Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1827) Vol 1.djvu/361

 OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 337 himself time either to put on his armour or to assem- CHAP. XT ble his guards, he mounted on horseback, and rode ' full speed towards the supposed place of attack. En- compassed by his declared or concealed enemies, he soon, amidst the nocturnal tumult, received a mortal dart from an uncertain hand. Before he expired, a A.D. 268. patriotic sentiment rising in the mind of Gallienus, in- ^^g^gt^ ^f^* duced him to name a deserving successor ; and it was Gallienus. his last request, that the imperial ornaments should be delivered to Claudius, who then commanded a detached army in the neighbourhood of Pavia. The report at least was diligently propagated, and the order cheer- fully obeyed by the conspirators, who had already agreed to place Claudius on the throne. On the first news of the emperor's death, the troops expressed some suspicion and resentment, till the one was re- moved, and the other assuaged, by a donative of twenty pieces of gold to each soldier. They then ratified the election, and acknowledged the merit of their new sovereign ^ The obscurity which covered the origin of Claudius, Character though it was afterwards embellished by some flattering ^."^ ^^^^^' fictions^, sufficiently betrays the meanness of his birth, emperor We can only discover, that he was a native of one of ^" '"^* the provinces bordering on the Danube ; that his youth was spent in arms, and that his modest valour attracted the favour and confidence of Decius. The senate and people already considered him as an excellent officer, equal to the most important trusts ; and censured the inattention of Valerian, who suffered him to remain in the subordinate station of a tribune. But it was not long before that emperor distinguished the merit of Claudius, by declaring him general and chief of the '' On the death of Gallienus, see Trebellius Pollio in Hist. August, p. 181; Zosimus, 1. i. p. 37; Zonaras, 1. xii. p. 634; Eutrop. ix. 11; Aure- lius Victor in Epitom. ; Victor in Caesar. I have compared and blended them all, but have chiefly followed Aurelius Victor, who seems to have had the best memoirs. c Some supposed him, oddly enough, to be a bastard of the younger Gor- dian. Others took advantage of the province of Dardania, to de<luce his origin from Dardanus, and the ancient kings of Troy. VOL. I. Z