Delphi Complete Works of Procopius

by Procopius of Caesarea

  After joining forces they conferred with each other and considered the plans which seemed to promise them the greatest advantage; then they set sail from there and upon reaching the opposite mainland anchored at a place which the Romans call Senogallia, not far away from Ancon. When the Gothic generals learned this, they too immediately manned with the notable Goths the ships of war which they had with them, forty-seven in number, and leaving the rest of the army engaged in the siege of the fortress they advanced straight against their enemy. Now Scipuar, on the one hand, commanded those who remained to carry on the siege, and Gibal and Gundulf commanded the men on the ships. And when the two forces came near each other, both commanders stopped their ships and drew them close together and made an exhortation to the soldiers.

  And John and Valerian spoke first as follows. “Let not one of you, fellow-soldiers, think that on the present occasion you are to struggle in behalf of this city of Ancon alone and the Romans besieged in it, nor that the result of this struggle will affect that matter only, but you must consider that the main issue of the whole war, to speak comprehensively, is here involved, and to whichever side the battle inclines, there will be bestowed also the final decision of fortune. For you should regard the present situation thus: War depends for its decision in large measure upon the commissary, and those in want of supplies are inevitably bound to be defeated by their enemy. For valour cannot dwell together with hunger, since nature will not permit a man to be starving and to be brave at the same time. This being the case, we have no other stronghold left us from Dryus to Ravenna, where we can deposit the food supplies for ourselves and our horses, and the enemy are so thoroughly masters of the land that not a single town remains there friendly to us, from which we could even in small measure provide ourselves with supplies. And it is on Ancon alone that our whole expectation is based that the army sailing in from the opposite mainland can land here and be in safety. Consequently, if we fare well in to-day’s encounter, and secure Ancon, as is probable, for the emperor, we shall perhaps be in a position henceforth to hope that what remains of the Gothic war will likewise go well for us. If, however, we fail in this battle, — but of further calamity we would not speak, only may God grant to the Romans the lasting mastery of Italy. And this too is worthy of our consideration, that, if we shew ourselves cowards in the struggle, even flight will be impossible. For neither will you have the land, seeing it is held fast by our opponents, nor will you be able to sail the sea, since the enemy control it as they do; but it has come to this — that our hope of safety lies in our own strength alone and will shape itself in accordance with our performance during the combat. Be valiant, then, as far as in you lies, laying to heart this one thought, that if, on the one hand, you are defeated on the present occasion, you will suffer your last defeat, but if, on the other hand, you are victorious, you will not only win glory but will also be ranked with the very fortunate.”

  Thus spoke John and Valerian. And the commanders of the Goths made the following exhortation. “Since these accursed rascals, after being driven away from all Italy and hiding for a long time in we know not what corners of the earth or the sea, have now had the hardihood to engage with us and have come against us with the purpose of renewing the fight, it is necessary to check with full determination the daring which their folly has engendered in them, so that it may not happen by reason of our giving way that the result of their madness grows to something great. For foolishness which is not checked in the beginning does mount up to boundless daring, but ends in irreparable calamity to those concerned. Shew them, therefore, as quickly as possible that they are Greeklings and unmanly by nature and are merely putting on a bold front when defeated, and do not consent that this experiment of theirs proceed further. For cowardice, when merely despised, proceeds to flaunt itself still more, because rashness just by continuing comes to be devoid of fear. And do not by any means suppose that they will resist you long if you play the part of brave men. For when a lofty spirit is not matched by a commensurate power on the part of those who indulge in it, though before the event it may appear exalted to the highest pitch, yet when the combat begins, it is wont to ebb away. Seeing then that this is true, call to mind in what manner the enemy have fared on many occasions when they have made trial of your valour, and consider that in coming against you they have not become better men on the spur of the moment, but shewing merely a degree of daring similar to that on previous occasions, they will now also achieve the same fortune.”

  After the Gothic commanders had made this exhortation, they confronted the enemy and without delay came to close quarters with them. And the fighting was exceedingly fierce and resembled a battle on land. For both sides set their ships head on with the bows against those of their opponents and discharged their arrows against each other, and all those who laid some claim to valour brought their ships close enough to touch one another and then engaged from the decks, fighting with sword and spear just as if on a plain. Such was the opening stage of this encounter.

  But after this the barbarians, through lack of experience in sea-fighting, began to carry on the combat with great disorder; for some of them became so far separated from one another that they gave their enemy opportunity to ram them singly, while others drew together in large groups and were constantly hindered by one another because of the crowding of the boats. One would have J thought that the decks of their boats were built together like a mat. And neither could they shoot their bows against those of their opponents who were at a distance except late and with difficulty, nor could they use sword or spear whenever they saw them bearing down upon them; but their attention was constantly engrossed by the shouting and crowding among themselves, as they continually collided with each other and then pushed off again with their poles in a disorderly manner, sometimes pushing their prows into the crowded space, and sometimes backing off to a great distance, thus making trouble for their own side in either case. And each crew kept shouting orders and howling wildly to those nearest them, not to urge them against the enemy, but in order that their own ships might get the proper intervals from each other. And being thus preoccupied by their difficulty with each other, they themselves became the chief cause of victory for their enemy.

  The Romans, on the other hand, handled the fighting manfully and their ships with skill, putting their boats head on and neither separating far from one another nor crowding together closer than was necessary, but always keeping their movements toward or from each other properly co-ordinated; and whenever they observed an enemy ship separated from the rest, they rammed and sunk it with no difficulty, and whenever they saw some of the enemy in a confused mass, there they directed showers of arrows, and, as soon as they fell upon them when in disorder and utterly exhausted by the labour which their confusion entailed, they would destroy them out of hand. So the barbarians giving up the struggle against the adversities of fortune and the errors which they had made during the battle, knew not how they should continue to fight, for they neither continued the sea-fight nor yet stood upon their decks as in a land battle, but abandoning the struggle they came to a perilous pause, having now left all to chance. Consequently the Goths in great disorder turned to a disgraceful retreat, and they no longer thought of valour or of orderly flight nor of anything else which would insure their safety, but scattered as they were for the most part among their enemy’s ships, they were completely helpless. And some of them fled unobserved with eleven ships and were saved, but all the rest to a man fell into the hands of their enemy. Many of these the Romans slew with their own hands, and many others they destroyed by sinking them with their ships; and of the generals Gundulf escaped unobserved with the eleven ships, but the other was captured by the Romans.

  After this the men on the eleven ships disembarked on the land and immediately set the ships on fire so that they might not fall into the hands of their enemy, while they themselves proceeded on foot to the army which was besieging the city of Ancon. And after they had announced to them
what had taken place, they all made a hasty retreat together, abandoning their camp to the enemy, and ran as hard as they could and in great confusion up to the neighbouring city of Auximus. And the Romans, coming to Ancon not long afterwards, captured the enemy’s camp without a man in it and then, after carrying in provisions for those in the fortress, sailed away from there. And Valerian, for his part, proceeded to Ravenna, while John returned to Salones. This engagement especially broke the spirit and weakened the power of Totila and the Goths.

  XXIV

  At about this same time Roman affairs stood as follows in Sicily. Liberius had been summoned from there by the emperor and had gone to Byzantium, while Artabanes, for thus the emperor had decided, commanded the whole Roman army in Sicily. He had laid siege to those Goths who had been left in the fortresses of the island, a very small number indeed, and whenever they made sallies he had defeated them in battle and had reduced them to a state of absolute destitution as regards the necessities of life, and finally he had taken them all by surrender. At this the Goths became fearful, being deeply moved by the outcome of the naval battle, so that they were beginning to despair of the war, having by now become utterly hopeless; for they reasoned that even in the existing circumstances they had been shamefully defeated by their enemy and completely demoralized, and if any assistance should come to the Romans, even in small measure, they would be unable by any means to hold out against them even for the least space of time or to keep a foothold in Italy. Nor indeed had they any hope of accomplishing anything by negotiation with the emperor. For Totila had, as it happened, sent envoys to him often. These envoys had indeed come before Justinian and explained that the Franks had occupied the greater part of Italy, while the rest of it had become for the most part deserted on account of the war; yet the Goths were willing to retire in favour of the Romans from Sicily and Dalmatia, which alone had remained intact, and agreed to pay tribute and taxes for the abandoned land every year and would fight as allies against whomsoever the emperor should wish and would be in other respects subject to him. But the emperor would pay no attention to what they said and dismissed the envoys one and all, hating as he did the Gothic name and intending to drive it out absolutely from the Roman domain. Thus then did these events take place.

  But Theudibert, the ruler of the Franks, had not long before been taken from the world by disease, having without justification made some parts of Liguria and the Cottian Alps and the most of Venetia subject to the payment of tribute. For the Franks had treated the preoccupation of the warring nations as their own opportunity, and without danger were enriching themselves with the lands for which the combatants were fighting. And the Goths indeed had a few fortresses left in Venetia, while the Romans held the coast towns; but the Franks had brought all the others under their sway. Now while the Romans and the Goths were waging this war against each other as I have described it and were unable to take on new enemies in addition, the Goths and the Franks had negotiated with each other and come to an agreement that, as long as the Goths were waging war against the Romans, both of them should remain quiet holding what they had secured and there should be no hostilities between them. But if indeed Totila should ever have the fortune to overcome Justinian in the war, the Goths and the Franks should at such time settle these matters in such a way as should seem likely to benefit both of them. So much for this agreement. But Theudibert was succeeded by his son Theudibald. And the emperor sent Leontius, the son-in-law of Athanasius, a member of the senate, as envoy to him, inviting him to an offensive alliance against Totila and the Goths and demanding that he withdraw from the parts of Italy on which Theudibert had set his mind wrongfully to trespass.

  Now Leontius, upon coming before Theudibald, spoke as follows. “It may perhaps be true that on other occasions events have gone contrary to the expectations of men, but such a thing as has been done to the Romans in the present case by you has, I think, never happened to anyone else in the world. For the Emperor Justinian, on his part, did not enter into this war, nor did he let it appear that he was about to fight the Goths, until the Franks, in the name of alliance and friendship, had received from him great sums of money and agreed to assist him in the struggle. They, however, have not only seen fit to fulfil none of their promises, but they have further wronged the Romans in a way which no one could have easily imagined. For your father Theudibert undertook to trespass upon territory to which he had no just claim and which the emperor had mastered with great labour by the perils of war, and that too while all the Franks were standing out of the way. Consequently I now come to you, not to reproach you or lay charges against you, but in order to make demands and to counsel you as to what will be of advantage to you yourselves. I say, then, that you, on the one hand, should preserve the prosperity which you now enjoy, and allow the Romans, on the other hand, to have that which is their own; for when a nation is possessed of great power, the unholy acquisition of even some trifling thing has many a time been of sufficient moment to rob it of the advantages it has enjoyed from of old, since prosperity is by no means wont to associate itself with injustice; and I demand, furthermore, that you join with us in carrying on the war against Totila, thus fulfilling your father’s agreement. For the conduct which above all others would become true-born sons is this — to correct whatever mistakes have been made by their parents, but to continue and confirm whatever deeds of excellence they have done. Indeed this would be a thing most ardently prayed for by the most understanding of men, that their children might emulate the best of their activities, and that whatever has not been well done by them should be corrected by no one else than their children. In fact you ought to have taken up this war with the Romans unsummoned. For our struggle is against the Goths, who have been from the beginning bitter enemies of the Franks and altogether untrustworthy toward them, waging a truceless and implacable war upon them through all the ages. Of course they do not hesitate now, through fear of us, to adopt a wheedling air toward you; but if ever they should get rid of us, they will at no distant time display their real attitude toward the Franks. For evil men cannot change their character either in prosperity or in adversity, though it is true as a general thing that, during periods of ill fortune, they are wont to conceal it, particularly when they need something from their neighbours, their need compelling them to cover up their baseness of heart. Call to mind then these things and renew, on the one hand, your friendship with the emperor, and defend yourselves, on the other hand, against your ancient enemies with all your power.”

  So spoke Leontius. And Theudibald replied as follows. “You summon us, in the first place, to be allies against the Goths contrary to rectitude and justice; for it so happens that the Goths at the present time are our friends. And if the Franks should be unfaithful to them, neither will they ever be faithful to you. For men whose sentiments have once been seen to be base toward their friends are always of such a nature as to turn aside from the path of justice. And, in the second place, as to the lands you have mentioned, we shall say only this — that my father Theudibert never set his mind upon doing violence to any one of his neighbours or usurping the possessions of others. In proof of this witness the fact that I am not rich. Consequently he did not acquire these lands by robbing the Romans of them, but he took possession of them as a gift from Totila, who already held them and expressly handed them over to him, and upon this the Emperor Justinian should certainly have congratulated the Franks. For he who sees men who have robbed him of some of his private possessions roughly handled by any others would naturally rejoice, believing that those who wronged him have rightly and justly paid the penalty, except in case he be privately envious of those who have done the violence — for men feel that the appropriation by others of property which is claimed by an enemy tends, as a general thing, to envy. We are, however, able to leave to arbiters the decision of these matters, with the understanding that, if it becomes evident that my father robbed the Romans of anything, it shall be obligatory for us to restore this without de
lay. And envoys will be sent to Byzantium by us in regard to this matter not long hence.” With such words he dismissed Leontius and despatched Leudardus, a Frank, with three others to the Emperor Justinian. And upon their arrival at Byzantium they treated of the matters for which they had come.

  Totila was now eager to seize the islands which belong to Libya. He accordingly gathered a fleet of ships immediately and, putting an adequate army on board, sent it to Corsica and Sardinia. This fleet first sailed off to Corsica and, finding no defenders, took the island, and afterwards took possession of Sardinia likewise. And Totila made both these islands subject to the payment of tribute. But when this was learned by John, who was commanding the Roman army in Libya, he sent a fleet of ships and a strong force of soldiers to Sardinia. And when they came close to the city of Caranalis, they made camp with the purpose of instituting a siege; for they did not consider themselves able to storm the wall, since the Goths had a sufficient garrison there. But when the barbarians learned this, they made a sally against them from the city, and falling suddenly upon their enemy routed them with no difficulty and slew many. And the rest saved themselves for the moment by fleeing to the ships, but a little later they cast off from there and went to Carthage with the whole fleet. There they remained through the winter, in order that at the opening of spring they might again make an expedition to Corsica and Sardinia with fuller preparation. Now this island of Sardinia was formerly called Sardo. In that place there grows a certain herb such that, if men taste of it, a fatal convulsion immediately comes over them, and they die not long afterward, having the appearance of laughing, as it were, as a result of the convulsion, and this laughter they call “Sardonic” from the name of the place. But Corsica was called by men of ancient times Cyrnus. On that island are found apes just like men, and there is also a breed of horses only a little larger than sheep. So much for this.