OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 313 the refuge of forty thousand Barbarian slaves, Avho had broke their chains, and aspired, under the command of their great deUverer, to revenge the injuries and the disgrace of their cruel servitude. About the same time, he received a more honourable reinforcement of Goths and Huns, whom Adolphus,^- the brother of his wife, had conducted, at his pressing invitation, from the banks of the Danube to those of the Tiber, and who had cut their way, with some difficulty and loss, through the superior numbers of the Imperial troops. A victorious leader, who united the daring spirit of a Barbarian with the art and discipline of a Roman general, was at the head of an hundred thousand fighting men ; and Italy pronounced, with terror and respect, the formidable name of Alaric.^^ At the distance of fourteen centuries, we may be satisfied rruitiesa with relating the militaiy exploits of the conquerors of Rome tioM for without presuming to investigate the motives of their political ^.D.m conduct. In the midst of his apparent prosperity, Alaric was conscious, perhaps, of some secret weakness, some internal defect ; or perhaps the moderation which he displayed was intended only to deceive and disarm the easy credulity of the ministers of Honorius. The king of the Goths repeatedly declared that it was his desire to be considered as the friend of peace and of the Romans. Three senators, at his earnest request, were sent ambassadors to the court of Ravenna, to solicit the exchange of hostages and the conclusion of the treaty ; and the proposals, which he more clearly expressed during the '•ourse of the negotiations, could only inspire a doubt of his sincerity, as they might seem inadequate to the state of his fortune. The Barbarian still aspired to the rank of master-general of the armies of the West ; he stipulated an annual subsidy of corn and money ; and he chose the provinces of Dalmatia, Noricum, and Venetia, for the seat of his new kingdom, which would have commanded the important com- munication between Italy and the Danube. If these modest terms should be rejected, Alaric shewed a disposition to re- linquish his pecuniary demands, and even to content himself 82 This Gothic chieftain is called, by Jornandes and Isidore, Aihaulphus ; by Zosimusand Orosius, Ataulphus, and by Olympiodorus, Adaulphus. I have used the celebrated name oi Adolphus, which seems to be authorized by the practice of the Swedes, the sons or brothers of the ancient Goths. 83 The treaty between Alaric and the Romans, &c., is taken from Zosimus, 1. v. P- 354' 35S> SS^' 359. 362, 363 [41, 42]. The additional circumstances are too few and trifling to require any other quotation. [Mr. Hodgkin conjectures that Alaric's army at this time " ranged between 50,000 and 100,000 men," i. p. 812.]
