160

THE DECLINE AND FALL

CHAP.

XVIII.

the conduct of this decisive day/ They de-served his confidence by the valour and milita-ry skill which they exerted. They wisely be-gan the action upon the left; and advancingtheir whole wing of cavalry in an oblique line,they suddenly wheeled it on the right flank ofthe enemy, which was unprepared to resist theimpetuosity of their charge. But the Romansof the west soon rallied, by the habits of disci-pline; and the barbarians of Germany support-ed the renown of their national bravery. Theengagement soon became general, was main-tained with various and singular turns of for-tune, and scarcely ended with the darkness ofthe night. The signal victory which Constan-tius obtained is attributed to the arms of hiscavalry. His cuirassiers are described as somany massy statues of steel, glittering withtheir scaly armour, and breaking with theirponderous lances the firm array of the Galliclegions. As soon as the legions gave w r ay, thelighter and more active squadrons of the secondline rode sword in hand into the intervals, andcompleted the disorder. In the meanwhile thehuge bodies of the Germans were exposed al-most naked to the dexterity of the orientalarchers ; and whole troops of those barbarians

r Snlpicius Severus, I. ii, p. 405. The emperor passed the day inprayer with Valens, the Arian bishop of Mnrsa, who gained his con-fidence by announcing the success of the battle. HI. De Tillemont(Hist, des Empereurs , tom. iv, p. 1110) very properly remarks the si-lence of Julian with regard to the personal prowess of Constantius inthe battle of Mursa. The silence of flattery is sometimes equal to themost positive and authentic evidence