Chapter XXII: Julian Declared Emperor.—Part I

Julian Is Declared Emperor By The Legions Of Gaul.—His March And
Success.—The Death Of Constantius.—Civil Administration Of Julian.

While the Romans languished under the ignominious tyranny of
eunuchs and bishops, the praises of Julian were repeated with
transport in every part of the empire, except in the palace of
Constantius. The barbarians of Germany had felt, and still
dreaded, the arms of the young Cæsar; his soldiers were the
companions of his victory; the grateful provincials enjoyed the
blessings of his reign; but the favorites, who had opposed his
elevation, were offended by his virtues; and they justly
considered the friend of the people as the enemy of the court. As
long as the fame of Julian was doubtful, the buffoons of the
palace, who were skilled in the language of satire, tried the
efficacy of those arts which they had so often practised with
success. They easily discovered, that his simplicity was not
exempt from affectation: the ridiculous epithets of a hairy
savage, of an ape invested with the purple, were applied to the
dress and person of the philosophic warrior; and his modest
despatches were stigmatized as the vain and elaborate fictions of
a loquacious Greek, a speculative soldier, who had studied the
art of war amidst the groves of the academy. 1 The voice of
malicious folly was at length silenced by the shouts of victory;
the conqueror of the Franks and Alemanni could no longer be
painted as an object of contempt; and the monarch himself was
meanly ambitious of stealing from his lieutenant the honorable
reward of his labors. In the letters crowned with laurel, which,
according to ancient custom, were addressed to the provinces, the
name of Julian was omitted. “Constantius had made his
dispositions in person; _he_ had signalized his valor in the
foremost ranks; _his_ military conduct had secured the victory;
and the captive king of the barbarians was presented to _him_ on
the field of battle,” from which he was at that time distant
about forty days’ journey. 2 So extravagant a fable was
incapable, however, of deceiving the public credulity, or even of
satisfying the pride of the emperor himself. Secretly conscious
that the applause and favor of the Romans accompanied the rising
fortunes of Julian, his discontented mind was prepared to receive
the subtle poison of those artful sycophants, who colored their
mischievous designs with the fairest appearances of truth and
candor. 3 Instead of depreciating the merits of Julian, they
acknowledged, and even exaggerated, his popular fame, superior
talents, and important services. But they darkly insinuated, that
the virtues of the Cæsar might instantly be converted into the
most dangerous crimes, if the inconstant multitude should prefer
their inclinations to their duty; or if the general of a
victorious army should be tempted from his allegiance by the
hopes of revenge and independent greatness. The personal fears of
Constantius were interpreted by his council as a laudable anxiety
for the public safety; whilst in private, and perhaps in his own
breast, he disguised, under the less odious appellation of fear,
the sentiments of hatred and envy, which he had secretly
conceived for the inimitable virtues of Julian.

1 (return) [ Omnes qui plus poterant in palatio, adulandi
professores jam docti, recte consulta, prospereque completa
vertebant in deridiculum: talia sine modo strepentes insulse; in
odium venit cum victoriis suis; capella, non homo; ut hirsutum
Julianum carpentes, appellantesque loquacem talpam, et purpuratam
simiam, et litterionem Græcum: et his congruentia plurima atque
vernacula principi resonantes, audire hæc taliaque gestienti,
virtutes ejus obruere verbis impudentibus conabantur, et segnem
incessentes et timidum et umbratilem, gestaque secus verbis
comptioribus exornantem. Ammianus, s. xvii. 11. * Note: The
philosophers retaliated on the courtiers. Marius (says Eunapius
in a newly-discovered fragment) was wont to call his antagonist
Sylla a beast half lion and half fox. Constantius had nothing of
the lion, but was surrounded by a whole litter of foxes. Mai.
Script. Byz. Nov. Col. ii. 238. Niebuhr. Byzant. Hist. 66.—M.]

2 (return) [ Ammian. xvi. 12. The orator Themistius (iv. p. 56,
57) believed whatever was contained in the Imperial letters,
which were addressed to the senate of Constantinople Aurelius
Victor, who published his Abridgment in the last year of
Constantius, ascribes the German victories to the _wisdom_ of the
emperor, and the _fortune_ of the Cæsar. Yet the historian, soon
afterwards, was indebted to the favor or esteem of Julian for the
honor of a brass statue, and the important offices of consular of
the second Pannonia, and præfect of the city, Ammian. xxi. 10.]

3 (return) [ Callido nocendi artificio, accusatoriam diritatem
laudum titulis peragebant. .. Hæ voces fuerunt ad inflammanda
odia probria omnibus potentiores. See Mamertin, in Actione
Gratiarum in Vet Panegyr. xi. 5, 6.]

The apparent tranquillity of Gaul, and the imminent danger of the
eastern provinces, offered a specious pretence for the design
which was artfully concerted by the Imperial ministers. They
resolved to disarm the Cæsar; to recall those faithful troops who
guarded his person and dignity; and to employ, in a distant war
against the Persian monarch, the hardy veterans who had
vanquished, on the banks of the Rhine, the fiercest nations of
Germany. While Julian used the laborious hours of his winter
quarters at Paris in the administration of power, which, in his
hands, was the exercise of virtue, he was surprised by the hasty
arrival of a tribune and a notary, with positive orders, from the
emperor, which _they_ were directed to execute, and _he_ was
commanded not to oppose. Constantius signified his pleasure, that
four entire legions, the Celtæ, and Petulants, the Heruli, and
the Batavians, should be separated from the standard of Julian,
under which they had acquired their fame and discipline; that in
each of the remaining bands three hundred of the bravest youths
should be selected; and that this numerous detachment, the
strength of the Gallic army, should instantly begin their march,
and exert their utmost diligence to arrive, before the opening of
the campaign, on the frontiers of Persia. 4 The Cæsar foresaw and
lamented the consequences of this fatal mandate. Most of the
auxiliaries, who engaged their voluntary service, had stipulated,
that they should never be obliged to pass the Alps. The public
faith of Rome, and the personal honor of Julian, had been pledged
for the observance of this condition. Such an act of treachery
and oppression would destroy the confidence, and excite the
resentment, of the independent warriors of Germany, who
considered truth as the noblest of their virtues, and freedom as
the most valuable of their possessions. The legionaries, who
enjoyed the title and privileges of Romans, were enlisted for the
general defence of the republic; but those mercenary troops heard
with cold indifference the antiquated names of the republic and
of Rome. Attached, either from birth or long habit, to the
climate and manners of Gaul, they loved and admired Julian; they
despised, and perhaps hated, the emperor; they dreaded the
laborious march, the Persian arrows, and the burning deserts of
Asia. They claimed as their own the country which they had saved;
and excused their want of spirit, by pleading the sacred and more
immediate duty of protecting their families and friends.

The apprehensions of the Gauls were derived from the knowledge of
the impending and inevitable danger. As soon as the provinces
were exhausted of their military strength, the Germans would
violate a treaty which had been imposed on their fears; and
notwithstanding the abilities and valor of Julian, the general of
a nominal army, to whom the public calamities would be imputed,
must find himself, after a vain resistance, either a prisoner in
the camp of the barbarians, or a criminal in the palace of
Constantius. If Julian complied with the orders which he had
received, he subscribed his own destruction, and that of a people
who deserved his affection. But a positive refusal was an act of
rebellion, and a declaration of war. The inexorable jealousy of
the emperor, the peremptory, and perhaps insidious, nature of his
commands, left not any room for a fair apology, or candid
interpretation; and the dependent station of the Cæsar scarcely
allowed him to pause or to deliberate. Solitude increased the
perplexity of Julian; he could no longer apply to the faithful
counsels of Sallust, who had been removed from his office by the
judicious malice of the eunuchs: he could not even enforce his
representations by the concurrence of the ministers, who would
have been afraid or ashamed to approve the ruin of Gaul. The
moment had been chosen, when Lupicinus, 5 the general of the
cavalry, was despatched into Britain, to repulse the inroads of
the Scots and Picts; and Florentius was occupied at Vienna by the
assessment of the tribute. The latter, a crafty and corrupt
statesman, declining to assume a responsible part on this
dangerous occasion, eluded the pressing and repeated invitations
of Julian, who represented to him, that in every important
measure, the presence of the præfect was indispensable in the
council of the prince. In the mean while the Cæsar was oppressed
by the rude and importunate solicitations of the Imperial
messengers, who presumed to suggest, that if he expected the
return of his ministers, he would charge himself with the guilt
of the delay, and reserve for them the merit of the execution.
Unable to resist, unwilling to comply, Julian expressed, in the
most serious terms, his wish, and even his intention, of
resigning the purple, which he could not preserve with honor, but
which he could not abdicate with safety.

4 (return) [ The minute interval, which may be interposed,
between the _hyeme adultâ_ and the _primo vere_ of Ammianus, (xx.
l. 4,) instead of allowing a sufficient space for a march of
three thousand miles, would render the orders of Constantius as
extravagant as they were unjust. The troops of Gaul could not
have reached Syria till the end of autumn. The memory of Ammianus
must have been inaccurate, and his language incorrect. * Note:
The late editor of Ammianus attempts to vindicate his author from
the charge of inaccuracy. “It is clear, from the whole course of
the narrative, that Constantius entertained this design of
demanding his troops from Julian, immediately after the taking of
Amida, in the autumn of the preceding year, and had transmitted
his orders into Gaul, before it was known that Lupicinus had gone
into Britain with the Herulians and Batavians.” Wagner, note to
Amm. xx. 4. But it seems also clear that the troops were in
winter quarters (hiemabant) when the orders arrived. Ammianus can
scarcely be acquitted of incorrectness in his language at
least.—M]

5 (return) [ Ammianus, xx. l. The valor of Lupicinus, and his
military skill, are acknowledged by the historian, who, in his
affected language, accuses the general of exalting the horns of
his pride, bellowing in a tragic tone, and exciting a doubt
whether he was more cruel or avaricious. The danger from the
Scots and Picts was so serious that Julian himself had some
thoughts of passing over into the island.]

After a painful conflict, Julian was compelled to acknowledge,
that obedience was the virtue of the most eminent subject, and
that the sovereign alone was entitled to judge of the public
welfare. He issued the necessary orders for carrying into
execution the commands of Constantius; a part of the troops began
their march for the Alps; and the detachments from the several
garrisons moved towards their respective places of assembly. They
advanced with difficulty through the trembling and affrighted
crowds of provincials, who attempted to excite their pity by
silent despair, or loud lamentations, while the wives of the
soldiers, holding their infants in their arms, accused the
desertion of their husbands, in the mixed language of grief, of
tenderness, and of indignation. This scene of general distress
afflicted the humanity of the Cæsar; he granted a sufficient
number of post-wagons to transport the wives and families of the
soldiers, 6 endeavored to alleviate the hardships which he was
constrained to inflict, and increased, by the most laudable arts,
his own popularity, and the discontent of the exiled troops. The
grief of an armed multitude is soon converted into rage; their
licentious murmurs, which every hour were communicated from tent
to tent with more boldness and effect, prepared their minds for
the most daring acts of sedition; and by the connivance of their
tribunes, a seasonable libel was secretly dispersed, which
painted in lively colors the disgrace of the Cæsar, the
oppression of the Gallic army, and the feeble vices of the tyrant
of Asia. The servants of Constantius were astonished and alarmed
by the progress of this dangerous spirit. They pressed the Cæsar
to hasten the departure of the troops; but they imprudently
rejected the honest and judicious advice of Julian; who proposed
that they should not march through Paris, and suggested the
danger and temptation of a last interview.

6 (return) [ He granted them the permission of the _cursus
clavularis_, or _clabularis_. These post-wagons are often
mentioned in the Code, and were supposed to carry fifteen hundred
pounds weight. See Vales. ad Ammian. xx. 4.]

As soon as the approach of the troops was announced, the Cæsar
went out to meet them, and ascended his tribunal, which had been
erected in a plain before the gates of the city. After
distinguishing the officers and soldiers, who by their rank or
merit deserved a peculiar attention, Julian addressed himself in
a studied oration to the surrounding multitude: he celebrated
their exploits with grateful applause; encouraged them to accept,
with alacrity, the honor of serving under the eye of a powerful
and liberal monarch; and admonished them, that the commands of
Augustus required an instant and cheerful obedience. The
soldiers, who were apprehensive of offending their general by an
indecent clamor, or of belying their sentiments by false and
venal acclamations, maintained an obstinate silence; and after a
short pause, were dismissed to their quarters. The principal
officers were entertained by the Cæsar, who professed, in the
warmest language of friendship, his desire and his inability to
reward, according to their deserts, the brave companions of his
victories. They retired from the feast, full of grief and
perplexity; and lamented the hardship of their fate, which tore
them from their beloved general and their native country. The
only expedient which could prevent their separation was boldly
agitated and approved; the popular resentment was insensibly
moulded into a regular conspiracy; their just reasons of
complaint were heightened by passion, and their passions were
inflamed by wine; as, on the eve of their departure, the troops
were indulged in licentious festivity. At the hour of midnight,
the impetuous multitude, with swords, and bows, and torches in
their hands, rushed into the suburbs; encompassed the palace; 7
and, careless of future dangers, pronounced the fatal and
irrevocable words, Julian Augustus! The prince, whose anxious
suspense was interrupted by their disorderly acclamations,
secured the doors against their intrusion; and as long as it was
in his power, secluded his person and dignity from the accidents
of a nocturnal tumult. At the dawn of day, the soldiers, whose
zeal was irritated by opposition, forcibly entered the palace,
seized, with respectful violence, the object of their choice,
guarded Julian with drawn swords through the streets of Paris,
placed him on the tribunal, and with repeated shouts saluted him
as their emperor. Prudence, as well as loyalty, inculcated the
propriety of resisting their treasonable designs; and of
preparing, for his oppressed virtue, the excuse of violence.
Addressing himself by turns to the multitude and to individuals,
he sometimes implored their mercy, and sometimes expressed his
indignation; conjured them not to sully the fame of their
immortal victories; and ventured to promise, that if they would
immediately return to their allegiance, he would undertake to
obtain from the emperor not only a free and gracious pardon, but
even the revocation of the orders which had excited their
resentment. But the soldiers, who were conscious of their guilt,
chose rather to depend on the gratitude of Julian, than on the
clemency of the emperor. Their zeal was insensibly turned into
impatience, and their impatience into rage. The inflexible Cæsar
sustained, till the third hour of the day, their prayers, their
reproaches, and their menaces; nor did he yield, till he had been
repeatedly assured, that if he wished to live, he must consent to
reign. He was exalted on a shield in the presence, and amidst the
unanimous acclamations, of the troops; a rich military collar,
which was offered by chance, supplied the want of a diadem; 8 the
ceremony was concluded by the promise of a moderate donative; and
the new emperor, overwhelmed with real or affected grief retired
into the most secret recesses of his apartment. 10

7 (return) [ Most probably the palace of the baths,
(_Thermarum_,) of which a solid and lofty hall still subsists in
the _Rue de la Harpe_. The buildings covered a considerable space
of the modern quarter of the university; and the gardens, under
the Merovingian kings, communicated with the abbey of St. Germain
des Prez. By the injuries of time and the Normans, this ancient
palace was reduced, in the twelfth century, to a maze of ruins,
whose dark recesses were the scene of licentious love.

Explicat aula sinus montemque amplectitur alis; Multiplici latebra
scelerum tersura ruborem. .... pereuntis sæpe pudoris Celatura
nefas, Venerisque accommoda furtis.

(These lines are quoted from the Architrenius, l. iv. c. 8, a
poetical work of John de Hauteville, or Hanville, a monk of St.
Alban’s, about the year 1190. See Warton’s History of English
Poetry, vol. i. dissert. ii.) Yet such _thefts_ might be less
pernicious to mankind than the theological disputes of the
Sorbonne, which have been since agitated on the same ground.
Bonamy, Mém. de l’Académie, tom. xv. p. 678-632]

8 (return) [ Even in this tumultuous moment, Julian attended to
the forms of superstitious ceremony, and obstinately refused the
inauspicious use of a female necklace, or a horse collar, which
the impatient soldiers would have employed in the room of a
diadem. ----An equal proportion of gold and silver, five pieces
of the former one pound of the latter; the whole amounting to
about five pounds ten shillings of our money.]

10 (return) [ For the whole narrative of this revolt, we may
appeal to authentic and original materials; Julian himself, (ad
S. P. Q. Atheniensem, p. 282, 283, 284,) Libanius, (Orat.
Parental. c. 44-48, in Fabricius, Bibliot. Græc. tom. vii. p.
269-273,) Ammianus, (xx. 4,) and Zosimus, (l. iii. p. 151, 152,
153.) who, in the reign of Julian, appears to follow the more
respectable authority of Eunapius. With such guides we _might_
neglect the abbreviators and ecclesiastical historians.]

The grief of Julian could proceed only from his innocence; out
his innocence must appear extremely doubtful 11 in the eyes of
those who have learned to suspect the motives and the professions
of princes. His lively and active mind was susceptible of the
various impressions of hope and fear, of gratitude and revenge,
of duty and of ambition, of the love of fame, and of the fear of
reproach. But it is impossible for us to calculate the respective
weight and operation of these sentiments; or to ascertain the
principles of action which might escape the observation, while
they guided, or rather impelled, the steps of Julian himself. The
discontent of the troops was produced by the malice of his
enemies; their tumult was the natural effect of interest and of
passion; and if Julian had tried to conceal a deep design under
the appearances of chance, he must have employed the most
consummate artifice without necessity, and probably without
success. He solemnly declares, in the presence of Jupiter, of the
Sun, of Mars, of Minerva, and of all the other deities, that till
the close of the evening which preceded his elevation, he was
utterly ignorant of the designs of the soldiers; 12 and it may
seem ungenerous to distrust the honor of a hero and the truth of
a philosopher. Yet the superstitious confidence that Constantius
was the enemy, and that he himself was the favorite, of the gods,
might prompt him to desire, to solicit, and even to hasten the
auspicious moment of his reign, which was predestined to restore
the ancient religion of mankind. When Julian had received the
intelligence of the conspiracy, he resigned himself to a short
slumber; and afterwards related to his friends that he had seen
the genius of the empire waiting with some impatience at his
door, pressing for admittance, and reproaching his want of spirit
and ambition. 13 Astonished and perplexed, he addressed his
prayers to the great Jupiter, who immediately signified, by a
clear and manifest omen, that he should submit to the will of
heaven and of the army. The conduct which disclaims the ordinary
maxims of reason, excites our suspicion and eludes our inquiry.
Whenever the spirit of fanaticism, at once so credulous and so
crafty, has insinuated itself into a noble mind, it insensibly
corrodes the vital principles of virtue and veracity.

11 (return) [ Eutropius, a respectable witness, uses a doubtful
expression, “consensu militum.” (x. 15.) Gregory Nazianzen, whose
ignorance night excuse his fanaticism, directly charges the
apostate with presumption, madness, and impious rebellion, Orat.
iii. p. 67.]

12 (return) [ Julian. ad S. P. Q. Athen. p. 284. The _devout_
Abbé de la Bleterie (Vie de Julien, p. 159) is almost inclined to
respect the _devout_ protestations of a Pagan.]

13 (return) [ Ammian. xx. 5, with the note of Lindenbrogius on
the Genius of the empire. Julian himself, in a confidential
letter to his friend and physician, Oribasius, (Epist. xvii. p.
384,) mentions another dream, to which, before the event, he gave
credit; of a stately tree thrown to the ground, of a small plant
striking a deep root into the earth. Even in his sleep, the mind
of the Cæsar must have been agitated by the hopes and fears of
his fortune. Zosimus (l. iii. p. 155) relates a subsequent
dream.]

To moderate the zeal of his party, to protect the persons of his
enemies, 14 to defeat and to despise the secret enterprises which
were formed against his life and dignity, were the cares which
employed the first days of the reign of the new emperor. Although
he was firmly resolved to maintain the station which he had
assumed, he was still desirous of saving his country from the
calamities of civil war, of declining a contest with the superior
forces of Constantius, and of preserving his own character from
the reproach of perfidy and ingratitude. Adorned with the ensigns
of military and imperial pomp, Julian showed himself in the field
of Mars to the soldiers, who glowed with ardent enthusiasm in the
cause of their pupil, their leader, and their friend. He
recapitulated their victories, lamented their sufferings,
applauded their resolution, animated their hopes, and checked
their impetuosity; nor did he dismiss the assembly, till he had
obtained a solemn promise from the troops, that if the emperor of
the East would subscribe an equitable treaty, they would renounce
any views of conquest, and satisfy themselves with the tranquil
possession of the Gallic provinces. On this foundation he
composed, in his own name, and in that of the army, a specious
and moderate epistle, 15 which was delivered to Pentadius, his
master of the offices, and to his chamberlain Eutherius; two
ambassadors whom he appointed to receive the answer, and observe
the dispositions of Constantius. This epistle is inscribed with
the modest appellation of Cæsar; but Julian solicits in a
peremptory, though respectful, manner, the confirmation of the
title of Augustus. He acknowledges the irregularity of his own
election, while he justifies, in some measure, the resentment and
violence of the troops which had extorted his reluctant consent.
He allows the supremacy of his brother Constantius; and engages
to send him an annual present of Spanish horses, to recruit his
army with a select number of barbarian youths, and to accept from
his choice a Prætorian præfect of approved discretion and
fidelity. But he reserves for himself the nomination of his other
civil and military officers, with the troops, the revenue, and
the sovereignty of the provinces beyond the Alps. He admonishes
the emperor to consult the dictates of justice; to distrust the
arts of those venal flatterers, who subsist only by the discord
of princes; and to embrace the offer of a fair and honorable
treaty, equally advantageous to the republic and to the house of
Constantine. In this negotiation Julian claimed no more than he
already possessed. The delegated authority which he had long
exercised over the provinces of Gaul, Spain, and Britain, was
still obeyed under a name more independent and august. The
soldiers and the people rejoiced in a revolution which was not
stained even with the blood of the guilty. Florentius was a
fugitive; Lupicinus a prisoner. The persons who were disaffected
to the new government were disarmed and secured; and the vacant
offices were distributed, according to the recommendation of
merit, by a prince who despised the intrigues of the palace, and
the clamors of the soldiers. 16

14 (return) [ The difficult situation of the prince of a
rebellious army is finely described by Tacitus, (Hist. 1, 80-85.)
But Otho had much more guilt, and much less abilities, than
Julian.]

15 (return) [ To this ostensible epistle he added, says Ammianus,
private letters, objurgatorias et mordaces, which the historian
had not seen, and would not have published. Perhaps they never
existed.]

16 (return) [ See the first transactions of his reign, in Julian.
ad S. P. Q. Athen. p. 285, 286. Ammianus, xx. 5, 8. Liban. Orat.
Parent. c. 49, 50, p. 273-275.]

The negotiations of peace were accompanied and supported by the
most vigorous preparations for war. The army, which Julian held
in readiness for immediate action, was recruited and augmented by
the disorders of the times. The cruel persecutions of the faction
of Magnentius had filled Gaul with numerous bands of outlaws and
robbers. They cheerfully accepted the offer of a general pardon
from a prince whom they could trust, submitted to the restraints
of military discipline, and retained only their implacable hatred
to the person and government of Constantius. 17 As soon as the
season of the year permitted Julian to take the field, he
appeared at the head of his legions; threw a bridge over the
Rhine in the neighborhood of Cleves; and prepared to chastise the
perfidy of the Attuarii, a tribe of Franks, who presumed that
they might ravage, with impunity, the frontiers of a divided
empire. The difficulty, as well as glory, of this enterprise,
consisted in a laborious march; and Julian had conquered, as soon
as he could penetrate into a country, which former princes had
considered as inaccessible. After he had given peace to the
Barbarians, the emperor carefully visited the fortifications
along the Qhine from Cleves to Basil; surveyed, with peculiar
attention, the territories which he had recovered from the hands
of the Alemanni, passed through Besançon, 18 which had severely
suffered from their fury, and fixed his headquarters at Vienna
for the ensuing winter. The barrier of Gaul was improved and
strengthened with additional fortifications; and Julian
entertained some hopes that the Germans, whom he had so often
vanquished, might, in his absence, be restrained by the terror of
his name. Vadomair 19 was the only prince of the Alemanni whom he
esteemed or feared and while the subtle Barbarian affected to
observe the faith of treaties, the progress of his arms
threatened the state with an unseasonable and dangerous war. The
policy of Julian condescended to surprise the prince of the
Alemanni by his own arts: and Vadomair, who, in the character of
a friend, had incautiously accepted an invitation from the Roman
governors, was seized in the midst of the entertainment, and sent
away prisoner into the heart of Spain. Before the Barbarians were
recovered from their amazement, the emperor appeared in arms on
the banks of the Rhine, and, once more crossing the river,
renewed the deep impressions of terror and respect which had been
already made by four preceding expeditions. 20

17 (return) [ Liban. Orat. Parent. c. 50, p. 275, 276. A strange
disorder, since it continued above seven years. In the factions
of the Greek republics, the exiles amounted to 20,000 persons;
and Isocrates assures Philip, that it would be easier to raise an
army from the vagabonds than from the cities. See Hume’s Essays,
tom. i. p. 426, 427.]

18 (return) [ Julian (Epist. xxxviii. p. 414) gives a short
description of Vesontio, or Besançon; a rocky peninsula almost
encircled by the River Doux; once a magnificent city, filled with
temples, &c., now reduced to a small town, emerging, however,
from its ruins.]

19 (return) [ Vadomair entered into the Roman service, and was
promoted from a barbarian kingdom to the military rank of duke of
Phœnicia. He still retained the same artful character, (Ammian.
xxi. 4;) but under the reign of Valens, he signalized his valor
in the Armenian war, (xxix. 1.)]

20 (return) [ Ammian. xx. 10, xxi. 3, 4. Zosimus, l. iii. p.
155.]