Delphi Complete Works of Procopius

by Procopius of Caesarea

  VIII

  Now when Totila captured Naples, he made a display of kindness to his captives which was to be expected neither from an enemy nor from a barbarian. For finding sickness prevalent among the Romans owing to famine — and indeed their bodily strength had already been reduced by it — he feared lest, if they suddenly sated themselves with food, they would in all probability choke to death, and so he devised the following plan. Stationing guards both at the harbour and at the gates, he gave orders that no one should go away from the city. Then he himself, with a sort of provident parsimony, proceeded to issue food more sparingly than they desired it, adding each day only so much to the quantity that the increase from day to day seemed not to be noticed at all. And only after having thus built up their strength did he open the gates and allow each man to go wherever he wished.

  As for Conon and the soldiers under his command, as many as were by no means satisfied to remain there he embarked on ships and bade them sail wherever they chose. And thinking that the return to Byzantium would bring disgrace upon them, they were purposing to sail with all speed for Rome. But since the wind stood against them and they were consequently quite unable to put out from the harbour, they were in great perplexity, fearing lest Totila, seeing he had been victorious, should decide to disregard his agreement in some measure, and they should suffer some great harm at his hand. When Totila perceived this, he called them all together and reassured them and gave still further confirmation of the pledges he had given, bidding them take courage immediately, mingle with the Gothic army with no fear, and buy from them their provisions and procure whatever else they lacked as from friends. But later, since the wind was still blowing against them and much time had been wasted, he provided them with both horses and pack animals, presented them with travelling-money, and bade them make the journey to Rome by land, sending with them some of the Gothic notables as an escort.

  And he set about razing the wall of Naples to the ground, so that the Romans might not take possession of it again and, by using it as a strong base, make trouble for the Goths. For he preferred to reach an outright decision by a battle with them on a plain rather than to carry on a long contest by means of sundry devices of craft and cunning. But after tearing down a large part of it he left the rest.

  While Totila was thus engaged, a certain Roman came before him — a Calabrian by birth — and made the charge that one of Totila’s bodyguards had violated his daughter, who was a maiden, utterly against her will. Whereupon, seeing that the man did not deny the charge, Totila made haste to punish him for the offence and confined him in prison. But the most notable men among the barbarians began to feel alarm for him (for he was, as it happened, an active fellow and a good warrior), and so they straightway gathered together and went before Totila with the request that he dismiss the charge against the man.

  But he, gently and with no excitement, after hearing their statement, spoke as follows: “Fellow-soldiers, the reason for my speaking as I now do is not that I am yielding to a harsh inhumanity, or taking especial delight in the misfortunes of my kinsmen, but it is that I feel the greatest possible apprehension lest some mischance befall the Goths. Now I, for my part, know this, that the great majority of mankind twist and turn the names of things until they reverse their meaning. For, on the one hand, they are accustomed to call kindness that which is really lawlessness, the outcome of which is that everything respectable is brought to utter confusion; and, on the other hand, they call any man perverse and exceedingly difficult who wishes to preserve the lawful order with exactness — to the end, plainly, that by using these names as screens for their wanton deeds they may be able more fearlessly to do wrong and display their baseness. But I urge you not to sacrifice your own security for the sinful act of a single man, nor to assume any share yourselves in this foul sin, seeing that you have done no wrong. For the act of committing a sin and that of preventing the punishment of those who have committed sin are, in my judgment, on the same plane. I wish, accordingly, that you make your decision concerning the matter in hand taking this point of view — that two alternatives are now presented to your choice, either that this man should not pay the penalty for the wrong he has done or that the Gothic nation should be saved and achieve victory in the war. For I would have you consider this: we had, at the beginning of this war, a vast army unsurpassed both in renown and in actual experience of war; our wealth, to put all in a word, was too great to be reckoned; we possessed an extraordinary abundance of both horses and weapons; and, lastly, we held all the fortresses that there are in Italy. And truly these things are regarded as not entirely useless equipment when men are entering into a war. But while we were arrayed under Theodatus, a man who made less of justice than of his desire to become wealthy, the lawlessness of our daily conduct caused God to be in no wise propitious to us, and to what our fortune has come as a result of this you are, of course, well aware, as you know what kind of men and how few of them have defeated us. But now that God has inflicted upon us sufficient punishment for the sins we committed, he is once more ordering our lives in accordance with our desire, and, to speak comprehensively, he is guiding our affairs in a better way than we could have hoped for, inasmuch as we have had the fortune to be victorious over our enemies beyond the measure of our actual strength. To preserve, therefore, the justification of our victory by acting righteously will be more to our interest than, by reversing our course, to let it seem that we have become envious of our own selves. For it is not possible, no, not possible, for a man who commits injustice and does deeds of violence to win glory in battle, but the fortune of war is decreed according to the life of the individual man.” Thus then spoke Totila. And the notables of the Goths, approving his words, no longer begged for the bodyguard’s release, but consented that he be treated in whatever manner Totila might deem best. And he executed the man not long afterwards, and gave to the injured girl all the money that belonged to him.

  Ἐν ᾧ δὲ ταῦτα Τουτίλας ἔπρασσεν, ἐν τούτῳ οἱ τοῦ Ῥωμαίων στρατοῦ ἄρχοντες ξὺν τοῖς στρατιώταις τὰ τῶν κατηκόων χρήματα ἥρπαζον, καὶ ὕβρεώς τε καὶ ἀσελγείας οὐδ̓ ὁτιοῦν ὑπελίποντο, ἀλλ̓ οἱ μὲν ἄρχοντες ἐν τοῖς ὀχυρώμασιν ἔχοντες ἐρωμένας ἐκώμαζον, οἱ δὲ στρατιῶται ἀπειθεστέρους αὑτοὺς τοῖς ἄρχουσι παρεχόμενοι εἰς πᾶσαν ἰδέαν ἀτοπίας ἐνέπιπτον. [2] τοῖς τε Ἰταλιώταις περιῆν ἅπασι πάσχειν τὰ χαλεπώτατα πρὸς ἑκατέρων τῶν στρατοπέδων. [3] τοὺς μὲν γὰρ ἀγροὺς ἐστέρηντο πρὸς τῶν πολεμίων, ὑπὸ δὲ τοῦ βασιλέως στρατοῦ ἔπιπλα πάντα. καὶ προσῆν αὐτοῖς αἰκίζεσθαί τε καὶ οὐδενὶ λόγῳ διαφθείρεσθαι, τῶν ἀναγκαίων τῇ ἀπορίᾳ πιεζομένοις. [4] οἱ γὰρ στρατιῶται ἀμύνειν σφίσι κακουμένοις πρὸς τῶν πολεμίων οὐδαμῆ ἔχοντες οὐχ ὅσον ἐρυθριᾶν ὡς ἥκιστα ἐπὶ τοῖς παροῦσιν ἐγίνωσκον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς βαρβάρους ποθεινοὺς αὐτοῖς εἶναι οἷς ἐξημάρτανον ἀπειργάζοντο. [5] οἷς δὴ Κωνσταντιανὸς ἀπορούμενος γράμματα Ἰουστινιανῷ βασιλεῖ ἔπεμψεν, ἄντικρυς ἀποφαίνων ὅτι δὴ Γότθων τῷ πολέμῳ ἀντέχειν ἀδύνατος εἴη. [6] οἵ τε ἄλλοι ἄρχοντες, ὥσπερ τὴν γνώμην ἐπιψηφίζοντες, ἐν τούτῳ δὴ τῷ γραμματείῳ τὴν ὁμολογίαν ἐσήμαινον τῆς ἐς τὴν ἀγωνίαν ὀκνήσεως. Ἰταλιώταις μὲν τὰ πράγματα ἐφέρετο τῇδε. Τουτίλας δὲ �
��ωμαίων τῇ βουλῇ ἐπιστολὴν ἔπεμψεν. [7] ἐδήλου δὲ ἡ γραφὴ τάδε: ‘Ὅσοι μὲν ἀδικοῦσι τοὺς πέλας ἢ προλαβούσης ἀγνοίας ἴσως ἢ λήθης ἐπιγενομένης τινός, τούτοις ἄξιον τοὺς τὰ δεινὰ πεπονθότας συγγνώμονας εἶναι. τὸ γὰρ τῆς ἁμαρτάδος ξυμπεσὸν αἴτιον τῶν ἐγκλημάτων αὐτοῖς παραιτεῖται τὸ πλεῖστον. [8] ἢν δέ τις ἐκ προνοίας ἀδικῇ μόνης, τούτῳ δὲ μηδὲ ἀντιλέγειν ποτὲ περὶ τῶν πεπραγμένων λελείψεται. [9] οὐ γὰρ τοῦ ἔργου μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς γνώμης αὐτὸς φέρεσθαι τὴν αἰτίαν δίκαιος ἂν εἴη. [10] οὐκοῦν, ἐπειδὴ ταῦτα οὕτως ἔχει, λογίζεσθε ἤδη τί ποτε ἄρα ὑμῖν ἀπολελογῆσθαι πρὸς τὰ ἐς Γότθους εἰργασμένα ξυμβήσεται: πότερα ὑμᾶς ἀγνοεῖν τὰς Θευδερίχου τε καὶ Ἀμαλασούνθης εὐεργεσίας τετύχηκεν, ἢ χρόνῳ τε αὐτὰς καὶ λήθῃ ἐν ὑμῖν ἐξιτήλους εἶναι; [11] καίτοι οὐκ ἔστι τούτων οὐδέτερον. οὐ γὰρ ἐπὶ φαύλοις τισὶν οὐδὲ εἰς τοὺς ὑμετέρους τὰς χάριτας αὐτούς, κατὰ δὴ τὸν παλαιὸν χρόνον, ἐπιδεδεῖχθαι ξυνέβη, ἀλλ̓ ἐν τοῖς ἀναγκαιοτάτοις ἔς γε ὑμᾶς αὐτοὺς ἔναγχός τε καὶ ἐξ ὑπογυίου, ὦ φίλοι Ῥωμαῖοι. [12] ἀλλὰ τὴν Γραικῶν ἐς τὸ ὑπήκοον ἀρετὴν ἢ ἀκοῇ λαβόντες ἢ πείρᾳ μαθόντες οὕτω δὴ προήσεσθαι αὐτοῖς τὰ Γότθων τε καὶ Ἰταλιωτῶν πράγματα ἔγνωτε; [13] καίτοι ἐξεναγεῖσθε μὲν ὑμεῖς αὐτούς, οἶμαι, ἄριστα, ὁποίων δὲ αὐτῶν ἐτύχετε ξένων καὶ φίλων ἐπίστασθε δή που, εἴ τι τῶν Ἀλεξάνδρου μέμνησθε λογισμῶν. [14] ἐῶ γὰρ λέγειν τούς τε στρατιώτας καὶ τοὺς στρατιωτῶν ἄρχοντας, ὧν τῆς τε φιλοφροσύνης καὶ μεγαλοψυχίας ἀπώνασθε: ὧν δὴ αὐτοῖς ἕνεκα ἐς τοῦτο τύχης τὰ πράγματα ἥκει. [15] ὑμῶν δὲ οἰέσθω μηδεὶς μήτε ὑπὸ νέου φιλοτιμίας τὰ ὀνείδη ταῦτα ἐς αὐτοὺς φέρεσθαι μήτε με ἅτε βαρβάρων ἄρχοντα κομπωδεστέρους ποιεῖσθαι τοὺς λόγους. [16] οὐ γὰρ ἡμετέρας ἀρετῆς ἔργον εἶναί φημι τὴν τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐπικράτησιν, ἀλλὰ τίσιν τινὰ ἰσχυρίζομαι τῆς εἰς ὑμᾶς ἀδικίας αὐτοὺς μετελθεῖν. [17] καίτοι πῶς οὐκ ἂν τῶν ἀτοπωτάτων δόξειεν εἶναι τὸν μὲν θεὸν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν αὐτοὺς τίννυσθαι, ὑμᾶς δὲ τῇ τούτων ἐμφιλοχωρεῖν ἀτοπίᾳ καὶ τῶν ἐντεῦθεν οὐκ ἐθέλειν ἀπηλλάχθαι κακῶν; δότε τοίνυν τινὰ πρόφασιν ὑμῖν μὲν αὐτοῖς τῆς ἐς τοὺς Γότθους ἀπολογίας, [18] ἡμῖν δὲ τῆς ἐς ὑμᾶς συγγνώμης. δώσετε δέ, ἤν γε μὴ ἀναμενοῦντες τὸ τοῦ πολέμου πέρας, ἀλλ̓ ἔτι βραχείας τινὸς καὶ ταύτης ἀνονήτου ὑμῖν ἀπολελειμμένης ἐλπίδος ἕλησθε μὲν τὰ κρείσσω, ἐπανορθώσητε δὲ τὰ ἐς ἡμᾶς οὐ δέον ὑμῖν πεπραγμένα.’ [19] Τοσαῦτα μὲν ἡ γραφὴ ἐδήλου. ἐγχειρίσας δὲ αὐτὴν τῶν τισιν αἰχμαλώτων ὁ Τουτίλας ἐπὶ Ῥώμης ἐκέλευεν ἰόντας τοῖς ἐκ βουλῆς διδόναι. [20] καὶ οἱ μὲν κατὰ ταῦτα ἐποίουν. Ἰωάννης δὲ τοὺς τὸ γράμμα τοῦτο ἰδόντας ἀποκρίνασθαί τι πρὸς Τουτίλαν διεκώλυσε. διὸ δὴ αὖθις ὁ Τουτίλας γράψας γραμμάτια πολλά, ὅρκους τε αὐτοῖς τοὺς δεινοτάτους ἐνθέμενος διαρρήδην ἀπώμοσε μήποτε Ῥωμαίων τινὰ κακόν τι ἐργάσασθαι Γότθους. [21] οἵτινες μὲν οὖν ἀνθρώπων ἐς Ῥώμην τὰ βιβλίδια ταῦτα ἐκόμισαν οὐκ ἔχω εἰπεῖν. ἅπαντα γὰρ ἀωρὶ τῶν νυκτῶν ἐν τοῖς διαφανέσι τῆς πόλεως χωρίοις παγέντα, ἐπεὶ ἐγένετο ἡμέρα, ἐγνώσθη: οἱ δὲ τοῦ Ῥωμαίων στρατοῦ ἄρχοντες ὑποψίᾳ πολλῇ ἐς τῶν Ἀρειανῶν τοὺς ἱερέας ἐχόμενοι ἔξω τῆς πόλεως κατεστήσαντο εὐθὺς ἅπαντας. [22] Τουτίλας δὲ ταῦτα ἀκούσας μοῖραν μέν τινα τοῦ στρατοῦ πέμψας ἐς Καλαβρίαν ἀποπειράσασθαι τοῦ ἐν Δρυοῦντι φρουρίου ἐπέστελλεν. ἐπεὶ δὲ ὡς ἥκιστά οἱ προσχωρεῖν ἤθελον οἱ φυλακτήριον ταύτῃ ἔχοντες, τοὺς μὲν ἐνταῦθα ἐσταλμένους ἐκέλευεν ἐς πολιορκίαν καθίστασθαι, αὐτὸς δὲ τῷ πλείονι τοῦ στρατοῦ ἐς τὰ ἐπὶ Ῥώμης χωρία ᾔει. [23] ταῦτα ἐπεὶ βασιλεὺς ἔμαθεν, ἔς τε ἀμηχανίαν ἐμπέπτωκε καὶ Βελισάριον ἐπὶ Τουτίλαν πέμψαι, καίπερ ἔτι Περσῶν ἰσχυρότατα ἐγκειμένων, ἠνάγκαστο. καὶ ὁ χειμὼν ἔληγε, καὶ τὸ ἔνατον ἔτος ἐτελεύτα τῷ πολέμῳ τῷδε, ὃν Προκόπιος ξυνέγραψεν.

  IX

  WHILE Totila was thus engaged, meantime the commanders of the Roman army, as well as the soldiers, were plundering the possessions of their subjects, and they did not shrink from any act of insolence and licentiousness whatsoever, but the commanders, for their part, were revelling with mistresses inside the fortresses, while the soldiers, shewing themselves more and more insubordinate to their commanders, were falling into every form of lawlessness. As for the Italians, the result of the situation for them was that they all suffered most severely at the hands of both armies. For while, on the one hand, they were deprived of their lands by the enemy, the emperor’s army, on the other hand, took all their household goods. And they were forced besides to suffer cruel torture and death for no good cause, being hard pressed as they were by the scarcity of food. For the soldiers, though utterly unable to defend them when maltreated by the enemy, not only refused to feel the least blush of shame at existing conditions, but actually made the people long for the barbarians by reason of the wrongs they committed. And Constantianus, being at a loss because of this situation, sent a letter to the Emperor Justinian, setting forth plainly that he was unable to hold out in the war against the Goths. And the other commanders, as if giving their vote in support of this view, indicated in this same letter their reluctance to carry on the struggle. Such then were the fortunes of the Italians.