Page:Readings in European History Vol 1.djvu/82

 4 6 Readings in European History Rutilius Namatianus, a poet of the early fifth century, says nothing of the destruc- tion of Rome by the Goths. from bloodshed. Jordanes even asserts that the Goths did not set fire to any buildings, and that by Alaric's command they confined themselves to pillage. The probabilities of the case are all in favour of the less tragic view of the catas- trophe. The three days, during which the Goths remained within the walls, were short enough for the collection of the enormous spoil which Alaric carried off in his southward march. . . . Even if Alaric had not been restrained by policy from a wholesale and wanton destruction of great masterpieces of art, his Goths could not have wrought such havoc in so short a time. But the most convincing argument is derived from the poem of Rutilius Namatianus, who, as he bids a reluctant farewell [six years after Rome's sack by Alaric] to the city which he regards with a passionate love and reverence, sees only the crowded monuments of her glory, and has his eyes dazzled by the radiance of her glittering fanes. . . . The temples of the gods are still standing in their dazzling radi- ance under the serene Italian sky. The cheers of the spec- tators in the circus reach his ears as his ship still lingers in the Tiber. He feels a passionate regret at quitting " this fair queen of the world," so mighty, so merciful, so bounte- ous, whose visible splendour is only the faint symbol of her worldwide and godlike sway. Certainly there is here no querulous and faint-hearted lamentation over a crushing and appalling disaster. The troubles of the time, referred to in a few vague phrases, are treated as merely vicissitudes of fortune, such as Rome has known before, and from which she has always risen with renewed vitality. III. ATTILA AND THE HUNS A description has already been given of the Huns when they first drove the Goths into the Empire. 1 Seventy years after the battle of Adrianople, Priscus, 2 14. Priscus describes the court of Attila, king of the Huns (448). who actually visited the Huns and conversed with Attila, 1 See above, pp. 35 sqq. 2 See above, p. 30.