scutorum obicibus vertices tegens, eiectansque gladios, vel tela concrispans, mortem minitantia perterrebat.

[37] Cumque in ipso proeliorum articulo eques se fortiter conturmaret, et muniret latera sua firmius pedes, frontem artissimis conserens parmis, erigebantur crassi pulveris nubes, variique fuere discursus, nunc resistentibus, nunc cedentibus nostris, et obnixi genibus quidam barbari peritissimi bellatores, hostem propellere laborabant, sed destinatione nimia dexterae dexteris miscebantur et umbo trudebat umbonem, caelumque exsultantium cadentiumque resonabat a vocibus magnis, et cum cornu sinistrum artius²⁵ gradiens, urgentium tot agmina Germanorum vi nimia pepulisset, iretque in barbaros fremens, equites nostri cornu tenentes dextrum, praeter spem incondite discesserunt, dumque primi fugientium postremos impediunt, gremio legionum protecti, fixerunt integrate proelio gradum.

[38] Hoc autem exinde acciderat, quod dum ordinum restituitur series, cataphracti equites viso rectore suo leviter vulnerato, et consorte quodam per cervicem equi labente,²⁶ pondere armorum oppressi, dilapsi qua quisque poterat, peditesque calcando cuncta turbassent, ni conferti illi sibique vicissim innexi²⁷ stetissent immobiles. Igitur cum equites nihil praeter fugae circumspectantes praesidia, vidisset longius Caesar, concito equo, eos velut repagulum quoddam cohibuit.

[39] Quo agnito per purpureum²⁸ signum draconis, summitati hastae longioris aptatum, velut senectutis pandentis exuvias, stetit unius turmae tribunus, et pallore timoreque perculsus, ad aciem integrandam recurrit.

[40] Utque in rebus amat fieri dubiis, eosdem lenius increpans Caesar, Quo inquit cedimus, viri fortissimi? an ignoratis, fugam quae salutem numquam repperit, irriti conatus stultitiam indicare? Redeamus ad nostros, saltim gloriae futuri participes, si eos pro re publica dimicantes reliquimus inconsulte.

[41] Haec reverenter dicendo, reduxit omnes ad munia subeunda bellandi, imitatus salva differentia veterem Sullam, qui cum contra Archelaum (Mithridatis ducem) educta acie proelio fatigabatur ardenti, relictus a militibus cunctis, cucurrit in ordinem primum, raptoque et coniecto vexillo in partem hostilem, Ite dixerat socii periculorum electi, et scitantibus ubi relictus sim imperator, respondete nihil fallentes: ' solus in Boeotia pro omnibus nobis cum dispendio sanguinis sui decernens.'

[42] Proinde Alamanni, pulsis disiectisque equitibus nostris, primam aciem peditum incesserunt, eam abiecta resistendi animositate pulsuri.

[43] Sed postquam comminus ventum est, pugnabatur paribus diu momentis. Cornuti enim et Bracchiati, usu proeliorum diuturno firmati, eos iam gestu terrentes, barritum ciere vel maximum: qui clamor ipso fervore certaminum, a tenui susurro exoriens, paulatimque adulescens ritu extollitur fluctuum, cautibus illisorum; iaculorum deinde stridentium crebritate, hinc indeque convolante, pulvis aequali motu adsurgens, et prospectum eripiens arma armis corporaque corporibus obtrudebat.

[44] Sed violentia iraque incompositi, barbari in modum exarsere flammarum, nexamque scutorum compagem, quae nostros in modum testudinis tuebatur, scindebant ictibus gladiorum assiduis.

[45] Quo cognito opitulatum conturmalibus suis celeri cursu Batavi venere cum Regibus, formidabilis manus, extremae necessitatis arficulo circumventos, (si iuvisset fors) ereptura, torvumque canentibus classicis, adultis viribus certabatur.

[46] Verum Alamanni bella alacriter ineuntes, altius anhelabant, velut quodam furoris afflatu,²⁹ opposita omnia deleturi. Spicula tamen verrutaque missilia non cessabant, ferrataeque arundines fundebantur, quamquam etiam comminus mucro feriebat contra mucronem, et loricae gladiis findebantur, et vulnerati nondum effuso cruore ad audendum exsertius consurgebant.

[47] Pares enim quodam modo coiere cum paribus, Alamanni robusti et celsiores, milites usu nimio dociles; illi feri et turbidi, hi quieti et cauti; animis isti fidentes, grandissimis illi corporibus freti.

[48] Resurgebat tamen aliquotiens armorum pondere pulsus loco Romanus, lassatisque impressus genibus laevum reflectens poplitem barbarus subsidebat, hostem ultro lacessens, quod indicium est obstinationis extremae.

[49] Exsiluit itaque subito ardens optimatium globus, inter quos decernebant et reges, et sequente vulgo ante alios agmina nostrorum irrupit, et iter sibi aperiendo,³⁰ ad usque Primanorum legionem pervenit locatam in medio—quae confirmatio castra praetoria dictitatur,-ubi densior et ordinibus frequens, miles instar turrium fixa firmitate consistens, proelium maiore spiritu repetivit, et vulneribus declinandis intentus, seque in modum mirmillonis operiens, hostium latera, quae nudabat ira flagrantior, districtis gladiis perforabat.

[50] At illi prodigere vitam pro victoria contendentes, temptabant agminis nostri laxare compagem. Sed continuata serie peremptorum, quos Romanus iam fidentior stravit, succedebant barbari superstites interfectis, auditoque occumbentium gemitu crebro, pavore perfusi torpebant.

[51] Fessi denique tot aerumnis, et ad solam deinceps strenui fugam, per diversos tramites tota celeritate digredi³¹ festinabant, ut e mediis saevientis pelagi fluctibus, quocumque avexerit ventus, eici nautici properant et vectores; quod voti magis quam spei fuisse fatebitur quilibet tunc praesens.

[52] Aderatque propitiati numinis arbitrium clemens, et secans terga cedentium miles cum interdum flexis ensibus feriendi non suppeterent instrumenta, erepta³² ipsis barbaris tela eorum vitalibus immergebat, nec quisquam vulnerantium sanguine iram explevit nec satiavit caede multiplici dexteram, vel miseratus supplicantem abscessit.

[53] Iacebant itaque plurimi transfixi letaliter, remedia mortis compendio postulantes, alii semineces, labente iam spiritu, lucis usuram oculis morientibus inquirebant, quorundam capita discissa trabalibus telis, et pendentia iugulis cohaerebant, pars per³³ limosum³⁴ et lubricum solum, in sociorum cruore relapsi,³⁵ intactis ferro corporibus, acervis superruentium obruti necabantur.

[54] Quae ubi satis evenere prosperrime, validius instante victore, acumina densis ictibus hebescebant, splendentesque galeae sub pedibus volvebantur et scuta, ultimo denique trudente discrimine, barbari, cum elati cadaverum aggeres exitus impedirent, ad subsidia fluminis petivere, quae sola restabant, eorum terga iam perstringentis.

[55] Et quia cursu sub armis concito, fugientes miles indefessus urgebat, quidam nandi peritia eximi se posse discriminibus arbitrati, animas fluctibus commiserunt. Qua causa celeri corde futura praevidens Caesar, cum tribunis et ducibus clamore obiugatorio prohibebat, ne hostem avidius sequens, nostrorum quisquam se gurgitibus committeret verticosis.

[56] Unde id observatum est, ut marginibus insistentes, confoderent telorum varietate Germanos, quorum siquenm morti velocitas subtraxisset, iacti corporis pondere ad ima fluminis subsidebat.

[57] Et velut in quodam theatrali spectaculo, aulaeis miranda monstrantibus multa, licebat iam sine metu videre nandi strenuis quosdam nescios adhaerentes, fluitantes alios cum expeditioribus linquerentur ut stipites, et velut luctante amnis violentia vorari quosdam fluctibus involutos, non nullos clipeis vectos, praeruptas undarum occursantium molis, obliquatis meatibus declinantes, ad ripas ulteriores post multa discrimina pervenire. Spumans denique cruore barbarico, decolor alveus insueta stupebat augmenta.

[58] Dum haec ita aguntur,³⁶ rex Chonodomarius reperta copia discedendi, lapsus per funerum strues, cum satellitibus paucis, celeritate rapida properabat ad castra, quae prope Tribuncos et Concordiam munimenta Romana, fixit intrepidus, ut escensis navigiis, dudum paratis ad casus ancipites, in secretis³⁷ secessibus se³⁸ amendaret.³⁹

[59] Et quia non nisi Rheno transito ad territoria sua poterat pervenire, vultum ne agnosceretur operiens, sensim retulit pedem. Cumque propinquaret iam ripis, lacunam palustribus aquis interfusam circumgrediens ut transiret, calcata mollitie glutinosa, equo est evolutus, et confestim licet obeso corpore gravior, ad subsidium vicini collis evasit, quem agnitum (nec enim potuit celare qui fuerit, fortunae prioris magnitudine proditus), statim anhelo cursu cohors cum tribuno secuta, armis circumdatum aggerem nemorosum, cautius obsidebat, perrumpere verita, ne fraude latenti inter ramorum tenebras exciperetur occultas.

[60] Quibus visis, compulsus ad ultimos metus, ultro se dedidit⁴⁰ solus egressus, comitesque eius ducenti numero et tres amici iunctissimi, flagitium arbitrati post regem vivere, vel pro rege non mori, si ita tulerit casus, tradidere se vinciendos.

[61] Utque nativo more sunt barbari humiles in adversis, disparesque in secundis, servus alienae voluntatis trahebatur pallore confusus, claudente noxarum conscientia linguam, immensum quantum ab eo differens, qui post feros lugubresque terrores, cineribus Galliarum insultans, multa minabatur et saeva.

[62] Quibus ita favore superni numinis terminatis, post exactum iam diem, occinente liticine revocatus invitissimus miles, prope supercilia Rheni tendebat, scutorumque ordine multiplicato vallatus, victu fruebatur et somno.

[63] Ceciderunt autem in hac pugna Romani quidem CCXL et III, rectores vero III: Bainobaudes Cornutorum tribunus, adaeque Laipso et Innocentius cataphractarios ducens, et vacans quidam tribunus, cuius non suppetit nomen; ex Alamannis vero sex⁴¹ milia corporum numerata sunt, in campo constrata, et alii⁴² inaestimabiles mortuorum acervi per undas fluminis ferebantur.

[64] Tune Iulianus, ut erat fortuna sui spectatior, meritisque magis quam imperio potens, Augustus acclamatione concordi totius exercitus appellatus, ut agentes petulantius milites increpabat, id se nec sperare nec adipisci velle iurando confirmans.

[65] Et ut augeret eventus secundi laetitiam, concilio convocato propositisque praemiis, propitio ore⁴³ Chonodomarium sibi iussit offerri. Qui primo curvatus, deinde humi suppliciter fusus, gentilique prece veniam poscens, bono animo esse est iussus.

[66] Et diebus postea paucis ductus ad comitatum imperatoris, missusque exinde Romam, in castris peregrinis, quae in monte sunt Caelio, morbo veterni consumptus est.

[67] His tot ac talibus prospero peractis eventu, in palatio Constanti quidam Iulianum culpantes, ut princeps ipse delectaretur, irrisive Victorinum ideo nominabant, quod verecunde referens quotiens imperaret, superatos indicabat saepe Germanos.

[68] Interque exaggerationem inanium laudum, ostentationemque aperte lucentium, inflabant ex usu imperatorem, suopte ingenio nimium, quicquid per omnem terrae ambitum agebatur, felicibus eius auspiciis assignantes.

[69] Quocirca magniloquentia elatus adulatorum, tune et deinde edictis propositis, arroganter satis multa mentiebatur, se solum (cum gestis non adfuisset) et dimicasse et vicisse et supplices reges gentium erexisse aliquotiens scribens, et si verbi gratia eo agente tune in Italia, dux quidam egisset fortiter contra Persas, nulla eius mentione per textum longissimum facta, laureatas litteras ad provinciarum damna mittebat, se inter primores versatum cum odiosa sui iactatione significans.

[70] Exstant denique eius dicta, in tabulariis principis⁴⁴ publicis condita,⁴⁵ in quibus ambitiose⁴⁶ delata narrandi extollendique semet in caelum. Ab Argentorato cum pugnaretur, mansione quadragesima disparatus, describens proelium aciem ordinasse, et stetisse inter signiferos, et barbaros fugasse praecipites, sibique oblatum falso indicat Chonodomarium (pro rerum indignitas) super Iuliani gloriosis actibus conticescens, quos sepelierat penitus, ni fama res maximas, vel obumbrantibus plurimis, silere nesciret.

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

Res Gestae (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).)

Translations (1)

History Perseus (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).) — 16.12 focus

[1] When this disgraceful panic had been spread abroad, the kings of the Alamanni, Chonodomarius and Vestralpus, as well as Urius and Ursicinus, together with Serapio and Suomarius and Hortarius, collected all the flower of their forces in one spot and having ordered the horns to sound the war note, approached the city of Strasburg, thinking that Caesar had retired through fear of the worst, whereas he was even then busily employed in his project of completing the fort.

[2] Moreover, as they tossed their heads proudly, their confidence was increased by a deserter from the targeteers; who, in fear of punishment for a crime he had committed, went over to them after the departure of his defeated leader, and informed them that only thirteen thousand soldiers had stayed with Julian; and in fact that was the number of his followers, while savage ferocity was arousing the frenzy of battle on every side.

[3] Through this deserter’s frequent repetition of that statement their confidence was raised still higher; they sent delegates to Caesar and imperiously enough commanded him to depart from the lands which they had won by valour and the sword. But he, a stranger to fear, neither lost his temper nor felt aggrieved, but laughing at the presumption of the savages, he detained the envoys until the work of fortification was ended and remained steadfast in the same attitude of resolution.

[4] Now King Chonodomarius was raising general disturbance and confusion, making his presence felt everywhere without limit, a leader in dangerous enterprises, lifting up his brows in pride, being as he was conceited over frequent successes.

[5] For he both met Decentius Caesar on equal terms and defeated him, and had destroyed and sacked many wealthy cities, and for a long time freely overran Gaul without opposition. To strengthen his confidence, there was added besides the recent rout of a general superior in numbers and strength.¹

[6] For the Alamanni, on seeing the devices of their shields, realised that these soldiers, who had given ground before a few of their brigands, were the men in fear of whom they had at times in the past scattered and fled with heavy losses, before coming to close quarters. All this caused Julian worry and anxiety, because at the instance of urgent necessity, with the partner of his danger gone, he was forced with only a few (though brave) troops to meet swarming tribes.

[7] Already the beams of the sun were reddening the sky, and the blare of the trumpets was sounding in unison, when the infantry forces were led out at a moderate pace, and to their flank were joined the squadrons of cavalry, among whom were the cuirassiers² and the archers, a formidable branch of the service.

[8] And since from the place where the Roman standards had begun advancing, the distance to the enemy’s camp was figured to be fourteen leagues—that is, twenty-one miles—Caesar had proper regard for both advantage and security, and having recalled his outposts, who had already gone ahead, and having proclaimed silence by the usual announcements, with his native calmness of speech he addressed the soldiers, who stood about him in companies, as follows:

[9] Regard for maintaining our common safety (to speak most sparingly) urges me, a Caesar far from pusillanimous, to urge and entreat you, fellow soldiers, to have confidence in our mature and sturdy courage, and to choose for all of us rather the path of caution, not the over-hasty and doubtful one, if we are to withstand or to repulse what we have to expect.

[10] For in the midst of peril, while it is proper that young men should be energetic and daring, they should also (when occasion requires) be docile and circumspect. Let me therefore in few words detail what my opinion is and see if you will give me leave, and your just anger upholds it.

[11] The day is already nearing noon; we are exhausted by the fatigue of the march; steep and blind paths will receive us; the moon is waning and the night will be relieved by no stars; the country is fairly ablaze with heat and relieved by no supply of water. If anyone should grant us the ability to pass through all this comfortably, what are we to do when the enemy’s swarms rush upon us, refreshed as they will be with rest and food and drink? What strength can we have, when our limbs are enfeebled with hunger, thirst and toil, to offer resistance?

[12] Therefore, since even the most difficult situations have often been met by timely arrangement, and when suitable advice has been taken in good part, heaven-sent remedies have frequently restored the condition of affairs which threatened ruin, here, I ask of you, protected by a rampart and a trench and with our sentinels picketed, let us rest and for the present enjoy sleep and food suitable to the occasion; and then (with God’s leave be it spoken) let us advance our triumphant eagles and victorious standards at the first break of day.

[13] The soldiers did not allow him to finish what he was saying, but gnashed and ground their teeth and showed their eagerness for battle by striking their spears and shields together, and besought him that they might be led against an enemy who was already in sight, trusting in the favour of God in Heaven, in their own self-confidence, and in the tried valour of their lucky general; and (as the event showed) a sort of helpful guardian spirit was urging them to the fray, so long as he could be at hand.

[14] To add to this eagerness there was the full approval of the high command and especially of Florentius, the praetorian prefect, who judged that though it was risky, they must none the less fight with hope of success while the savages were standing massed together; but if they scattered, the resentment of our soldiers, who, he said, are inclined by their native hotness of temper towards insubordination, would be impossible to withstand; for that victory (as they thought) should be wrested from their hands they would hardly endure without recourse to the last extremity.

[15] Furthermore, our men’s confidence had been increased by a twofold consideration, since they recalled that during the year just elapsed, when the Romans were ranging freely all through the country beyond the Rhine, not a man was seen to defend his own home or to make a stand against them; but after blocking the paths everywhere with a thick barricade of felled trees, the savages, frost-bitten by winter climate, had much ado to live, moving far out of the way; and once the emperor had entered into their country they did not dare either to resist or show themselves, and obtained peace by suppliant entreaties.

[16] But no one noticed that now the state of the case was changed, since then they were threatened with ruin from three sides; the emperor was menacing them by way of Raetia, Caesar was near at hand and would not allow them to slip out anywhere, and their neighbours (whom civil strife had made their enemies) were all but treading on their necks while they were hemmed in on all sides. But later, peace was granted and the emperor had departed; the source of their quarrels having disappeared, the border tribes were now in agreement; and the shameful departure of the Roman commander had greatly increased the savageness implanted in them by nature.

[17] In another way also the Roman situation was made worse in consequence of the following occurrence: there were two brothers of royal blood, who, bound by the obligation of the peace which they had obtained from Constantius the year before, dared neither to raise a disturbance nor to make any move; but a little later, when one of them, Gundomadus, who was the stronger of the two and truer to his promise, had been treacherously murdered, all his tribe made common cause with our enemies, and at once the subjects of Vadomarius (against his will, as he insisted) united with the armies of the savages who were clamouring for war.

[18] So, since the whole army, from the highest to the lowest, agreed that then was the suitable time to fight, and did not in the least abate their inflexibility of spirit, one of the standard bearers suddenly cried: Forward, most fortunate of all Caesars, whither your lucky star guides you; in you at last we feel that both valour and good counsel are in the field. Leading the way for us like a lucky and valiant commander, you will find what the soldier will accomplish when his strength is called out to the full, under the eyes of a warlike general, the immediate witness of his achievements, if only the favour of the supreme deity be present.

[19] On hearing this no delay was permitted, but the army moved forward and approached a hill of gentle slope, covered with grain already ripe, and not far distant from the banks of the Rhine. From its top three of the enemy’s cavalry scouts galloped off and hastened to their troops, to bring speedy word of the Roman army’s approach. But one infantryman, who could not keep up with them, was caught through the quickness of our men, and reported that the Germans had been crossing the river for three days and three nights.

[20] When our leading officers espied them, now near at hand, taking their places in close wedge-formation, they halted and stood fast, making a solid line, like an impregnable wall, of the vanguard, the standard bearers, and the staff-officers;³ and with like wariness the enemy held their ground in wedge-formation.

[21] And when (just as the above mentioned deserter had told us) they saw all our cavalry opposite them on the right flank, they put all their strongest cavalry forces on their left flank in close order. And among them here and there they intermingled skirmishers and light-armed infantry, as safe policy certainly demanded.

[22] For they realised that one of their warriors on horseback, no matter how skilful, in meeting one of our cavalry in coat-of-mail, must hold bridle and shield in one hand and brandish his spear with the other, and would thus be able to do no harm to a soldier hidden in iron armour; whereas the infantry soldier in the very hottest of the fight, when nothing is apt to be guarded against except what is straight before one, can creep about low and unseen, and by piercing a horse’s side throw its unsuspecting rider headlong, whereupon he can be slain with little trouble.

[23] Having made this arrangement, they provided their right flank with secret and puzzling ambuscades. Now all these warlike and savage tribes were led by Chonodomarius and Serapio, kings higher than all the rest in authority.

[24] And Chonodomarius, who was in fact the infamous instigator of the whole disturbance, rode before the left wing with a flame-coloured plume on his helmet, a bold man, who relied upon his mighty muscular strength, a huge figure wherever the heat of battle was looked for; erect on his foaming steed, he towered with a lance of formidable size; made conspicuous above others by the gleam of his armour, he was both a doughty soldier and a skilful general beyond all the rest.

[25] But the right wing was led by Serapio, who was still a young man with downy cheeks, but his ability outran his years; he was the son of Mederichus, Chonodomarius’ brother, a man of the utmost treachery all his life; and he was so named because his father, who had for a long time been kept as a hostage in Gaul and had been taught certain Greek mysteries, changed his son’s original native name of Agenarichus to that of Serapio.⁴

[26] These were followed by the kings next in power, five in number, by ten princes, with a long train of nobles, and 35,000 troops levied from various nations, partly for pay and partly under agreement to return the service.

[27] And now as the trumpets blared ominously, Severus, the Roman general in command of the left wing, on coming near the trenches filled with soldiers, from which it had been arranged that the men in concealment should rise up suddenly and throw everything into confusion, halted fearlessly, and being somewhat suspicious of ambuscades, made no attempt either to draw back or to go further.

[28] On seeing this, Caesar, who was courageous in the face of the greatest dangers, surrounded himself with an escort of two hundred horsemen, as the violence of this affair demanded, and with word and action urged the lines of infantry to deploy with swift speed.

[29] And since to address them all at once was impossible, both on account of the wide extent of the field and the great numbers of the multitude that had been brought together (and besides he avoided the heavy burden of jealousy, for fear of seeming to have affected that which the emperor supposed to be due to himself alone) without thought of his own safety he flew past the enemy’s weapons and by these and similar speeches animated the soldiers, strangers as well as acquaintances, to deeds of valour.

[30] There has come now, comrades, the real time for fighting, which you and I have long since desired, and which you were just now demanding, when you were tumultuously calling for your weapons.

[31] Also, when he had come to others, who were stationed behind the standards and in the extreme rear, he said: Behold, fellow-soldiers, the long-hoped-for day is now here, forcing us all to wash away the old-time stains and restore its due honour to the majesty of Rome. These are the savages whom madness and excessive folly have driven on to the ruin of their fortunes, doomed as they are to be overwhelmed by our might.

[32] In the same way, as he arranged in better order others who were experienced by long practice in warfare, he cheered them with with such words of encouragement as these: Let us bestir ourselves, brave soldiers, and by seasonable valour do away with the reproaches inflicted upon our cause, in consideration of which I have hesitatingly accepted the title of Caesar.

[33] But whenever he saw any soldiers who were calling for the battle-signal out of season, and foresaw that they would by their riotous actions break discipline, he said: I beg of you, do not mar the glory of our coming victory by following too eagerly the enemy whom you are about to put to flight; and let none yield ground before the extremity of need. For I shall surely abandon those who are likely to flee, but I shall be inseparably present with those who shall wound their foemen’s backs, provided that it be done with regard for judgment and caution.

[34] While he kept often repeating these and other words to the same effect, he placed the greater part of his army opposite the forefront of the savages, and suddenly there was heard the outcry of the German infantry, mingled with indignation, as they shouted with one accord that their princes ought to leave their horses and keep company with them, for fear that they, if anything adverse should occur, abandoning the wretched herd, would easily make shift to escape.

[35] On learning of this, Chonodomarius at once sprang down from his horse, and the rest, following his example, did the same without delay; for not one of them doubted that their side would be victorious.

[36] So, when the call to battle had been regularly given on both sides by the notes of the trumpeters, they began the fight with might and main; for a time missiles were hurled, and then the Germans, running forward with more haste than discretion, and wielding their weapons in their right hands, flew upon our cavalry squadrons; and as they gnashed their teeth hideously and raged beyond their usual manner, their flowing hair made a terrible sight, and a kind of madness shone from their eyes. Against them our soldiers resolutely protected their heads with the barriers of their shields, and with sword thrusts or by hurling darts threatened them with death and greatly terrified them.

[37] And when in the very crisis of the battle the cavalry formed massed squadrons valiantly and the infantry stoutly protected their flanks by making a front of their bucklers joined fast together, clouds of thick dust arose. Then there were various manœuvres, as our men now stood fast and now gave ground, and some of the most skilful warriors among the savages by the pressure of their knees tried to force their enemy back; but with extreme determination they came to hand-to-hand fighting, shield-boss pushed against shield, and the sky re-echoed with the loud cries of the victors or of the falling. And although our left wing, marching in close formation had driven back by main force the onrushing hordes of Germans and was advancing with shouts into the midst of the savages, our cavalry, which held the right wing, unexpectedly broke ranks and fled; but while the foremost of these fugitives hindered the hindmost, finding themselves sheltered in the bosom of the legions, they halted, and renewed the battle.

[38] Now that had happened for the reason that while the order of their lines was being re-established, the cavalry in coat-of-mail, seeing their leader slightly wounded and one of their companions slipping over the neck of his horse, which had collapsed under the weight of his armour, scattered in whatever direction they could; the cavalry would have caused complete confusion by trampling the infantry under foot, had not the latter, who were packed close together and intertwined one with the other, held their ground without stirring. So, when Caesar had seen from a distance that the cavalry were looking for nothing except safety in flight, he spurred on his horse and held them back like a kind of barrier.

[39] On recognising him by the purple ensign of a dragon, fitted to the top of a very long lance and spreading out like the slough of a serpent, the tribune of one of the squadrons stopped, and pale and struck with fear rode back to renew the battle.

[40] Whereupon Caesar, as is the custom to do in times of panic, rebuked them mildly and said: Whither are we fleeing, my most valiant men? Do you know not that flight never leads to safety, but shows the folly of a useless effort? Let us return to our companions, to be at least sharers in their coming glory, if it is without consideration that we are abandoning them as they fight for their country.

[41] By his tactful way of saying this he recalled them all to perform their duty as soldiers, following (though with some difference) the example of Sulla of old. For when he had led out his forces against Mithradates’ general Archelaus and was being exhausted by the heat of battle and deserted by all his men, he rushed to the front rank, caught up a standard, flung it towards the enemy, and cried: Go your way, you who were chosen to be companions of my dangers, and to those who ask you where I, your general, was left, answer truthfully: Fighting alone in Boeotia, and shedding his blood for all of us.

[42] Then the Alamanni, having beaten and scattered our cavalry, charged upon the front line of the infantry, supposing that their courage to resist was now lost and that they would therefore drive them back.

[43] But as soon as they came to close quarters, the contest continued a long time on equal terms. For the Cornuti and the Bracchiati, toughened by long experience in fighting, at once intimidated them by their gestures, and raised their mighty battle-cry. This shout in the very heat of combat rises from a low murmur and gradually grows louder, like waves dashing against the cliffs. Then a cloud of hissing javelins flew hither and thither, the dust arose with steady motion on both sides and hid the view, so that weapon struck blindly on weapon and body against body.

[44] But the savages, thrown into disorder by their violence and anger, flamed up like fire, and hacked with repeated strokes of their swords at the close-jointed array of shields, which protected our men like a tortoise-formation.⁵

[45] On learning this, the Batavians, with the Kings⁶ (a formidable band) came at the double quick to aid their comrades and (if fate would assist) to rescue them, girt about as they were, from the instant of dire need; and as their trumpets pealed savagely, they fought with all their powers.

[46] But the Alamanni, who enter eagerly into wars, made all the greater effort, as if to destroy utterly everything in their way by a kind of fit of rage. Yet darts and javelins did not cease to fly, with showers of iron-tipped arrows, although at close quarters also blade clashed on blade and breastplates were cleft with the sword; the wounded too, before all their blood was shed, rose up to some more conspicuous deed of daring.

[47] For in a way the combatants were evenly matched; the Alamanni were stronger and taller, our soldiers disciplined by long practice; they were savage and uncontrollable, our men quiet and wary, these relying on their courage, while the Germans presumed upon their huge size.

[48] Yet frequently the Roman, seem to have been a select body of household troops. The Batavians had no kings at this time. driven from his post by the weight of armed men, rose up again; and the savage, with his legs giving way from fatigue, would drop on his bended left knee and even thus attack his foe, a proof of extreme resolution.

[49] And so there suddenly leaped forth a fiery band of nobles, among whom even the kings fought, and with the common soldiers following they burst in upon our lines before the rest; and opening up a path for themselves they got as far as the legion of the Primani,⁷ which was stationed in the centrea strong feature called praetorian camp; there our soldiers, closely packed and in fully-manned lines. stood their ground fast and firm, like towers,⁸ and renewed the battle with greater vigour; and being intent upon avoiding wounds, they protected themselves like murmillos,⁹ and with drawn swords pierced the enemy’s sides, left bare by their frenzied rage.

[50] But the enemy strove to lavish their lives for victory and kept trying to break the fabric of our line. But as they fell in uninterrupted succession, and the Romans now laid them low with greater confidence, fresh savages took the places of the slain; but when they heard the frequent groans of the dying, they were overcome with panic and lost their courage.

[51] Worn out at last by so many calamities, and now being eager for flight alone, over various paths they made haste with all speed to get away, just as sailors and passengers hurry to be cast up on land out of the midst of the billows of a raging sea, no matter where the wind has carried them; and anyone there present will admit that it was a means of escape more prayed for than expected.

[52] Moreover, the gracious will of an appeased deity was on our side, and our soldiers slashed the backs of the fugitives; when sometimes their swords were bent, and no weapons were at hand for dealing blows, they seized their javelins from the savages themselves and sank them into their vitals; and not one of those who dealt these wounds could with their blood glut his rage or satiate his right hand by continual slaughter, or take pity on a suppliant and leave him.

[53] And so a great number of them lay there pierced with mortal wounds, begging for death as a speedy relief; others half-dead, with their spirit already slipping away, sought with dying eyes for longer enjoyment of the light; some had their heads severed by pikes heavy as beams, so that they hung down, connected only by their throats; some had fallen in their comrades’ blood on the miry, slippery ground, and although their persons were untouched by the steel, they were perishing, buried beneath the heaps of those who kept falling above them.

[54] When all this had turned out so very successfully, our victorious troops pressed on with greater vigour, blunting the edges of their swords with stroke after stroke, while gleaming helms and shields rolled about under foot. At last the savages, driven on by the utmost extremity, since the heaps of corpses were so high as to block their passage, made for the only recourse left, that of the river, which now almost grazed their backs.

[55] And since our indefatigable soldiers, running fast even under their armour, pressed upon them as they fled, some of them, thinking that by their skill in swimming they could save themselves from the dangers, committed their lives to the waves. Whereupon Caesar, with swift intelligence foreseeing what might happen, joined with the tribunes and higher officers in restraining shouts, forbidding any of our men in their over-eager pursuit of the enemy to entrust themselves to the eddying flood.

[56] As a result it was seen that they stood on the banks and transfixed the Germans with various kinds of darts; and if any of them by his speed escaped this death, he would sink to the bottom of the river through the weight of his struggling body.

[57] And just as in some theatrical scene, when the curtain displays many wonderful sights, so now one could without apprehension see how some who did not know how to swim clung fast to good swimmers; how others floated like logs when they were left behind by those who swam faster; and some were swept into the currents and swallowed up, so to speak, by the struggling violence of the stream; some were carried along on their shields, and by frequently changing their direction avoided the steep masses of the onrushing waves, and so after many a risk reached the further shores. And at last the reddened river’s bed, foaming with the savages’ blood, was itself amazed at these strange additions to its waters.

[58] While this was thus going on, King Chonodomarius found means to get away by slipping through the heaps of corpses with a few of his attendants, and hastened at top speed towards the camp which he had boldly pitched near the Roman fortifications of Tribunci¹⁰ and Concordia,¹¹ his purpose being to embark in some boats which he had sometime before got ready for any emergency, and hide himself away in some secret retreat.

[59] And since he could not reach his own territories except by crossing the Rhine, he covered his face for fear of being recognised and slowly retired. But when he was already nearing the river-bank and was skirting a lagoon which had been flooded with marsh water, in order to get by, his horse stumbled on the muddy and sticky ground and he was thrown off; but although he was fat and heavy, he quickly escaped to the refuge of a neighbouring hill. But he was recognised (for he could not conceal his identity, being betrayed by the greatness of his former estate); and immediately a cohort with its tribune followed him with breathless haste and surrounded the wooded height with their troops and cautiously invested it, afraid to break in for fear that some hidden ambush might meet them among the dark shadows of the branches.

[60] On seeing them he was driven to the utmost fear and surrendered of his own accord, coming out alone; and his attendants, two hundred in number, with three of his closest friends, thinking it a disgrace to survive their king, or not to die for their king if an emergency required it, gave themselves up to be made prisoners.

[61] And as the savages are by nature humble in adversity and overbearing in success, subservient as he now was to another’s will he was dragged along pale and abashed, tongue-tied by the consciousness of his crimes—how vastly different from the man who, after savage and woeful outrages, trampled upon the ashes of Gaul and threatened many dire deeds.

[62] So the battle was thus finished by the favour of the supreme deity; the day had already ended and the trumpet sounded; the soldiers, very reluctant to be recalled, encamped near the banks of the Rhine, protected themselves by numerous rows of shields, and enjoyed food and sleep.

[63] Now there fell in this battle on the Roman side two hundred and forty-three soldiers and four high officers: Bainobaudes, tribune of the Cornuti, and also Laipso; and Innocentius, commander of the mailed cavalry, and one unattached tribune, whose name is not available to me. But of the Alamanni there were counted six thousand corpses lying on the field, and heaps of dead, impossible to reckon, were carried off by the waves of the river.

[64] Thereupon, since Julian was a man of greater mark than his position, and more powerful in his deserts than in his command, he was hailed as Augustus by the unanimous acclamation of the entire army; but he rebuked the soldiers for their thoughtless action, and declared with an oath that he neither expected nor desired to attain that honour.

[65] And to enhance their rejoicing over their success, he called an assembly and offered rewards, and then courteously gave orders that Chonodomarius should be brought before him; the king at first bowed down and then humbly prostrated himself on the ground; and when he begged for forgiveness in his native tongue, he was told to be of good courage.

[66] And a few days later he was conducted to the emperor’s court and thence sent to Rome; there in the Castra Peregrina, which is on the Caelian Hill, he died from senile decay.

[67] On the successful outcome of these exploits, so numerous and so important, some of the courtiers in Constantius’ palace found fault with Julian, in order to please the emperor himself, or facetiously called him Victorinus, on the ground that, although he was modest in making reports whenever he led the army in battle, he often mentioned defeats of the Germans.

[68] And between piling on empty praise, and pointing to what was clearly evident, they as usual puffed up the emperor, who was naturally conceited, by ascribing whatever was done anywhere in the world to his favourable auspices.

[69] As a consequence, he was elated by the grandiloquence of his sycophants, and then and later in his published edicts he arrogantly lied about a great many matters, frequently writing that he alone (although he had not been present at the action) had both fought and conquered, and had raised up the suppliant kings of foreign nations. If, for example, when he himself was then in Italy, one of his generals had fought bravely against the Persians, he would make no mention of him in the course of a very long account, but would send out letters wreathed in laurel to the detriment¹² of the provinces, indicating with odious self-praise that he had fought in the front ranks.

[70] In short, there are extant statements filed among the public records of this emperor, in which ostentatious reports are given, of his boasting and exalting himself to the sky.¹³ When this battle was fought near Strasburg, although he was distant forty days’ march, in his description of the fight he falsely asserts that he arranged the order of battle, and stood among the standard-bearers, and drove the barbarians headlong, and that Chonodomarius was brought to him, saying nothing (Oh, shameful indignity!) of the glorious deeds of Julian, which he would have buried in oblivion, had not fame been unable to suppress his splendid exploits, however much many people would have obscured them.

Notes on the current edition

Res Gestae

1. canere bucinis iussis, Novák; canentibus bucinis uenere, Her.; belli. cumque foedere, V.

2. tum, Val.; dum, V.

3. antequam, C. F. W. Müller, Haupt.; inaliquam, V.

4. periculi socio, Günther, Mommsen ( s.p., Madvig); periculis, V.

5. iunctae, E, C. F. W. Müller; cunctae, V.

6. procursatoribus, Her.; praecursoribus, BG; praecursatoribus, V.

7. agamus, Clark, c.c.; agimus, V.

8. quoque before saepe, Her.; q. before Ergo, V.

9. starent, Haupt; instarent, V.

10. toleraturi, G (with following lac. c.c. Her.); tolleratur, V.

11. ipso inuito, Clark, c.c.; ipso repugnante, Haupt; lac. 12 letters at end of line, V.

12. praevius, V (defended by Her.); i praevius, G; praei nos, Clark.

13. et, added by Clark; V omits.

14. turbinis, Her.; belli, AG; boni, V.

15. ante alios, Mommsen (with conspicuus, Her.).

16. et strenuus, transposed by Clark, et deleted by Her.; antea strenuus et miles, V.

17. ut impetu, suggested by Clark.

18. et gestu, added by Novak, cf. xix. 11, 9.

19. inquietis, V, Damsté, cf. xvii. 1, 13; inrequietis, Kellerbauer (cf. § 33), Clark.

20. propulsemus, Her.; propellamus, BG; propelemus, V, def. by Pighi.

21. id statim, V; id deleted by Novak; ipse s., Eyssen.

22. fecere, Kiessling; facere, V.

23. paulisper, Mommsen; populis, V.

24. concito, Schneider, Clark; cito, EG; cuto, V.

25. artius, Pet.; altius, V.

26. labente, Cornelissen, labentis, V.

27. innexi, Her.; innixi, V.

28. per purpureum, W 2G; perpureum, V.

29. afflatu, Bentley, Hertz; adfectu, V.

30. aperiendo, EBG; pandendo, Her.; rapiendo, suggested by Clark, cf. xviii. 9, 3; pariendo, V.

31. digredi, Her. cf. deici, § 51; egredi, W 2; gredi, V.

32. erepta, added by Haupt ( rapta, Novák); V omits.

33. per, added by W 2G; V omits.

34. limosum, Clark; scruposum, Her.; lutosum, BG; cliuosum, W 2; luerosum, omitting per, V.

35. relapsi, Clark, prolapsi, Her.c.c.; lapse, V.

36. ita aguntur, Novák, cf. xvii. 11, 5, etc. ( aguntur added by AG; V omits).

37. in secretis, V; in deleted by Her.

38. se, added by Val. before secessibus; transposed by Novák; V omits.

39. amendaret, Val.; se mandaret, Mommsen; emendaret, V.

40. dedidit, Bentley; dedit, V.

41. sex aliis, V; sex, G, Her. (cf. note 2); sex aut septem (AVII), Clark.

42. alii, added by Her. (cf. note 1).

43. conuocato . ore, Gardt.; concilio omni spectante ( contione, Kiessling), Haupt; concilio (lac. 9 letters) mus peciare, V.

44. principis, put after eius by Val.; tabulariis principiis ( principis, W 2BG), V.

45. condita, W 2ED; condi (lac. 27 letters) delata, V.

46. in quibus ambitiose, added by Val.

Ammianus Marcellinus Res Gestae 16.12

John C. Rolfe (Translator)

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Iulianus C. vii Alamannorum reges Galliam incubantes aggreditur, et barbaros apud Argentoratum acie fundit.

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