Flavius Eutropius “Summary of Roman History”, Book 10

Chapter 1

Thereupon, having abandoned the helm
Of the State, Constantius and Galerius were
Created Augusti and the Roman Realm
Was divided among them. As his own share
Constantius obtained Gaul, Italy, Africa;
Galerius, instead, Illyricum and Asia.
Two Caesars were appointed also.
Constantius was very content though
With the title and dignity of Augustus. So He
Gave up the government of Africa and Italy.
An exceptional, very affable man whose care
Was the Provincials’ and the private people’s welfare.
He never was on the State Treasury’s side:
Private citizens were better qualified
To keep public resources, he would say, lest
These should end up in a single treasure chest.
He lived so humbly that if on holidays
He was to dine with a large company
The dining-couches were set with silver trays
And private people’s various cutlery
Collected from door to door. Not only,
Among the Gauls, was he worthy of affection
But of veneration too, having mainly
Circumvented, under his administration,
Diocletian’s keen prudence and the bloody
Insolence of Maximian. With death smitten,
In the thirteenth year of his reign, in Britain,
At York, he was made worthy of a seat
In the mansion where the Gods meet.

His igitur abeuntibus administratione rei publicae Constantius et Galerius Augusti creati sunt divisusque inter eos ita Romanus orbis, ut Galliam, Italiam, Africam Constantius, Illyricum, Asiam, Orientem Galerius obtineret, sumptis duobus Caesaribus. Constantius tamen, contentus dignitate Augusti Italiae atque Africae administrandae sollicitudinem recusavit, vir egregius et praestantissimae civilitatis, divitiis provincialium ac privatorum studens, fisci commoda non admodum adfectans, dicensque melius publicas opes a privatis haberi quam intra unum claustrum reservari, adeo autem cultus modici, ut festis diebus, si amicis numerosioribus esset epulandum, privatorum ei argento ostiatim petito triclinia sternerentur. Hic non modo amabilis, sed etiam venerabilis Gallis fuit, praecipue quod Diocletiani suspectam prudentiam et Maximiani sanguinariam temeritatem imperio eius evaserant. Obiit in Britannia Eboraci principatus anno tertio decimo atque inter Divos relatus est.

Chapter 2

Galerius, a man well-mannered and renowned
In war, on seeing that with Constantius’ consent
Italy fell under his authority,
Had Maximinus and Severus as Caesars crowned.
The former he put in charge of the Orient
And the latter was assigned to Italy.
However it’s in the Illyricum he chose to stay.
After the demise of Constantius, Constantine, his own
Son born of a somewhat obscure matrimony,
Was made Emperor in Britain and his sway
Substituted his father’s as a venerated throne
Holder. Meanwhile, in Rome, the Praetorians,
Having risen up, acclaimed Maxentius,
The offspring of Herculius, Augustus.
He lived not far from Rome in a public villa.
On hearing that Maximianus Herculius,
Hoping to get back the rank unwillingly
Surrendered, hastened towards Rome from Lucania,
The region chosen as his dwelling and
Where to grow old in a pleasant farmland.
He also wrote to Diocletian about
The repossession of his forsaken clout;
And Diocletian just laughed at the notion.
But in fact Caesar Severus, egged on
By Galerius against the sedition
Of the Praetorians, and Maxentius too,
Arrived in Rome with the army,
And while besieging the City
Was let down by his military crew.
Maxentius’ strength was augmented anew
Along with his authority.
Then Severus lived through his last day
In Ravenna, during his getaway.

Galerius vir et probe moratus et egregius re militari, cum Italiam quoque sinente Constantio administrationi suae accessisse sentiret, Caesares duos creavit, Maximinum, quem Orienti praefecit, et Severum, cui Italiam dedit. Ipse in Illyrico moratus est. Verum Constantio mortuo Constantinus, ex obscuriore matrimonio eius filius, in Britannia creatus est imperator et in locum patris exoptatissimus moderator accessit. Romae interea praetoriani excito tumultu Maxentium, Herculii filium, qui haud procul ab urbe in villa publica morabatur, Augustum nuncupaverunt. Quo nuntio Maximianus Herculius ad spem arrectus resumendi fastigii, quod invitus amiserat, Romam advolavit e Lucania, quam sedem privatus elegerat in agris amoenissimis consenescens, Diocletianumque etiam per litteras adhortatus est, ut depositam resumeret potestatem, quas ille irrisas habuit. Sed adversum motum praetorianorum atque Maxentii Severus Caesar Romam missus a Galerio cum exercitu venit obsidensque urbem militum suorum scelere desertus est. Auctae Maxentii opes confirmatumque imperium. Severus fugiens Ravennae interfectus est.

Chapter 3

After all this Herculius Maximianus,
While haranguing the army to oust Maxentius,
Stirred up an uprising, and was insulted too
By the soldiery. Thereupon he marched into
The Gallic provinces pretending also
His very son had turned him away
To woo Constantine, his own son-in-law,
Whom instead he was plotting to slay
First chance he got. Constantine already
Reigned in Gaul, beloved by the soldiery
And the Provincials, after overcoming
The Franks and the Alemanni and taking
Prisoner their kings who to the beasts were to be fed
In a great spectacle of gladiatorial bloodshed.
Having unveiled the scheme through
His own daughter Fausta who
Had informed her husband, Herculius flew
Away and was killed in Massilia where
He was about to sail to
His son, paying his mistakes with a fair
Death. He was false, prone to every
Cruelty and brutality,
Inconvenient and totally
Lacking in all civility.

Herculius tamen Maximianus post haec in contione exercituum filium Maxentium nudare conatus seditionem et convicia militum tulit. Inde ad Gallias profectus est dolo conposito, tamquam a filio esset expulsus, ut Constantino genero iungeretur, moliens tamen Constantinum reperta occasione interficere, qui in Galliis et militum et provincialium ingenti iam favore regnabat caesis Francis atque Alamannis captisque eorum regibus, quos etiam bestiis, cum magnificum spectaculum muneris parasset, obiecit. Detectis igitur insidiis per Faustam filiam, quae dolum viro enuntiaverat, profugit Herculius Massiliaeque oppressus (ex ea enim navigare ad filium praeparabat) poenas dedit iustissimo exitu, vir ad omnem acerbitatem saevitiamque proclivis, infidus, incommodus, civilitatis penitus expers.

Chapter 4

At this time Galerius made Emperor
An old Dacian friend, appreciated for
His stouthearted accomplishments as well
As his assignments in the Narsean war.
Valerius very soon heard his death knell.
And so power was then held by four
New Emperors Constantine and Maxentius,
The sons of the Augusti Maximinus,
And Licinius, both new men. Constantine, then
In the fifth year of his reign, instigated civil war
Against Maxentius and crushed his troops in many
Battles and, near the Milvian Bridge in Rome, him himself for
He sorely persecuted the aristocracy
And managed to take possession of Italy.
Not much later in the East Maximinus,
While stirring up a revolt against Licinius
Near Tarsum, by accidently dying
Avoided his forthcoming undoing.

Per hoc tempus a Galerio Licinius imperator est factus, Dacia oriundus, notus ei antiqua consuetudine et in bello, quod adversus Narseum gesserat, strenuis laboribus et officiis acceptus. Mors Galerii confestim secuta. Ita res publica tum a novis quattuor imperatoribus tenebatur, Constantino et Maxentio, filiis Augustorum, Licinio et Maximino, novis hominibus. Quinto tamen Constantinus imperii sui anno bellum adversum Maxentium civile commovit, copias eius multis proeliis fudit, ipsum postremo Romae adversum nobiles omnibus exitiis saevientem apud pontem Mulvium vicit Italiaque est potitus. Non multo deinceps in Oriente quoque adversum Licinium Maximinus res novas molitus vicinum exitium fortuita apud Tarsum morte praevenit.

Chapter 5

Yet Constantine, a man of stature, able to
Achieve all his heart’s desires, and craving also
Universal sway, made war to Licinius - though
He and Licinius were closely related too,
For married to Licinius was Constantia,
His sister – catching him off guard in Pannonia
Secunda, near Cibalae, while he was getting
Ready to fight with his well-armed forces. Having
Seized all Dardania, Moesia and Macedonia,
Many more provinces were there for the taking.

Constantinus tamen, vir ingens et omnia efficere nitens, quae animo praeparasset, simul principatum totius orbis adfectans, Licinio bellum intulit, quamquam necessitudo et adfinitas cum eo esset; nam soror Constantia nupta Licinio erat. Ac primo eum in Pannonia secunda ingenti apparatu bellum apud Cibalas instruentem repentinus oppressit omnique Dardania, Moesia, Macedonia potitus numerosas provincias occupavit.

Chapter 6

There were various wars between them, successively;
Peace was also made and broken respectively.
In military engagements on land and sea
Having been beaten near Nicomedia, Licinius at last
Surrendered at Tessalonica but was killed, in contrast
To the pacts, as a private citizen.
One August only and three Caesars then
Ruled the Roman State, and never before
Had such a coalition taken place for
Constantine’s sons held the government
Of Gaul, Italy and the Orient.
However arrogant fortune’s bent
Altered Constantine’s temperament.
First he persecuted his own family
Killing his son, an extraordinary
Man, the meek son of his own sister, then
His wife and many amicable men.

Varia deinceps inter eos bella gesta et pax reconciliata ruptaque est. Postremo Licinius navali et terrestri proelio victus apud Nicomediam se dedidit et contra religionem sacramenti Thessalonicae privatus occisus est. Eo tempore res Romana sub uno Augusto et tribus Caesaribus, quod numquam alias, fuit, cum liberi Constantini Galliae, Orienti Italiaeque praeessent. Verum insolentia rerum secundarum aliquantum Constantinus ex illa favorabili animi docilitate mutavit. Primum necessitudines persecutus egregium virum filium et sororis filium, commodae indolis iuvenem, interfecit, mox uxorem, post numerosos amicos.

Chapter 7

As good as the peak of principality
At the outset of his reign, in the end he
Receded to the ranks of mediocrity.
With his luminous qualities of body
And soul he hungered after military
Glory and in war had fortune on his side,
Which didn’t always with his zeal coincide.
For after the civil war, in various ways he
Defeated the Goths and let them sign a treaty
Of peace, which the Barbarians still cherish.
Devoted to civil arts and liberal studies,
A common, just affection was his wish,
To be won with cordiality and gratuities.
Unsympathetic as regards some of his friends, he
Was good to others, missing no opportunity
To heap upon them riches and dignities.

Vir primo imperii tempore optimis principibus, ultimo mediis conparandus. Innumerae in eo animi corporisque virtutes claruerunt. Militaris gloriae adpetentissimus, fortuna in bellis prospera fuit, verum ita, ut non superaret industriam. Nam etiam Gothos post civile bellum varie profligavit pace his ad postremum data, ingentemque apud barbaras gentes memoriae gratiam conlocavit. Civilibus artibus et studiis liberalibus deditus, adfectator iusti amoris, quem ab omnibus sibi et liberalitate et docilitate quaesivit, sicut in nonnullos amicos dubius, ita in reliquos egregius, nihil occasionum praetermittens, quo opulentiores eos clarioresque praestaret.

Chapter 8

He passed many laws, some just and wise,
Some superfluous, some restrictive, and
First tried to have his namesake city rise
To a great height and walk hand in hand
With Rome. But during the preparations
Of the military operations
Against the Parthians, who had Mesopotamia
In their thrall, he died in a public villa
At Nicomedia in the thirty-first year of reign,
At the age of sixty. Also a star with a mane,
An unusual pile, which shone for a while,
Announced his death. The Greeks call it Comet.
Indeed he deserved a place in the Gods’ planet.

Multas leges rogavit, quasdam ex bono et aequo, plerasque superfluas, nonnullas severas, primusque urbem nominis sui ad tantum fastigium evehere molitus est, ut Romae aemulam faceret. Bellum adversus Parthos moliens, qui iam Mesopotamiam fatigabant, uno et tricesimo anno imperii, aetatis sexto et sexagesimo, Nicomediae in villa publica obiit. Denuntiata mors eius est etiam per crinitam stellam, quae inusitatae magnitudinis aliquamdiu fulsit; eam Graeci cometen vocant. Atque inter Divos meruit referri

Chapter 9

He left three of his own sons and a son
Of his own brother as successors but
Caesar Dalmatius, a genial man cut
Of the same cloth as his uncle, later on
Was killed in a military rebellion;
Whereas his cousin Constantius had shut
Both his eyes instead of giving an express
Order. Constantius generals later
Killed Constantine who, in an act of rashness
While making war against his own brother,
Had near Aquileia started an engagement.
Thus the Roman State was reduced to
Two Augusti only. Constantius’ government
Was for some time very active and just too.
Then lousy health and worse friends were the price
He had to pay to turn his life to vice
So that, the provincials deeming him beyond all
Tolerance and the soldiers a vile oddball,
He was slaughtered during Magnentius’ sedition.
He died in Helena, a fortification
Not so far from the provinces of Spain
In the seventeenth year of his reign,
At thirty years of age, after military
Exploits, valiant and various, which struck strain
And fear, through all his life, in his army.

Is successores filios tres reliquit atque unum fratris filium. Verum Dalmatius Caesar prosperrima indole neque patruo absimilis haud multo post oppressus est factione militari et Constantio, patrueli suo, sinente potius quam iubente. Constantinum porro bellum fratri inferentem et apud Aquileiam inconsultius proelium adgressum Constantis duces interemerunt. Ita res publica ad duos Augustos redacta. Constantis imperium strenuum aliquamdiu et iustum fuit. Mox cum et valetudine inprospera et amicis pravioribus uteretur, ad gravia vitia conversus, cum intolerabilis provincialibus, militi iniucundus esset, factione Magnentii occisus est. Obiit haud longe ab Hispaniis in castro, cui Helenae nomen est, anno imperii septimo decimo, aetatis tricesimo, rebus tamen plurimis strenue in militia gestis exercituique per omne vitae tempus sine gravi crudelitate terribilis.

Chapter 10

Constantius’ wheel of fortune turned diversely.
Indeed he suffered many serious defeats
In the Persian wars: cities besieged, retreats
From his fortresses, his armies completely
Cut down and no battle against Sapor favourably
Ended except near Singara where victory,
Already in his reach, escaped him for
The arrogance of his soldiers who, at twilight,
By rioting requested to carry on the fight
Against all the accepted rules of war.
After Constantius’ death while Magnentius was occupying
Italy, Africa and Gaul, there was an uprising
In Illyricum too, as Vetranio had been Emperor
With the consent of the army. He was made prince
When old and loved by all, after the campaign
Long and fortunate to defend the Province
Of Illyria. A man of yesteryear, upright,
With such light-hearted affability.
His ignorance of the liberal arts was so patent
He never learnt a single cultural rudiment
Till he was old and Emperor already.

Diversa Constantii fortuna fuit. A Persis enim multa et gravia perpessus saepe captis oppidis, obsessis urbibus, caesis exercitibus, nullumque ei contra Saporem prosperum proelium fuit, nisi quod apud Singara haud dubiam victoriam ferocia militum amisit, qui pugnam seditiose et stolide contra rationem belli die iam praecipiti poposcerunt. Post Constantis necem Magnentio Italiam, Africam, Gallias obtinente etiam Illyricum res novas habuit, Vetranione ad imperium consensu militum electo. Quem grandaevum iam et cunctis amabilem diuturnitate et felicitate militiae ad tuendum Illyricum principem creaverunt, virum probum et morum veterum ac iucundae civilitatis, sed omnium liberalium artium expertem adeo, ut ne elementa quidem prima litterarum nisi grandaevus et iam imperator acceperit.

Chapter 11

But Constantius who had triggered a civil war to
Seek revenge for his brother’s death made a breakthrough
And ousted Vetranio in a manner absolutely
Unusual, that is, with the consent of the army,
He had to lay down his standards. An uprising
Was furthermore underway in Rome having
Nepotianus, son of one of Constantine’s own
Sisters, asserted a claim to the Empire at
The hands of the gladiators and was known
To duly pay for his initial cruel ways.
He was veritably overcome in combat
By Magnentius’ captains after twenty-eight days.
His head was then placed on a wooden spike and dragged through
The town; there were proscriptions and slayings of patricians too.

Sed a Constantio, qui ad ultionem fraternae necis bellum civile commoverat, abrogatum est Vetranioni imperium; novo inusitatoque more consensu militum deponere insigne conpulsus. Romae quoque tumultus fuit Nepotiano, Constantini sororis filio, per gladiatoriam manum imperium vindicante, qui saevis exordiis dignum exitium nanctus est. Vicesimo enim atque octavo die a Magnentianis ducibus oppressus poenas dedit. Caput eius pilo per urbem circumlatum est, gravissimaeque proscriptiones et nobilium caedes fuerunt.

Chapter 12

Not much later, near Mursa, in an engagement
Magnentius was overthrown.
Many a battalion, many a regiment
Were lost, the very backbone
Of Rome’s Empire, in readiness for
Each and every campaign and foreign war,
Which could have produced a slew
Of triumphs and great safety too.
To the East Constantius gave as Caesar Gallus,
His own father’s brother’s son, and so Magnentius,
Who lost several battles took his life near Lyons,
After three years and seven full months of reign.
Decentius, his brother, also took his life at Sens,
As Caesar sent to guard the Gallic domain.

Non multo post Magnentius apud Mursam profligatus acie est ac paene captus. Ingentes Romani imperii vires ea dimicatione consumptae sunt, ad quaelibet bella externa idoneae, quae multum triumphorum possent securitatisque conferre. Orienti mox a Constantio Caesar est datus patrui filius Gallus, Magnentiusque diversis proeliis victus vim vitae suae apud Lugdunum attulit imperii anno tertio, mense septimo, frater quoque eius Decentius Senonibus, quem ad tuendas Gallias Caesarem miserat.

Chapter 13

At the same time by Constantius
Was also killed Caesar Gallus,
A man given to incivility, cruel, who would fain
Have been a tyrant had he had the chance to reign
At will. And also Silvanus,
Who had tried to foment a rebellion
In Gaul, was killed before thirty days. From then on
In the Roman Empire Constantius
Reigned as only Prince and Augustus.

Per haec tempora etiam a Constantio multis incivilibus gestis Gallus Caesar occisus est, vim natura ferus et ad tyrannidem pronior, si suo iure imperare licuisset. Silvanus quoque in Gallia res novas molitus ante diem tricesimum extinctus est, solusque imperio Romano eo tempore Constantius princeps et Augustus fuit.

Chapter 14

He then sent as Caesar to Gaul Julian, son
Of his uncle, and Gallus’ brother,
After giving him his own sister
As a spouse. The Barbarians had fallen upon
Many fortresses and were besieging others too,
While the land was mired in ugly devastation
And the Roman Empire was on the way
To a state of most likely disarray.
Near Argentoratum, in the Gallic nation,
And with a small contingent he
Destroyed the huge forces of the Alemanni,
Captured the noblest king and seized again
The Gallic provinces. Many great feats were then
Performed by Julian against the Barbaric fury.
The German tribes were pushed beyond the Rhine’s
Banks and the Roman Empire regained its confines.

Mox Iulianum Caesarem ad Gallias misit, patruelem suum, Galli fratrem, tradita ei in matrimonium sorore, cum multa oppida barbari expugnassent, alia obsiderent, ubique foeda vastitas esset Romanumque imperium non dubia iam calamitate nutaret. A quo modicis copiis apud Argentoratum, Galliae urbem, ingentes Alamannorum copiae extinctae sunt, rex nobilissimus captus, Galliae restitutae. Multa postea per eundem Iulianum egregia adversum barbaros gesta sunt summotique ultra Rhenum Germani et finibus suis Romanum imperium restitutum.

Chapter 15

While the armies stationed in Germany
Were, not much later, taken from the garrison
In all the Gallic provinces. By decision
Of the military authority
Julian was appointed Augustus and moved on,
A year later, to seize Illyricum; for the time being,
In Parthia, Constantius was awfully busy fighting.
Having been well primed about the situation,
While turning back bent on civil war he, on his way
Between Cilicia and Cappadocia, passed away,
In the thirty-eighth year of reign, aged forty-
Five, deserving in the Council of the Gods his own niche.
He was a very quiet man, true to his friends and family,
Moderate, at first, tied to his wives, ready to enrich
All the members of his household too,
Not leaving without honours those who
Had him experience their tireless courtesy.
He was somewhat inclined to severity
Whenever he felt, so to speak, touché
By a suspicion of Lèse Majesté.
Luckier than against a foreign enemy
He was in civil wars. As for the rest
He was, as an Emperor, very modest.

Neque multo post, cum Germaniciani exercitus a Galliarum praesidio tollerentur, consensu militum Iulianus factus Augustus est, interiectoque anno ad Illyricum obtinendum profectus Constantio Parthicis proeliis occupato. Qui rebus cognitis ad bellum civile conversus in itinere obiit inter Ciliciam Cappadociamque anno imperii octavo et tricesimo, aetatis quinto et quadragesimo, meruitque inter Divos referri, vir egregiae tranquillitatis, placidus, nimium amicis et familiaribus credens, mox etiam uxoribus deditior, qui tamen primis imperii annis ingenti se modestia egerit, familiarium etiam locupletator neque inhonoros sinens, quorum laboriosa expertus fuisset officia, ad severitatem tum propensior, si suspicio imperii moveretur, mitis alias, et cuius in civilibus magis quam in externis bellis sit laudanda fortuna

Chapter 16

So Julian obtained power and with a huge army
Made war on the Parthians. I too took part in that
Expedition. He accepted the surrender of many
Persian forts and castles; others were taken in combat,
And having laid waste to Assyria and from then on
He established his encampment near Ctesiphon.
On his way back, as a winner, he was slain
By enemy hands after a seven-year reign,
On the twenty-fourth of June, having ploughed
Inadvertently through a fighting crowd.
He was thirty-two and became a God too.
He was an extraordinary man, one who
Could have eminently run the state
Had that been permitted by his fate.
An excellent liberal arts scholar he
Was better versed in Greek letters to
The point that his Latin Erudition couldn’t be
Compared with his grasp of the culture of Greece.
A good orator with a top memory too;
In some cases with a philosopher’s expertise.
He was liberal to his friends, but less
Scrupulous than would befit a prince so great.
There were some who nevertheless
Shred doubts on his glory. He showed true
Fairness to the provincials and did abate
Taxes when possible. Kind to everybody,
But mediocre as a collector of revenue,
Immoderate in his appetite for glory,
A stubborn persecutor of Christianity,
Like Marcus Antoninus, whom he tried to
Imitate, refraining from being bloodthirsty.

Hinc Iulianus rerum potitus est ingentique apparatu Parthis intulit bellum, cui expeditioni ego quoque interfui. Aliquot oppida et castella Persarum in deditionem accepit vel vi expugnavit Assyriamque populatus castra apud Ctesiphontem stativa aliquamdiu habuit. Remeansque victor, dum se inconsultius proeliis inserit, hostili manu interfectus est VI Kal. Iul., imperii anno septimo, aetatis altero et tricesimo, atque inter Divos relatus est, vir egregius et rem publicam insigniter moderaturus, si per fata licuisset. Liberalibus disciplinis adprime eruditus, Graecis doctior atque adeo, ut Latina eruditio nequaquam cum Graeca scientia conveniret, facundia ingenti et prompta, memoriae tenacissimae, in quibusdam philosopho propior. In amicos liberalis, sed minus diligens quam tantum principem decuit. Fuerunt enim nonnulli, qui vulnera gloriae eius inferrent. In provinciales iustissimus et tributorum, quatenus fieri posset, repressor. Civilis in cunctos, mediocrem habens aerarii curam, gloriae avidus ac per eam animi plerumque inmodici, religionis Christianae nimius insectator, perinde tamen, ut cruore abstineret, M. Antonino non absimilis, quem etiam aemulari studebat.

Chapter 17

After him Iovianus, an officer of his
Bodyguard, was elected Emperor
With the consent of the army for
He was known to them thanks to his
Father’s merits. Things looked bad.
His army being poorly clad
And equipped, he was discomfited twice
By the Persians signing at a dear price
A peace with Sapor, necessary indeed, which would require
The shortening of the frontier and
The transfer of territories of the Roman Empire,
Which at no time before had taken place
In about eleven thousand and
Eighteen years since the Roman Empire’s foundation
Our legions had rather had to face
The yoke, but not a territorial rendition,
At Caudium by Pontus Telesinus and again
In Numidia and in Numantia in Spain.
Those peace conditions surely carried no blame
Had he reneged on them once they became
No longer crucial as that was the Romans’ policy
In all the military engagements mentioned by me.
For on the Samnites and the Numidians war was soon
Waged making all those peace conditions inopportune;
But while fearing a rival in the Empire he,
Residing within the Eastern boundary,
Indeed cared very little for all his glory.
On his way to the Illyricum he died suddenly.
Neither lazy nor imprudent, after all, was he.

Post hunc Iovianus, qui tunc domesticus militabat, ad obtinendum imperium consensu exercitus lectus est, commendatione patris militibus quam sua notior. Qui iam turbatis rebus exercitu quoque inopia laborante uno a Persis atque altero proelio victus pacem cum Sapore, necessariam quidem, sed ignobilem, fecit, multatus finibus ac nonnulla imperii Romani parte tradita. Quod ante eum annis mille centum et duobus de viginti fere, ex quo Romanum imperium conditum erat, numquam accidit. Quin etiam legiones nostrae ita et apud Caudium per Pontium Telesinum et in Hispania apud Numantiam et in Numidia sub iugum missae sunt, ut nihil tamen finium traderetur. Ea pacis conditio non penitus reprehendenda foret, si foederis necessitatem tum cum integrum fuit mutare voluisset, sicut a Romanis omnibus his bellis, quae commemoravi, factum est. Nam et Samnitibus et Numantinis et Numidis confestim bella inlata sunt neque pax rata fuit. Sed dum aemulum imperii veretur, intra Orientem residens gloriae parum consuluit. Itaque iter ingressus atque Illyricum petens in Galatiae finibus repentina morte obiit, vir alias neque iners neque inprudens.

Chapter 18

Many suppose he died of indigestion
For he used to indulge himself with supper;
Others instead imagined that the answer
Was to be found in the lime emanation
Of his freshly-plastered sleeping-chamber,
Dangerous for those who reposed there; some though
Thought it was the fumes from the heaped coals aglow
Against the biting cold. He died on February
The seventeenth, in the seventh year of reign
When he was more or less, as they say, thirty-three.
Thanks to the succeeding princes’ benevolence he
Was indeed permitted to join the godly train,
Having been to gentleness inclined
And with quite a liberal mind.
The Roman Empire organization,
Governed by the same Consul Jovianus
And his colleague Consul Varronianus,
Found itself in the described situation -
Since its founding - in the year one thousand
One hundred and eighteen. On the other hand,
As to princes worthy of glory and veneration
We have come to, we shall cease the narration.
A higher literary style will require
The rest of the adventures of the Empire,
Which reserving to treat with more diligence
We now omit and surely not for negligence.

Multi exanimatum opinantur nimia cruditate (inter cenandum enim epulis indulserat), alii odore cubiculi, quod ex recenti tectorio calcis grave quiescentibus erat, quidam nimietate prunarum, quas gravi frigore adoleri multas iusserat. Decessit imperii mense septimo, tertio decimo Kal. Mart., aetatis, ut qui plurimum vel minimum tradunt, tertio et tricesimo anno, ac benignitate principum, qui ei successerunt, inter Divos relatus est. Nam et civilitati propior et natura admodum liberalis fuit. Is status erat Romanae rei Ioviano eodem et Varroniano consulibus anno urbis conditae millesimo centesimo et octavo decimo. Quia autem ad inclitos principes venerandosque perventum est, interim operi modum dabimus. Nam reliqua stilo maiore dicenda sunt. Quae nunc non tam praetermittimus, quam ad maiorem scribendi diligentiam reservamus.