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 OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 227 tration, or rather of his reign, displayed to the nations the vigour and activity of a spirit worthy to command. He passed the Alps in the depth of winter ; descended the stream of the Rhine from the fortress of Basel to the marshes of Batavia ; re- viewed the state of the garrisons ; repressed the enterprises of the Germans ; and, after establishing along the banks a firm and honourable peace, returned with incredible speed to the palace of Milan. 2'' The person and court of Honorius'were subject to the master-general of the West ; and the armies and 'provinces of Europe obeyed, without hesitation, a regular authority, which was exercised in the name of their young sovereign. Two rivals only remained to dispute the claims, and to provoke the ven- geance, of Stilicho. Within the limits of Africa, Gildo, the Moor, maintained a proud and dangerous independence ; and the minister of Constantinople asserted his equal reign over the emperor and the empire of the East. The impartiality which Stilicho affected, as the common The fau and guardian of the royal brothers, enfjaffed him to regulate the flnus. a.d ^ -^ o o o 2gg Kov 27 equal division of the arms, the jewels, and the magnificent ward- robe and furniture of the deceased emperor. ^s But the most important object of the inheritance consisted of the numerous legions, cohorts and squadrons of Romans or Barbarians, whom the event of the civil war had united under the standard of Theodosius. The various multitudes of Europe and Asia, ex- asperated by recent animosities, were overawed by the authority of a single man ; and the rigid discipline of Stilicho protected the lands of the citizen from the rapine of the licentious soldier.-^ Anxious, however, and impatient to relieve Italy from the presence of this formidable host, which could be use- ful only on the frontiers of the empire, he listened to the just requisition of the minister of Arcadius, declared his intention of re-conducting in person the troops of the East, and dex- terously employed the rumour of a Gothic tumult to conceal his private designs of ambition and revenge. ^^ The guilty soul of 27 See Claudian (i. Cons. Stilich. i. 188-242), but he must allow more than fifteen days for the journey and return between Milan and Leyden. 28 I. Cons. Stilich. ii. 88-94. Not only the robes and diadems of the deceased emperor, but even the helmets, sword-hilts, belts, cuirasses, &c., were enriched with pearls, emeralds, and diamonds. ^ . . . Tantoque remoto Principe, mutatas orbis non sensit habenas. This high commendation (i. Cons. Stil. i. 149) may be justified by the fears of the dying emperor (de BelL Gildon. 292-301), and the peace and good order which were enjoyed after his death (i. Cons. Stil. i. 150-168). soStilicho's march, and the death of Rufinus, are described by Claudian (in