Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/161

Rh AMMIANUS. Ursicinus, one of the most able among the genemls ol" (Jonstantius, and accompanied him to the Kast ill 350. He returned wiih his commander to Italy lour years afterwards, from thence passed over into naul, and assisted in the enterpiise against Sylva- nus, again followed Ursicinus when despatched for a second time to the East, and appears to have never quitted him until the period of his final dis- grace in 3G0, Aunnianus subsequently attended the emperor Julian in his cinipaign against the Persians, was present at Antioch in 371, when the ))!ot of Theodorus was detected in the reign of 'alens, and witnessed the tortures inflicted upon tlie conspirators. (xxi.. i. § 24.) Kventualh' he established himself at Rome, where he com- posed his history, and during the progress of the task read several portions publicly, which were received with great applause. (Liban. Epist. Dcccci.xxxm. p. 60, ed. Wolf.) The precise date of his death is not recorded, but it nmst have hap- ]jened later than 390, since a reference occurs to the consulship of Neoterius, which belongs to that year. The work of Ammianus extended from the ac- cession of Nerva, a. d. dQ^ the point at which the histories of Tacitus and the biographies of Sueto- nius terminated, to the death of Valens, a. d. 378, comprising a period of 282 years. It was divided into thirty-one books, of which the first thirteen are lost. The remaining eighteen embrace the acts of Constantius from a.d. 353, the seventeenth year of his reign, together with the whole career of Callus, Julianus, Jovianus, Valentinianus, and Valens. The portion preserved includes the trans- actions of twenty-five years only, which proves that the earlier books must have presented a very coiuk-nsed abridgment of the events contained in the long space over which they stretched ; and hence we may feel satisfied, that what has been fcaved is much more valuable than what has pe- rished. Gibbon (cap. xxvi.) pays a well deserved tri- bute to the accuracy, fidelity, and impartiality of Ammianus. We are indebted to him for a know- ledge of many important facts not elsewhere re- corded, and for much valuable insight into the modes of thought and the general tone of public teeling prevalent in his day. His history must not, however, be regarded as a complete chronicle of that era ; tiiose proceedings only are brought forward prominently in which he himself was engaged, and nearly all the statements admitted appear to be founded upon his own observations, or upon the in- fomiation derived from trustworthy eye-witnesses. A considerable number of dissertations and digres- sions are hitroduced, many of them highly interest- ing and valuable. Such are his notices of the institutions and manners of the Saracens (xiv. 4), of the Scythians and Sannatians (xvii. 12), of the Huns find Alani (xxxi. 2), of the Egyptians and their country (xxii. 6, 14 — 16), and his geogra- phical discussions upon Gaul (xv. 9), the Pontus (xxii. 8), and Thrace (xxvii. 4), although the accuracy of many of his details has been called in question by D'Anville. Less legitimate and less judicious are his geological speculations upon earth- quakes (xvii. 7), his astronomical inquiries into eclipses (xx. 3), comets (xxv. 10), and the regu- lation of the calendar (xxvi. 1), his medical re- searches into the origui of epidemics (xix. 4), his zoological theory ou the destruction of lions bv AMMIANUS. 143 mosquitoes (xviii. 7), and his horticultural eswiy on the impregnation of palms (xxiv. 3). But in addition to industry in research and honesty of purpose, he was gifted with a large measure ot strong common sense which enabled him in many points to rise superior to the prejudice of his da^, and with a clear-sighted independence of spirit which prevented him from being dazzled or over- awed by the brilliancy and the terrors which en- veloped the imperial throne. The wretched vanity, weakness, and debauchery of Constantius, rendering him an easy prey to the designs of the profligate minions by whom he was surrounded, the female intrigues which ruled the court of Gallus, and the conflicting elements of vice and vii'tue which were so strongly combined in the cha- racter of Valentinian, are all sketched with bold- ness, vigour, and trutli. But although sufficiently acute in detecting and exposing the follies of othei-s, and especially in ridiculing the absurdities of po- pular superstition, Ammianus did not entirely esaipe the contagion. The general and deep- seated belief in magic spells, omens, prodigies, and oracles, which appears to have gained additional strength upon tiie first introduction of Christianity, evidently exercised no small influence over his mind. The old legends and doctrines of the Pagan creed and the subtle mysticism which philosophers pretended to discover lurking below, when mixed up with the pure and simple but startling tenets of the new faith, formed a confused mass which few intellects, except those of the very higliest class, could reduce to order and harmony. A keen controversy has been maintained with regard to the religious creed of our author. (See Bayle.) There is nothing in his writings which can entitle us to decide the question positively. In several passages he speaks with marked respect of Christianity and its professors (xxi. sub fin., xxii. 11, xxvii. 3 ; compare xxii. 12, xxv. 4); but even his strongest expressions, which are all attributed by Gibbon '^ to the incomparable plianc}' of a polytheist," afford no conclusive evidence that he was himself a disciple of the cross. On the other hand he does not scruple to stigmatize with the utmost severity the savage fury of the contending sects (xxii. 5), nor fail to reprobate the bloody vio- lence of Daraasus and Ursinus in the contest for the see of Home (xxvii. 3) : the absence of all censure on the apostacy of Julian, and the terms which he employs with regard to Nemesis (xiv. 11, xxii, 3), the Genius (xxi. 14), Mercuiius (xvi. 5, xxv. 4), and other deities, are by many con- sidered as decisive proofs that he was a pagan. Indeed, as Heyne justly remarks, many of the writers of this epoch seem purposely to avoid committing themselves. Being probably devoid of strong religious principles, they felt unwilling to hazard any declaration which might one day ex- pose them to persecution and prevent them from adopting the various forms which the faith of the court might from time to time assume. Ivittle can be said in praise of the style of Am- mianus. The melodious flow and simple dignity of the purer models of composition had long ceased to be relished, and we too often detect the harsh diction mid involved periods of an imperfectly educated foreign soldier, relieved occasionally by the pompous inflation and flashy glitter of the rhetori- cal schools. His phraseology as it regaids the sig- nification, gi-ammatical inflexions, and syntactical