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THE barbarians, dwelling beyond the Danube, called the Goths,
having engaged in a civil war among themselves, were divided into two
parties, one of which was headed by Fritigernes, the other by
Athanaric. When the latter had obtained an evident advantage over his
rival, Fritigernes had recourse to the Romans, and implored their
assistance against his adversary. This was reported to the Emperor
Valens, and he ordered the troops which were garrisoned in Thrace to
assist those barbarians who had appealed to him against their more
powerful countrymen; and by means of this subsidy they won a complete
victory over Athanaric beyond the Danube, totally routing the enemy.
This became the occasion for the conversion of many of the barbarians
to the Christian religion: for Fritigernes, to express his sense of
the obligation the emperor had conferred upon him, embraced the
religion of his benefactor, and urged those who were under his
authority to do the same. Therefore it is that so many of the Goths
are even to the present time infected with the errors of Arianism,
they having on the occasion preferred to become adherents to that heresy
on the emperor's account. Ulfilas, their bishop at that time,
invented the Gothic letters, and translating the Sacred Scriptures
into their own language, undertook to instruct these barbarians in the
Divine oracles. And as Ulfilas did not re strict his labors to the
subjects of Fritigernes, but extended them to those who acknowledged
the sway of Athanaric also, Athanaric regarding this as a violation
of the privileges of the religion of his ancestors, subjected those who
professed Christianity to severe punishments; so that many of the
Arian Goths of that period became martyrs. Arius indeed, failing in
his attempt to refute the opinion of Sabellius the Libyan, fell from
the true faith, and asserted the Son of God to be 'a new God':
but the barbarians embracing Christianity with greater simplicity of
mind despised the present life for the faith of Christ. With these
remarks we shall close our notice of the Christianized Goths.
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