OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

223

the Romans that of discipline and temper; and chap.

as the barbarians, who served under the stan-_‘

dard of the empire, united the respective ad-vantages of both parties, their strenuous efforts,guided by a skilful leader, at length determinedthe event of the day. The Romans lost fourtribunes, and two hundred and forty-three sol-diers, in this memorable battle of Strasburg, soglorious to the Caesar,* and so salutary to theafflicted provinces of Gaul . Six thousand ofthe Alemanni were slain in the field, without in-cluding those who were drowned in the Rhine ,or transfixed with darts whilst they attemptedto swim across the river/ Chnodomar himselfwas surrounded and taken prisoner, with threeof his brave companions, who had devotedthemselves to follow in life or death the fate oftheir chieftain. Julian received him with mili-tary pomp in the council of his officers; and,expressing a generous pity for the fallen state,dissembled his inward contempt for the abjecthumiliation of his captive. Instead of exhibit-ing the vanquished king of the Alemanni , as a

e Julian himself (ad s. p. Q. Atlien. p. 279) speaks of the battle ofStrasburg with the modesty of conscious merit; axtew?,

ti? v[*a.$ a^txET® ij Toiavrn fxa^r,. ZoMtnus compares it with the vie*tory of Alexander over Darius; and yet we are at a loss to discoverany of those strokes of military genius which fix the attention of ageton the conduct and success of a single day-

1 Ammianus, xvi, 12. Libanius adds 2000 more to the number ofthe slain (Orat. x, p.274). But these trifling differences disappear be-fore the 60,000 barbarians, whom Zosimus has sacrificed to the glory ofhis hero (1. ii, p. 141). AVe might attribute this extravagant numberto the carelessness of transcribers, if this credulous or partial histo-rian had not swelled the army of 5000 Alemanni to an innumerableude of bar&arians, It is our own fault if

this detection does not inspire us with proper distrust on similar occa-sions*