OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

25

virtues which he had instilled into the mind of

his pupil/ .

The hopes of Julian depended much less 011the number of his troops, than on the celerity of Rhin e o-.tohis motions. In the execution of a daring enter- II]jr ' C1 ""'prise, he availed himself of every precaution, asfar as prudence could suggest; and where pru-dence could no longer accompany his steps, hetrusted the event to valour and to fortune. Inthe neighbourhood of Basil he assembled anddivided his army/ One body, which consistedof ten thousand men, was directed, under thecommand of Nevitta, general of the cavalry, toadvance through the midland parts of Rhaetia and Noricum . A similar division of troops, un-der the orders of Jovius and Jovinus , prepared tofollow the oblique course of the highways,through the Alps, and the northern confines ofItaly . The instructions to the generals wereconceived with energy and precision: to hastentheir march in close and compact columns, whichaccording to the disposition of the ground, mightreadily be changed into any order of battle; to se-cure themselves against the surprises of the nightby strong posts and vigilant guards ; to preventresistance by their unexpected arrival; to elude

d Aminian. xxi, 8. In this promotion, Julian obeyed the lawwhich lie publicly imposed on himself. Neqtie civilis quisqnam judexnee militaris rector, alio quodam prater merita suffragante, ad po-tiorem veniat gradum (Ammian , xx, 51. Absence did not weaken hisregard for Sallust , with wl ose name(A. D. 363) he honoured the con-sulship.

‘ Ammianus (xxi, 8) ascribes the same practice, and the same mo-tive, to Alexander the Great , and other skilful generals.