Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1827) Vol 2.djvu/53

 OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 35 which covered their rear, and forbade their retreat. cHAP. We are informed, and we may believe, that Constan- ^^^'' tine disposed his troops with consummate skill, and that he chose for himself the post of honour and danger. Distinguished by the splendour of his arms, he charged in person the cavalry of his rival ; and his irresistible attack determined the fortune of the day. The cavalry of Maxentius was principally composed either of un- wieldy cuirassiers, or of light Moors and Numidians. They yielded to the vigour of the Gallic horse, M-hich possessed more activity than the one, more firmness than the other. The defeat of the two wings left the infantry without any protection on its flanks, and the undisciplined Italians fled without reluctance from the standard of a tyrant whom they had always hated, and whom they no longer feared. The pretorians, con- scious that their offences were beyond the reach of mercy, were animated by revenge and despair. Not- withstanding their repeated efforts, those brave vete- rans were unable to recover the victory: they obtained, however, an honourable death; and it was observed, that their bodies covered the same ground which had been occupied by their ranks'. The confusion then became general, and the dismayed troops of Maxen- tius, pursued by an implacable enemy, rushed by thousands into the deep and rapid stream of the Tiber. The emperor himself attempted to escape back into the city over the Milvian bridge ; but the crowds which pressed together through that narrow passage, forced him into the river, where he was im- mediately drowned by the weight of his armour ^ His > Exceptis latrocinii ilUus primis auctoribus, qui, desperata venia, locum quern pugnae sumpserant texere corporibus. PanegjT. A'et. ix. 17. ^ A very idle rumour soon prevailed, that ]Maxentius, who had not taken any precaution for his own retreat, had contrived a very artful snare to destroy the army of the pursuers ; but that the wooden bridge which was to have been loosened on the approach of Constantine, unluckily broke down under the weight of the flying Italians. M. de Tillemont (Hist, des Em- pereurs, tom. iv. part i. p. 576.) very seriously examines whether, in con- tradiction to common sense, the testimony of Eusebius and Zosimus ought to prevail over the silence of Lactantius, Nazarius, and the anonymous, but contemporary orator, who composed the ninth panegyric. d2