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Book XIV: Constantius and Gallus
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The Anonymus Valesianus, First Part: The lineage of the Emperor Constantine
The Anonymus Valesianus, latter part: The History of King Theodoric
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[7] When this was known after the return of the tribunes, the emperor, exulting in the accomplishment without any toil of a task which he thought insuperable, admitted them all, being inflamed with the desire for greater gain, which his crew of flatterers increased by constantly dinning it into his ears that now that foreign troubles were quieted, and peace made everywhere, he would gain more child-producing subjects and be able to muster a strong force of recruits; for the provincials are glad to contribute gold to save their bodies, 1 a hope which has more than once proved disastrous to the Roman state. 2
1 I.e. they would rather contribute money than personal service or recruits.
2 It was in fact this hope that led the Romans to allow the Goths to cross the Danube, and thus brought on the defeat at Adrianople in 378; see xxxi., 4, 4, pro militari supplemento quod provinciatim annuum pendebatur, thesauris accederet auri cumulus magnus.
Ammianus Marcellinus. With An English Translation. John C. Rolfe, Ph.D., Litt.D. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1935-1940.
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