286 MARTIN L. ROUSE^ ESQ., ON " PROCOPIUS's AFRICAN 



The chief incidents of those wars, the building and road- 

 making of Justinian, and other events of his times, have been 

 most fully recorded by Procopius. It is from liis writings 

 that we ahnost entirely draw our knowledge of this stirring 

 and momentous period. Of him the English CyclopmcUa says : 

 " Procopius Avas well informed and unprejudiced ; he was a 

 spectator of, and an actor in, most of the events which he 

 narrates." The Encyclopa>dia Britannica has no remark upon 

 his accuracy. Krumbacher in his work on Byzantine litera- 

 ture says: " Procopius unites a high degree of literary form 

 with an admirable love of truth." ]\Ir. W. S. Teuflfel, in his 

 Studies and Character Sketclies, says : '• Procopius takes among 

 historians throughout an honourable position, both with 

 regard to his sentiments and to his portrayal of events. He 

 strove with earnestness and honesty to tell the truth. 

 Kanngiesser, while on the whole he does not praise our 

 historian so much as the other modern reviewers, has a note 

 upon the topic in question most favourable to his accuracy 

 therein, which note we shall quote in its due place. 



In the first book of The Vandal War it is narrated how, 

 chiefly by the aid of his Hunnish auxiliaries (whom Belisarius 

 had contrived to discipline, although they seem to have 

 inspired terror by their mere aspect), the great captain over- 

 threw the armies of King Gelimir ; how Carthage and other 

 cities threw open their gates to the Byzantine host ; and how 

 anon Gelimir and a large number of captives sailed away : 

 but how, alas I Belisarius, who would have stayed until 

 perfect order was established, was himself obliged to depart 

 'for that city to clear himself from the slanders of the 

 envious ; although, fortunately, he left a good lieutenant- 

 general — one Solomon — behind him. Meanwhile, the IMoors, 

 who had already made head against the Vandals, grew 

 bolder in face of the feeble opposition of Libyans and Romans, 

 who had served the Vandals ; and many were their raids 

 against persons and property. Before telling of these, 

 and of the war that followed, Procopius, in his 2nd book,* 

 says : " And, since our narrative has brought us thus 

 far, it is needful to tell from the beginning whence the 

 tribes of the ]\ioors came into Libya, and in what manner 

 they settled there. AVhen the Hebrews had departed from 

 Egypt and Avere near the borders of Palestine, Moses, the 

 Avise man, Avho had been their leader on the journey, died. 



Second Book, chapter 10. 



