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This remarkable oration of Themistius disposed the emperor to be
somewhat more humane, and the punishments became in consequence less
severe than before. He would not have wholly withdrawn his wrath from
the priests unless the anxieties of public affairs had supervened, and
not permitted him to pursue them further. For the Goths, who
inhabited the regions beyond the Ister, and had conquered other
barbarians, having been vanquished and driven from their country by the
Huns, had passed over into the Roman boundaries. The Huns, it is
said, were unknown to the Thracians of the Ister and the Goths
before this period; for though they were dwelling secretly near to one
another, a lake of vast extent was between them, and the inhabitants
on each side of the lake respectively imagined that their own country
was situated at the extremity of the earth, and that there was nothing
beyond them but the sea and water. It so happened, however, that an
ox, tormented by insects, plunged into the lake, and was pursued by
the herdsman; who, perceiving for the first time that the opposite
bank was inhabited, made known the circumstance to his
fellow-tribesmen. Some, however, relate that a stag was fleeing,
and showed some of the hunters who were of the race of the Hurts the
way which was concealed superficially by the water. On arriving at the
opposite bank, the hunters were struck with the beauty of the country,
the serenity of the air, and the adaptedness for cultivation; and they
reported what they had seen to their king. The Hurts then made an
attempt to attack the Goths with a few soldiers; but they afterwards
raised a powerful army, conquered the Goths in battle, and took
possession of their whole country. The vanquished nation, being
pursued by their enemies, crossed over into the Roman territories.
They passed over the river, and dispatched an embassy to the emperor,
assuring him of their cooperation in any warfare in which he might
engage, provided that he would assign a portion of land for them to
inhabit. Ulphilas, the bishop of the nation, was the chief of the
embassy. The object of his embassy was fully accomplished, and the
Goths were permitted to take up their abode in Thrace. Soon after
contentions broke out among them, which led to their division into two
parts, one of which was headed by Athanaric, and the other by
Phritigernes. They took up arms against each other, and
Phritigernes was vanquished, and implored the assistance of the
Romans. The emperor having commanded the troops in Thrace to assist
and to ally with him, a second battle was fought, and Athanaric and
his party were put to flight. In acknowledgment of the timely succor
afforded by Valens, and in proof of his fidelity to the Romans,
Phritigernes embraced the religion of the emperor, and persuaded the
barbarians over whom he ruled to follow his example. It does not,
however, appear to me that this is the only reason that can be advanced
to account for the Goths having retained, even to the present day,
the tenets of Arianism. For Ulphilas, their bishop, originally
held no opinions at variance with those of the Catholic Church; for
during the reign of Constantius, though he took part, as I am
convinced, from thoughtlessness, at the council of Constantinople,
in conjunction with Eudoxius and Acacius, yet he did not swerve from
the doctrines of the Nicaean council. He afterwards, it appears,
returned to Constantinople, and, it is said, entered into
disputations on doctrinal topics with the chiefs of the Arian faction;
and they promised to lay his requests before the emperor, and forward
the object of his embassy, if he would conform to their opinions.
Compelled by the urgency of the occasion, or, possibly, thinking
that it was better to hold such views concerning the Divine nature,
Ulphilas entered into communion with the Arians, and separated
himself and his whole nation from all connection with the Catholic
Church. For as he had instructed the Goths in the elements of
religion, and through him they shared in a gentler mode of life, they
placed the most implicit confidence in his directions, and were firmly
convinced that he could neither do nor say anything that was evil. He
had, in fact, given many signal proofs of the greatness of his
virtue. He had exposed himself to innumerable perils in defense of the
faith, during the period that the aforesaid barbarians were given to
pagan worship. He taught them the use of letters, and translated the
Sacred Scriptures into their own language. It was on this account,
that the barbarians on the banks of the Ister followed the tenets of
Arius. At the same period, there were many of the subjects of
Phritigernes who testified to Christ, and were martyred. Athanaric
resented that his subjects had become Christian under the persuasion of
Ulphilas; and because they had abandoned the cult of their fathers,
he subjected many individuals to many punishments; some he put to death
after they had been dragged before tribunals and had nobly confessed the
doctrine, and others were slain without being permitted to utter a
single word in their own defense. It is said that the officers
appointed by Athanaric to execute his crul mandates, caused a statute
to be constructed, which they placed chariot, and had it conveyed to
the tents of those who were suspected of having embraced Christianity,
and who were therefore commanded to worship the statue and offer
sacrifice; if they refused to do so, the men and the tents were burnt
together. But I have heard that an outrage of still greater atrocity
was perpetrated at this period. Many refused to obey those who were
compelling them by force to sacrifice. Among them were men and women;
of the latter some were leading their little children, others were
nourishing their new-born infants at the breast; they fled to their
church, which was a tent. The pagans set fire to it, and all were
destroyed.
The Goths were not long in making peace among themselves; and in
unreasonable excitement, they then began to ravage Thrace and to
pillage the cities and villages. Valens, on inquiry, learned by
experiment how great a mistake he had made; for he had calculated that
the Goths would always be useful to the empire and formidable to its
enemies, and had therefore neglected the reinforcement of the Roman
ranks. He had taken gold from the cities and villages under the
Romans, instead of the usual complement of men for the military
service. On his expectation being thus frustrated, he quilted
Antioch and hastened to Constantinople. Hence the persecution which
he had been carrying on against Christians differing in opinion from
himself, had a truce. Euzoius, president of the Arians, died, and
Dorotheus was proposed for his government.
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