124 THE DECLINE AND FALL of the Barbarians, and direct the operations of his heutenants, from the gates of Constantinople to the shores of the Hadriatic. The fortifications and garrisons of the cities were strengthened ; and the troops, among wliom a sense of order and disciphne was revived, were insensibly eml)oldened by the confidence of their own safety. From tiiese secure stations, they were encouraged to make frequent sallies on the Barbarians, who infested the adjacent country ; and, as they were seldom allowed to engage without some decisive superiority either of ground or of numbers, their enterprises were, for the most part, successful ; and they were soon convinced, by their own experience, of the possibility of vanquishing their invincible enemies. ^-^ The detachments of these separate garrisons were gradually united into small armies ; the same cautious measures were pursued, according to an extensive and well-concerted plan of operations ; the events of each day added strength and spirit to the Roman arras ; and the artful diligence of the emperor, who circulated the most favour- able reports of the success of the war, contributed to subdue the pride of the Barbarians and to animate the hopes and courage of his subjects. If, instead of this faint and imperfect outline, we could accurately represent the counsels and actions of Theo- dosius, in four successive campaigns, there is reason to believe that his consummate skill would deserve the applause of every military reader. The republic had formerly been saved by the delays of Fabius : and, while the splendid trophies of Scipio in the field of Zama attract the eyes of posterity, the camps and marches of the Dictator among the hills of Campania may claim a juster proportion of the solid and independent fame which the general is not compelled to share either with fortune or with his troops. Such was likewise the merit of Theodosius ; and the infirmities of his body, which most unseasonably [A.D.380] languished under a long and dangerous disease, could not oppress the vigour of his mind or divert his attention from the public service.!" dll^t^lni i he deliverance and peace of the Roman provinces ^-^ was tSe'o^^ °' the work of prudence rather than of valour : the prudence of A.D. 379-382 121 [They were assisted by a pestilence. Cp. Ambrose, Epist. 15, ap. Migne, 16, p. 955.] 122 Most writers insist on the illness and long repose of Theodosius at Thes- salonica : Zosimus, to diminish his glory ; Jornandes, to favour the Goths ; and the ecclesiastical writers, to introduce his baptism. 123 Compare Themistius (Orat. xiv. p. 181) with Zosimus (1. iv. p. 232 [25]), Jornandes (c. xxvii. p. 649), and the prolix Commentary of M. de Buat (Hist, des Peuples, &c., tom. vi. p. 477-552). The Chronicles of Idatius and Marcel- linus allude, in general terms, to magna certamina, magna vit//ta^ue prselia. The two epithets are not easily reconciled. [For chronology, cp. Appendix 8.]
