4. Ammianus Marcellinus, History, 17.1.16, 17.9.4, 17.11.5, 19.12.9, 20.11.32, 21.1.8, 21.15.2, 21.16.21, 22.16.17, 23.5.5, 23.5.9, 25.3.6, 25.3.9, 25.3.19, 25.10.11-25.10.12, 27.5.10, 27.6.15, 28.4.22, 29.1.6, 29.1.16, 29.1.32, 29.2.22, 30.5.15 (4th cent. CE - 4th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •fatum, higher' explanation Found in books: Davies (2004) 271 | 17.9.4. Where are we being dragged, robbed of the hope of a better lot? We have long endured hardships of the bitterest kind to bear, in the midst of snows and the pinch of cruel frosts; but now (Oh shameful indignity!), when we are pressing on to the final destruction of the enemy it is by hunger, the most despicable form of death, that we are wasting away. 17.11.5. While these things were thus happening, at Rome Artemius, who held the office of vice-prefect, also succeeded Bassus, Junius Bassus died in 359; according to Prudentius, contra Symm. i. 559, he was the first of his family to become a Christian. who a short time after he had been promoted to be prefect of the city had died a natural death. His administration suffered from mutinous disturbances, but had no remarkable incident which is worth relating. 19.12.9. Among the first, then, to be summoned was Simplicius, son of Philippus, a former prefect and consul, who was indicted for the reason that he had (as was said) inquired about gaining imperial power; and by a note On elogium, see p. 31, note 3. of the emperor, who in such cases never condoned a fault or an error because of loyal service, he was ordered to be tortured; but, protected by some fate, he was banished to a stated place, According to Marcianus, Digest , xlviii. 22, 5, there were three kinds of exile; exclusion from certain places specifically named ( liberum exsilium ); confinement to a designated place ( lata fuga ); banishment to an island ( insulae vinculum ). but with a whole skin. 20.11.32. Therefore abandoning his fruitless attempt, he returned to Syria, purposing to winter in Antioch, having suffered severely and grievously; for the losses which the Persians had inflicted upon him were not slight but terrible and long to be lamented. For it had happened, as if some fateful constellation so controlled the several events, that when Constantius in person warred with the Persians, adverse fortune always attended him. Therefore he wished to conquer at least through his generals, which, as we recall, did sometimes happen. 21.1.8. The spirit pervading all the elements, seeing that they are eternal bodies, is always and everywhere strong in the power of prescience, and as the result of the knowledge which we acquire through varied studies makes us also sharers in the gifts of divina- tion; and the elemental powers, Demons, in the Greek sense of the word δαίμονες; of. xiv. 11, 25, substantialis tutela. when propitiated by divers rites, supply mortals with words of prophecy, as if from the veins of inexhaustible founts. These prophecies are said to be under the control of the divine Themis, so named because she reveals in advance decrees determined for the future by the law of the fates, which the Greeks call τεθειμένα; Things fixed and immutable. and therefore the ancient theologians gave her a share in the bed and throne of Jupiter, the life-giving power. 21.15.2. When autumn was already waning he began his march, and on coming to a suburban estate called Hippocephalus, distant three miles from the city, he saw in broad daylight on the right side of the road the corpse of a man with head torn off, lying stretched out towards the west. The omen seems to consist, in part at least, in the position of the body, stretched out towards the setting Terrified by the omen, although the fates were preparing his end, he kept on with the greater determination and arrived at Tarsus. There he was taken with a slight fever, but in the expectation of being able to throw off the danger of his illness by the motion of the journey he kept on over difficult roads to Mobsucrenae, the last station of Cilicia as you go from here, situated at the foot of Mount Taurus; but when he tried to start again on the following day, he was detained by the increasing severity of the disease. Gradually the extreme heat of the fever so inflamed his veins that his body could not even be touched, since it burned like a furnace; and when the application of remedies proved useless, as he breathed his last he lamented his end. However, while his mind was still unimpaired he is said to have designated Julian as the successor to the throne. 21.16.21. And as he sat in the carriage that bore the remains, samples of the soldiers’ rations ( probae, as they themselves call them) were presented to him, as they commonly are to emperors, The emperors took pains to see that the soldiers were well fed. Cf. Spartianus, Hadr. 11, 1; Lampridius, Alex. Sev. xv. 5. and the public courier-horses were shown to him, and the people thronged about him in the customary manner. These and similar things foretold imperial power for the said Jovianus, but of an empty and shadowy kind, since he was merely the director of a funeral procession. 22.16.17. And although very many writers flourished in early times as well as these whom I have mentioned, nevertheless not even to-day is learning of various kinds silent in that same city; for the teachers of the arts show signs of life, and the geometrical measuring-rod brings to light whatever is concealed, the stream of music is not yet wholly dried up among them, harmony is not reduced to silence, the consideration of the motion of the universe and of the stars is still kept warm with some, few though they be, and there are others who are skilled in numbers; and a few besides are versed in the knowledge which reveals the course of the fates. 23.5.5. But the emperor, disregarding his cautious counsellor, pushed confidently on, since no human power or virtue has ever been great enough to turn aside what the decrees of fate had ordained. Immediately upon crossing the bridge he ordered it to be destroyed, so that no soldier in his own army might entertain hope of a return. 23.5.9. And, in fact, we read of other ambiguous oracles, the meaning of which only the final results determined: as, for example, the truth of the Delphic prediction which declared that Croesus, after crossing the river Halys, would overthrow a mighty kingdom; This oracle is often quoted; see Hdt. i. 53, where the envoys announced to Croesus: ἢν στρατεύηται ἐπὶ πέρσας, μεγάλην ἀρχήν μιν καταλύσειν: Cic., Div. ii. 56, 115, Croesus Halyn penetrants magnam pervertet opum vim. and another which in veiled language designated the sea as the place for the Athenians to fight against the Medes; The oracle bade the Greeks defend themselves with wooden walls. In general, see Cic., Div. ii. 26, 56. and a later one than these, which was in fact true, but none the less ambiguous: Aeacus’ son, I say, the Roman people can conquer. Cf. Ennius, Ann. 174, Remains of Old Latin, L.C.L. , i. 25.3.6. Julian, careless of his own safety, shouting and raising his hands tried to make it clear to his men that the enemy had fled in disorder, and, to rouse them to a still more furious pursuit, rushed boldly into the fight. His guards, See Index II., vol. i, s.v. candidati ; cf. xv. 5, 16. who had scattered in their alarm, were crying to him from all sides to get clear of the mass of fugitives, as dangerous as the fall of a badly built roof, when suddenly—no one knows whence Libanius said that he was killed by some Christian in his own army, but some other writers agree with Ammianus. —a cavalryman’s spear grazed the skin of his arm, pierced his ribs, and lodged in the lower lobe of his liver. 25.3.9. But since Julian’s strength was not equal to his will, and he was weakened by great loss of blood, he lay still, having lost all hope for his life because, on inquiry, he learned that the place where he had fallen was called Phrygia. He had been told in a dream that he would die in Phrygia; see Zonaras, xiii. 13, A. For he had heard that it was fate’s decree that he should die there. 25.3.19. And I shall not be ashamed to admit, that I learned long ago through the words of a trustworthy prophecy, that I should perish by the sword. And therefore I thank the eternal power that I meet my end, not from secret plots, nor from the pain of a tedious illness, nor by the fate of a criminal, but that in the mid-career of glorious renown I have been found worthy of so noble a departure from this world. For he is justly regarded as equally weak and cowardly who desires to die when he ought not, or he who seeks to avoid death when his time has come. 25.10.11. When the emperor had entered Ancyra, after the necessary arrangements for his procession had been made, so far as the conditions allowed, he assumed the consulship, taking as his colleague in the office his son Varronianus, who was still a small child Previous emperors had had their sons or Caesars declared by the Senate to be of sufficient age for office. This is the first instance of the choice of a minor. ; and his crying and obstinate resistance to being carried, as usual, on the curule chair, were an omen of what presently occurred. 25.10.12. From here also the destined day for ending his life drove Jovian swiftly on. For when he had come to Dadastana, which forms the boundary between Bithynia and Galatia, he was found dead that night. As to his taking-off, many doubtful points have come up. 27.5.10. When this had been arranged and hostages received, Valens returned to Constantinople, where later Athanaricus, driven from his native land by a faction of his kinsmen, died a natural death and was buried after our fashion with splendid rites. See p. 32, note 1. 27.6.15. After this, all rose up to praise the elder and the younger emperor, and especially the boy, who was recommended by the fierier gleam of his eyes, the delightful charm of his face and his whole body, and the noble nature of his heart; these qualities would have completed an emperor fit to be compared with the choicest rulers of the olden time, had this been allowed by the fates and by his intimates, who, by evil actions, cast a cloud over his virtue, which was even then not firmly steadfast. 28.4.22. Some lie in wait for men of wealth, old or young, childless or unmarried, or even for those who have wives or children—for no distinction is observed in this respect—enticing them by wonderful trickeries to make their wills; and when they have set their last decisions in order and left some things to these men, to humour whom they have made their wills in their favour, they forthwith die; so that you would not think that the death was brought about by the working of the allotment of destiny, nor could an illness easily be proved by the testimony of witnesses; nor is the funeral of these men attended by any mourners. 29.1.6. But when they came to a vigorous investigation of the deed, or the attempt, Palladius boldly cried out that those matters about which they were inquiring were trivial and negligible; that if he were allowed to speak, he would tell of other things more important and fearful, which had already been plotted with great preparations, and unless foresight were used would upset the whole state. And on being bidden to tell freely what he knew, he uncoiled an endless cable of crimes, Cf. Cic., De Div. i. 56, 127, est quasi rudentis explicatio. declaring that the ex-governor Fidustius, and Pergamius, with Irenaeus, by detestable arts of divination, had secretly learned the name of the man who was to succeed Valens. 29.1.16. For when he was quietly sleeping after midday in a wooded spot between Antioch and Seleucia, he was attacked by Sallustius, then one of the targeteers; but although at other times many men often eagerly made plots against his life, he escaped them all, since the limits of life assigned him at his very birth curbed these monstrous attempts. 29.1.32. When we then and there inquired, what man will succeed the present emperor ?, since it was said that he would be perfect in every particular, and the ring leaped forward and lightly touched the two syllables θεο, adding the next letter, of the name, i.e. δ. The prediction would apply equally well to Theodosius, who actually succeeded Valens. then one of those present cried out that by the decision of inevitable fate Theodorus was meant. And there was no further investigation of the matter; for it was agreed among us that he was the man who was sought. 29.2.22. A certain Festinus of Tridentum, a man of the lowest and most obscure parentage, was admitted by Maximinus Cf. xxviii. 1, 5 ff. even into the ties of affection which true brothers show, for he had been his boon companion and with him had assumed the manly gown. By decree of the fates this man passed over to the Orient, and there in the administration of Syria, and after serving as master of the rolls, Cf. xv. 5, 4, note 3. he left behind him praiseworthy examples of mildness and of respect for law; and when later he was advanced to the governorship of Asia with proconsular authority, he sailed to glory with a fair wind, as the saying is. 30.5.15. Therefore, setting this I.e., selecting winter quarters. aside for a time, in spite of the great need for a halt, That is, the need of rest for his soldiers. he quickly moved from there, marched along the banks of the river, and having protected his camp with an adequate force and with castles came to Bregitio. Szoeny near Comorn. There the fate which had long been designed to end the emperor’s labours foretold his approaching end by a repeated series of portents. |
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