Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1827) Vol 2.djvu/357

 OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 339 republic, and assured me of the success and immortal C H A P. glory which would crown the justice of my arms." The '_ authority of such a vision, or rather of the ))rince who alleged it, silenced every doubt, and excluded all nego- ciation. The ignominious terms of peace were rejected with disdain. One of the ambassadors of the tyrant was dismissed with the haughty answer of Constantius; his colleagues, as unworthy of the privileges of the law of nations, were put in irons ; and the contending powers prepared to wage an implacable war^ Such was the conduct, and such perhaps was the Deposes duty, of the brother of Constans towards the perfidious a.d. 350 usurper of Gaul. The situation and chai-acter of Ve- ^^^- 25. tranio admitted of milder measures ; and the policy of the eastern emperor was directed to disunite his anta- gonists, and to separate the forces of Illyricum from the cause of rebellion. It was an easy task to deceive the frankness and simplicity of Vetranio, who, fluctu- ating some time between the opposite views of honour and interest, displayed to the world the insincerity of his temper, and was insensibly engaged in the snares of an artful negociation. Constantius acknowledged him as a legitimate and equal colleague in the empire, on condition that he would renounce his disgraceful alliance with Magnentius, and appoint a place of inter- view on the frontiers of their respective provinces ; where they might pledge their friendship by mutual vows of fidelity, and regulate by common consent the future operations of the civil war. In consequence of this agreement, Vetranio advanced to the city of Sar- dica^, at the head of twenty thousand horse, and of a more numerous body of infantry ; a power so far su- perior to the foi'ces of Constantius, that the lUyrian emperor appeared to command the life and fortunes of his rival, who, depending on the success of his private f See Peter the patrician, in the Excerpta Legalionum, p. 27. ? Zonaras, torn. ii. 1. xiii. p. 16. The position of Sardica, near the mo- dern city of Sophia, appears better suited to this interview than the situa- tion of either Naissus or Sirinium, where it is placed by Jerome, Socrates, and Sozomen. z 2