Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire vol 3 (1897).djvu/55

 OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 35 the bands of Italy and Illyricum, was ordered to invade their country, most probably on the side of Rha;tia. The emperor in person, accompanied by his son Gratian, passed the Rhine at[368A.D] the head of a formidable army, which was supported on both flanks by Jovinus and Severus, the two masters-general of the cavalry and infantry of the West. The Alemamii, unable to prevent the devastation of their villages, fixed their camp on a lofty, and almost inaccessible, mountain, in the modern duchy of Wirtemberg, and resolutely expected the approach of the Romans. The life of Valentinian was exposed to imminent danger by the intrepid curiosity with which he persisted to ex- plore some secret and unguarded path. A troop of Barbarians suddenly rose from their ambuscade: and the emperor, who vigorously spurred his horse down a steep and slippery descent, was obliged to leave behind him his armour-bearer, and his helmet, magnificently enriched with gold and precious stones. At the signal of the general assault, the Roman troops encom- passed and ascended the mountain of Solicinium on three nsaichen. different sides. Every step which they gained increased their feT' ardour and abated the resistance of the enemy : and, after their united forceshad occupied the summit of the hill, they impetuously urged the Barbarians down the northern descent where Count Sebastian was posted to intercept their retreat. After this signal victory, Valentinian returned to his winter-quarters at Treves ; where he indulged the public joy by the exhibition of splendid and triumphal games.^e But the wise monarch, instead of aspir- ing to the conquest of Germany, confined his attention to the important and laborious defence of the Gallic frontier, against an enemy whose strength was renewed by a stream of daring volunteers, which incessantly flowed from the most distant tribes of the North.97 The banks of the Rhine, from its source to the straits of the ocean, were closely planted with strong castles and convenient towers ; new works, and new arms, were invented by the ingenuity of a prince who was skilled in the mechanical »6The expedition of Valentinian is related by Ammianus (xxvii. lo) : and celebrated by Ausonius (Mosell. 421, &c.), who foolishly supposes that the Romans were ignorant of the sources of the Danube. [As Smith points out, Ausonius only says, "unknown to Roman annals," Latiis ignotum annalibus.] s^Immanis enim natio, jam inde ab incunabulis primis varietate casuum imminuta ; ita saspius adolescit, ut fuisse longis sseculis asstimetur intacta. Ammian. xxvni. 5 Ihe Count de Buat (Hist, des Peuples de lEurope, tom. vi. p. 370) as- cribes the fecundity of the Alemanni to their easy adoption of strangers. [For the activity of alentinian in the defence of the frontiers cp. an inscription on the construction of the Castra of Salva (365-367 A.D.), in Ephem. Epig. 2, p. 389 ; also
 * -• i- L. 3, 5670 a and 3771.]