218

THE DECLINE AND FALL

char died, two lemons were destroyed; and Julian__was taught by experience, that caution and vi-gilance are the most important lessons of theart of war. In a second and more successfulaction, he recovered and established his milita-ry fame; but as the agility of the barbarianssaved them from the pursuit, his victory wasneither bloody nor decisive. He advanced,however, to the banks of the Rhine , surveyedthe ruins of Cologne, convinced himself of thedifficulties of the war, and retreated on the ap-proach of winter, discontented with the court,with his army, and with his own success/ Thepower of the enemy was yet unbroken; and theCaesar had no sooner separated his troops, andfixed his own quarters at Sens, in the centre ofGaul, than he was surrounded and besieged bya numerous host of Germans . Reduced in thisextremity to the resources of his own mind, hedisplayed a prudent intrepidity, which com-pensated for all the deficiencies of the place andgarrison; and the barbarians, at the end of thir-ty days, were obliged to retire with disappoint-ed rage.

Hit second The conscious pride of Julian, who was in-n P 35 g r n ’ debted only to his sword for this signal deliver-ance, was embittered by the reflection, that hewas abandoned, betrayed, and perhaps devotedto destruction, by those who were bound toassist him by every tie of honour and fidelity.Marcell us, master-general of the cavalry in

1 Ammianus (xvi, 2, 3) appears much better satisfied with the successof this first campaign than Julian himself; who very fairly owns thath« did nothing uf consequence, and that he fled before the enemy.