28 
GOTHS. 
he ftionld meet a plentiful convoy of provifions, and a 
reintorceinent of eight thoufand horfe and thirty thou- 
fand toot, while the legions of Afia were encamped at 
Heraclea to' fecond liis operations. Thefe meafures 
were dilappointed by mutual jealoufy. As he ad- 
vaiice'd into Thrace, the fon of Theodemir found an in- 
holpitable folitude, and his Gothic followers, with a 
heavy train of horfes, of mules, and of waggons, were 
betrayed by their guides among the rocks and preci¬ 
pices of Mount Sondis, where lie was aflaulted by the 
arms and invectives of the fon of Triariiis. From a 
iieigiibouring lieight, his artful rival harangued the 
camp ot the Walamirs, and branded their leader tvitli 
the opprobrious names of cliild, of madman, of perjured 
traitor, the enemy of his nation. “ Are you ignorant,” 
e.vclaimed the fon of Triarius, “that it is the conftant 
policy of tlie Romans to deftrov tlie Goths by each 
other’s fwords? Are you infenfible that tlie vidtor in 
this unnatural conteff will be expofed, and juftly ex- 
pofed, to their implacable revenge ? Where are thofe 
v/arriors, my kinfmen and thy own, whofe widows now 
lament that their lives w'ere facrificed to thy rafh ambi¬ 
tion ? Where is the wealth which thy foldiers poll'etred 
'vhen they were firlt allured from their native homes to 
inlid under thy ftandard ? Each of them was then maf- 
ter of three or four horfes; they now follow thee on 
loot like (laves, through the deferts of Thrace ; thofe 
men who were tempted by the hope of meafuring gold 
with a bufliel, thofe brave men who are as free and as 
noble as thyfelf.” A language fo w-ell fuited to the 
temper of the Goths, excited clamour and difeontent ; 
and the Ion of Theodemir, apprehenfive of being left 
alone, was compelled to embrace his brethren, and to 
imitate the example of Roman perfidy. 
In every date of Ids fortune, the prudence and firm- 
nefs ot Theodoric were equally confpicuous'; whetlier 
lie threatened Conftantinople at the head of the confede¬ 
rate Goths, or retreated with a faithful band to the 
mountains and fea-coaft of Epirus. At length the acci¬ 
dental death of the fon of Triarius deftroyed the ba¬ 
lance which the Romans had been fo anxious to pre- 
ferve, the whole nation acknowledged the fupremacy of 
ths Amali, and the Byzantine court lubferibed an igno¬ 
minious and oppreffive treaty. The fenate had already 
declared, that it was neceflary to chufe a party among 
the Goths, lince the public was unequal to the fupport 
of their united forces ; a fubfidy of two thoufand pounds 
of gold, with the ample pay of thirteen thoufand men, 
were required for the lead confiderable of their armies ; 
and the Ifaurians, who guarded not the empire but the 
emperor, enjoyed, befides the privilege of rapine, an 
annual penfion of five thoufand pounds. The faga. 
cious mind of Theodoric foon perceived that he was 
odious to the Romans, and fufpedted by the barbarians ; 
he underftood the popular murmur, that his fubjedts 
were expofed in their frozen hufs to intolerable hard- 
fhips, while their king was dilTolved in the luxury of 
Greece, and he prevented the painful alternative of en¬ 
countering the Goths, as the champion, or of leading 
them to the field as the enemy, of Zeno. Embracing 
an enterprife worthy of his courage and ambition, The¬ 
odoric addrelfed the emperor in the following words ; 
“ Although your fervant is maintained in affluence by 
your liberality, graciouffy liften to the wiflies of my 
heart! Italy, the inheritance of your predeccflbrs, and 
Rome itfelf, the head and miftrefs of the world, now 
ffudfuate under the violence and oppreflion of Odoacer 
the mercenary. Direct me, with my national troops, to 
march againff the tyrant. If I fall, you will be reliev¬ 
ed from an expenfive and troublefome friend : if, with 
the divine piermiflion, I fucceed, I fnall govern in your 
^ssame, and to your glory, the Roman fenate, and the 
part ot the republic deliv^ered from flavery by my vic¬ 
torious arms.’' T he propoial of Theodoric was ac¬ 
cepted j but the forms of the commillion appear to have 
been expreffed with a prudent ambiguity ; and it was 
left doubtful, whether the conqueror of Italy fhould 
reign as the lieutenant, the vaffal, or the ally, of the 
emperor of the Eaft. 
The reputation both of the leader and of the war dif- 
fufed an univerfal ardour ; the Walamirs were multi¬ 
plied by the Gothic fvvarms already engaged in tlie fer. 
vice, or feated in the provinces, of the emp'irc ; and each 
bold barbarian, who had heard of the wealili and beauty 
of Italy, was impatient to feck through the inoff; perilous 
adventures, the poffelTlon of fuch enchanting objeCts. 
The march of Theodoric njuflibe confidered as the emi¬ 
gration of an entire people ; the wives and children of 
the Goths, their aged parents, and moll: valuable eft'efts, 
were carefully tranfported; and fome idea may be 
formed of the heavy baggage that now followed the 
camp, by the lofs of two thoufand waggons, which had 
been I'liftained in a fingle aCHon in the war of Epirus, 
For their fubfiftence, the Goths depended on the maga¬ 
zines of corn which was ground in portable mills by 
the hands of their women ; on the milk and flelh of their 
flocks and herds ; on the cafual produce of the chafe, 
and upon the contributions wliich they might impofe 
on all who fliould prefume to difpute the palfage, or te 
refufe their friendly intercourfe. Notwithftanding tliefe 
precautions, they were expofed to the danger, and al- 
niofl to the diftrefs, of famine, in a march of feven hun¬ 
dred miles, whicJi had been undertaken in the depth of 
a rigorous winter. Since the fall of the Roman power, 
Dacia and Pannonia no longer exhibited tlie rich prof- 
pedt of populous cities, well-cultivated fields, and con¬ 
venient highways: the reign of barbarifm and defola- 
tion was refiored, and the tribes of Bulgarians, Gepids, 
and Sarmatians, who had occupied the vacant province, 
were prompted by their native fiercenefs, or tlie folicita- 
tions of Odoacer, to refill tlie progrefs of his formidable 
enemy. In many obfeure though bloody battles, Tlie- 
odoric fought and vanquifhed ; till at length, furmount¬ 
ing every obllacle by Ikilful condudl and perfevering 
courage, he defeended from the Julian Alps, and dil- 
played his invincible banners on the confines of Italy. 
Odoacer, a rival not unworthy of his arms, had al¬ 
ready occupied the advantageous and well-known poll 
of the river Sontius, near the ruins of Aquileia, at the 
head of a powerful holt, whofe independent chiefs dif- 
dained the duties of fubordination and the prudence of 
delays. No fooner had Theodoric granted a Ihort re- 
pofe and refrefhment to his wearied cavalry, than he 
boldly attacked tlie fortifications of the enemy; the Of. 
trogotJis fhewed more ardour to acquire, than the mer¬ 
cenaries to defend, the lands of Italy ; and the reward of 
the firll victory was the polfelTion of the Venetian pro¬ 
vince as far as the walls of Verona. In the neighbour¬ 
hood of that city, on the deep banks of the Adige, he 
was oppofed by a new army, reinforced in its numbers, 
and not impaired in its courage: the contell was more 
obllinate, but the event was more decifive ; Odoacer 
fled to Ravenna, Theodoric advanced to Milan, and 
the vanquiliied troops faluted their conqueror with loud 
acclamations of refpeifl and fidelity. But their want 
either of conllancy or of faith, foon expofed the vidlor 
to the moll imminent danger; his vanguard, witli feve- 
ral Gothic counts, which liad been imprudently entrull- 
ed to a deferter, was betrayed and deftroyed near Fa- 
enza, by his double treachery. Odoacer again appeared 
mafter of the field ; and the invader, ftrongly entrench¬ 
ed in his camp of Pavia, was reduced to folricit the aid 
of the Viligoths of Gaul. This divifion of tlie Goths 
liad been tampered with by the fagacious Odoacer, pro¬ 
bably without fuccefs; but the.dark and imperfetl ma¬ 
terials do not afford us a more ample narrative of the 
confequent diftrefs of Italy, nor of the fierce confliCl, 
which was finally decided by the abilities, experience, 
and valour, of Theodoric. Immediately before the bat¬ 
tle of Verona, he vifited the tent of his motlier and fif- 
ter. 
