Delphi Complete Works of Procopius

by Procopius of Caesarea

  Τὰ μὲν οὖν ἀμφὶ Τιβούρει οὕτω γενέσθαι ξυνέπεσε. Βελισάριος δὲ παντὶ τῷ στόλῳ ἐς Ῥάβενναν ἀφικόμενος Γότθους τε τοὺς παρόντας καὶ Ῥωμαίων στρατιώτας ξυναγαγὼν ἔλεξε τοιάδε: ‘Οὐ νῦν πρῶτον, ὦ ἄνδρες, τὰ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἔργα πρὸς τῆς κακίας διερρυηκέναι ξυμβέβηκεν. [2] ἄνωθεν γὰρ τοῦτο τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις ἐμπέφυκεν ἀτεχνῶς πράγμασι, πολλάς τε ἀνδρῶν ἀγαθῶν πράξεις μοχθηρία τῶν πονηροτάτων ἀναχαιτίζειν τε καὶ διαφθείρειν ἱκανῶς ἴσχυσεν. ὅπερ καὶ νῦν τὰ βασιλέως πράγματα ἔσφηλεν. [3] ᾧ δὴ τοσοῦτον τὰ ἡμαρτημένα ἐπανορθοῦν μέλει, ὥστε τὴν Περσῶν ἐπικράτησιν περὶ ἐλάσσονος τούτων ποιούμενος ἀποστεῖλαί με τανῦν εἰς ὑμᾶς ἔγνωκεν, ὅπως ἐπανορθώσω καὶ ἰάσωμαι εἴ τι τοῖς ἄρχουσι μὴ ὀρθῶς ἢ ἐς τοὺς στρατιώτας τοὺς αὐτοῦ ἢ εἰς Γότθους εἴργασται. [4] τὸ μὲν οὖν μηδὲν ὑφ̓ ὁτουοῦν ἁμαρτάνεσθαι οὔτε ἀνθρώπινον καὶ τῆς τῶν πραγμάτων φύσεως ἔξω, τὸ δὲ τὰ ἡμαρτημένα ἐπανορθοῦν βασιλεῖ τε διαρκῶς πρέπον καὶ παραψυχῆς τοῖς ἠγαπημένοις ἱκανῶς ἄξιον. [5] οὐ γὰρ ὅσον ὑμῖν τῶν δυσκόλων ἀπαλλαγῆναι ξυμβήσεται, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς βασιλέως εἰς ὑμᾶς εὐνοίας ξυνεῖναί τε καὶ ἀπολαύειν αὐτίκα προσέσται: οὗ τί ἂν ἀξιώτερον γένοιτο ἀνθρώπῳ τῶν πάντων χρημάτων; [6] ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ἐπ̓ αὐτῷ τούτῳ ὑμῖν πάρειμι, προσήκει καὶ ὑμῶν ἕκαστον πάσῃ δυνάμει χρήσασθαι, [7] ὅπως ἂν τῆς ἐντεῦθεν ὠφελείας ἀπόναισθε. ὅτῳ τε ὑμῶν ξυγγενεῖς ἢ φίλοι παρὰ Τουτίλᾳ τῷ τυράννῳ τυγχάνουσιν ὄντες, μεταπεμψάσθω τούτους ὅτι τάχιστα τὴν βασιλέως δηλώσας γνώμην. [8] οὕτω γὰρ ἂν ὑμῖν τά τε ἐκ τῆς εἰρήνης καὶ τὰ ἐκ τοῦ μεγάλου βασιλέως ἀγαθὰ γένοιτο. ὡς ἔγωγε οὔτε τῳ πολεμησείων ἐνθάδε ἀφῖγμαι οὒτ̓ ἂν ἑκών ποτε τοῖς βασιλέως κατηκόοις πολέμιος εἴην. [9] εἰ μέντοι καὶ νῦν παρὰ φαῦλον ἡγησάμενοι τὸ τὰ βελτίω σφίσιν αὐτοῖς ἑλέσθαι οἵδε ἀπ̓ ἐναντίας ἡμῖν ἴωσιν, ἀνάγκη καὶ ἡμᾶς αὐτοῖς ὡς μάλιστα ἀκουσίους ὡς πολεμίοις χρῆσθαι.’ [10] Τοσαῦτα μὲν Βελισάριος εἶπε. προσεχώρει δέ οἱ τῶν ἐναντίων οὐδεὶς οὔτε Γότθος οὔτε Ῥωμαῖος. ἔπειτα δὲ Θουριμούθ τε τὸν δορυφόρον καὶ τῶν [11] ἑπομένων τινὰς ξύν τε Βιταλίῳ καὶ τοῖς Ἰλλυριοῖς στρατιώταις ἐς Αἰμιλίαν πέμψας, ἐκέλευεν ἀποπειρᾶσθαι τῶν ταύτῃ χωρίων. [12] Βιτάλιος οὖν ξὺν τῷ στρατῷ τούτῳ ἀμφὶ πόλιν Βονώνειαν γενόμενός τινά τε τῶν ἐνταῦθα φρουρίων ὁμολογίᾳ ἑλὼν ἐν Βονωνείᾳ πόλει ἡσύχαζε. [13] χρόνῳ δὲ οὐ πολλῷ ὕστερον Ἰλλυριοὶ ξύμπαντες, ὅσοι ξὺν αὐτῷ ἐστρατεύοντο, ἐκ τοῦ αἰφνιδίου, κακὸν οὐδὲν οὔτε παθόντες οὔτε ἀκούσαντες, λάθρα ἐνθένδε ἀναχωρήσαντες ἐπ̓ οἴκου ἀπεκομίσθησαν. [14] πρέσβεις τε παρὰ βασιλέα πέμψαντες συγγνώμην διδόναι σφίσιν ἐδέοντο, οὐκ ἄλλου του ἕνεκα εἰς τὰ οἰκεῖα τῷ τρόπῳ τούτῳ ἀφικομένοις ἢ ὅτι συχνὸν σφίσι χρόνον ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ στρατευομένοις τάς τε συντάξεις ὡς ἥκιστα κομιζομένοις χρήματα δὴ πολλὰ τὸ δημόσιον ὤφειλε. [15] στρατεύματος δὲ Οὐννικοῦ τοῖς Ἰλλυριοῖς ἐπισκήψαντος παῖδάς τε καὶ γυναῖκας ἐξηνδραποδίσθαι τετύχηκεν. [16] ἃ δὴ πυθόμενοι καὶ τῶν ἀναγκαίων ἔν γε Ἰταλιώταις σπανίζοντες ἀνεχώρησαν. οἷς δὴ βασιλεὺς τὰ πρῶτα χαλεπήνας, εἶτα συγγνώμων ἐγένετο. Γνοὺς δὲ ὁ Τουτίλας τὴν τῶν Ἰλλυριῶν ἀναχώρησιν στράτευμα ἐπὶ Βονώνειαν ἔπεμψεν, ὡς Βιτάλιον καὶ τοὺς ξὺν αὐτῷ ἀναρπάσοντας. [17] ἀλλὰ Βιτάλιός τε καὶ Θουριμοὺθ προλοχίσαντες ἐνέδραις τισὶ τοὺς ἐπιόντας πολλοὺς μὲν διέφθειραν, [18] τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς ἐς φυγὴν ἔτρεψαν. ἔνθα Ναζάρης, ἀνὴρ λόγιμος, Ἰλλυριὸς γένος, στρατιωτῶν τε τῶν ἐν Ἰλλυριοῖς ἄρχων, ἔργα θαυμαστὰ ἐς τοὺς πολεμίους πάντων μάλιστα ἐπεδείξατο. οὕτω τε ὁ Θουριμοὺθ παρὰ Βελισάριον ἐς Ῥάβενναν ἦλθε. [19] Τότε δὴ Βελισάριον τρεῖς τῶν δορυφόρων τῶν αὑτοῦ, Θουριμούθ τε καὶ Ῥικίλαν καὶ Σαβινιανόν, ἔστειλε ξὺν χιλίο ς στρατιώταις ἐς Αὔξιμον πόλιν, Μάγνῳ τε καὶ Ῥωμαίοις ἐνταῦθα πολιορκουμένοις ἐπαμυνοῦντας. [20] οἱ δὲ Τουτίλαν τε λαθόντες καὶ τὸ τῶν πολεμίων στρατόπεδον νύκτωρ ἐν Αὐξίμῳ ἐγένοντο, ἐπεκδρομάς τέ τινας ποιεῖσθαι ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐναντίους διενοοῦντο. [21] τῇ δὲ ὑστεραίᾳ πυθόμενοι ἀμφὶ ἡμέραν μέσην τῶν πολεμίων τινὰς ἄγχιστά πη εἶναι ἐξῆλθον μὲν ὡς ὑπαντιάσοντες, κατασκόπους δὲ πέμψαι πρότερον ἐπ̓ αὐτοὺς ἔγνωσαν, κατασκεψομένους τὴν δύναμιν, ὡς μὴ ἀνεπισκέπτως ἐπ̓ αὐτοὺς ἴωσι. [22] Ῥικίλας δὲ ὁ Βελισαρίου δορυφόρος ῾οἰνωμένος γὰρ τηνικαῦτα ἐτύγχανεν̓ ἄλλους μὲν ἐπὶ κατασκοπῇ οὐκ εἴα ἰέναι, μόνος δὲ αὐτὸς τὸν ἵππον ἐξελάσας κατὰ τάχος ᾔει. [23] Γότθοις τε τρισὶν ἐντυχὼν ἐν χώρῳ κρημνώδει τὰ μὲν πρῶτα ὡς ἀντιταξόμενος ἔστη: ἐπὶ πλεῖστον γὰρ ἀνδριας ἐτύγχανεν ἥκων: πολλοὺς δὲ πανταχόθεν ἰδὼν ἐπ̓ αὐτὸν ἐπιρρέοντας ἐς φυγὴν ὥρμητο. [24] τοῦ δέ οἱ ἵππου ἐν δυσχωρίᾳ ὀκλάσαντος, κραυγή τε πολλὴ τῶν πολεμίων γέγονε καὶ τὰ δοράτια ἠκόντιζον ἐπ̓ αὐτὸν ἅπαντες. ὧν δὴ Ῥωμαῖοι αἰσθόμενοι ἐβοήθουν δρόμῳ. [25] καὶ Ῥικίλας μὲν δόρασι πολλοῖς κεκαλυμμένος θνήσκει, τρέψαντες δὲ τοὺς ἐναντίους οἱ ἀμφὶ Θουριμούθ, ἄραντές τε τὸν νεκρόν, ἐς Αὔξιμον πόλιν ἐκόμισαν, οὐκ ἐπαξίως τῆς ἀρετῆς τὴν
τοῦ βίου καταστροφὴν κληρωσάμενον. [26] Ἔπειτα Σαβινιανός τε καὶ Θουριμοὺθ Μάγνῳ κοινολογησάμενοι ἀξύμφορον σφίσιν εὕρισκον εἶναι περαιτέρω διατριβήν τινα ἐνταῦθα ποιεῖσθαι, λογισάμενοι ὅτι δὴ οὔτε τοῖς πολεμίοις πολλοῖς γε οὖσιν ἀξιόμαχοί ποτε γένοιντο καὶ τὰς τῶν πολιορκουμένων καταδαπανῶντες τροφὰς ἁλώσιμον ἔτι θᾶσσον τὴν πόλιν τοῖς ἐναντίοις ποιήσονται. [27] καὶ ἐπεὶ ταῦτα ἐδέδοκτο, αὐτοὶ μὲν καὶ οἱ χίλιοι παρεσκευάζοντο εἰς τὴν ἄφοδον, ὡς νύκτωρ τῆς ἀποπορείας ἀρξόμενοι: αὐτίκα δὲ τῶν τις στρατιωτῶν αὐτομολήσας λάθρα ἐς τὸ τῶν πολεμίων στρατόπεδον ἔκπυστα ἐποίησε τὰ πρασσόμενα. [28] Τουτίλας τοίνυν ἄνδρας δισχιλίους ἀριστίνδην ἀπολεξάμενος νυκτὸς ἐπιλαβούσης ἐφύλασσε τὰς ὁδοὺς ἀπὸ σταδίων Αὐξίμου τριάκοντα, οὐδενὶ αἴσθησιν παρεχόμενος. [29] οἳ ἐπεὶ παριόντας ἀμφὶ νύκτα μέσην τοὺς πολεμίους εἶδον, σπασάμενοι τὰ ξίφη ἔργου εἴχοντο. [30] καὶ αὐτῶν διακοσίους μὲν ἔκτειναν, Σαβινιανὸς δὲ καὶ Θουριμοὺθ ξὺν τοῖς λοιποῖς ἅτε ἐν σκότῳ λαθεῖν τε καὶ φυγεῖν ἐς τὴν Ἀρίμινον ἴσχυσαν. [31] τῶν μέντοι ὑποζυγίων ἁπάντων Γότθοι ἐκράτησαν, ἃ τῶν στρατιωτῶν τήν τε θεραπείαν καὶ τὰ ὅπλα καὶ τὰ ἱμάτια ἔφερεν. [32] Ἔστι δὲ πολίσματα δύο πρὸς τῇ ἀκτῇ τοῦ Ἰονίου κόλπου, Πίσαυρός τε καὶ Φανός, μεταξὺ τῆς τε Αὐξίμου καὶ Ἀριμίνου πόλεως κείμενα. ὧν δὴ τὰς οἰκίας τοῦδε τοῦ πολέμου κατ̓ ἀρχὰς Οὐίττιγις ἐμπρήσας τὰ τείχη καθεῖλεν ἄχρι ἐς ἥμισυ μάλιστα, ὅπως μὴ καταλαβόντες αὐτὰ Ῥωμαῖοι πράγματα Γότθοις παρέξωσι. [33] τούτων θάτερον, Πίσαυρον, Βελισάριος καταλαβεῖν ἔγνω: ἔδοξε γάρ οἱ ἐς ἵππων νομὰς ἐπιτηδείως τὸ χωρίον κεῖσθαι. πέμψας οὖν νύκτωρ τῶν οἱ ἐπιτηδείων τινὰς ἐς τὸ ἀκριβὲς εὖρός τε καὶ μῆκος πύλης ἑκάστης ξυνεμετρήσατο λάθρα. [34] τάς τε πύλας τεκτηνάμενος καὶ σιδήρῳ περιβαλὼν εἶτά τισιν ἀκατίοις ἐνθέμενος ἔπεμψεν, ἃς δὴ ἐκέλευε τοὺς ἀμφὶ Σαβινιανόν τε καὶ Θουριμοὺθ κατὰ τάχος τοῖς τείχεσιν ἐναρμόσαντας ἐντὸς τοῦ περιβόλου μένειν, ἔν τε τῷ ἀσφαλεῖ γενομένους ὅσα τοῦ περιβόλου κατεπεπτώκει, ὅτῳ δὴ ἀνοικοδομήσασθαι τρόπῳ, λίθους τε καὶ πηλὸν καὶ ἄλλο ὁτιοῦν ἐμβαλλομένους. οἱ μὲν οὖν κατὰ ταῦτα ἐποίουν. [35] Τουτίλας δὲ μαθὼν τὰ πρασσόμενα στρατῷ πολλῷ ἐπ̓ αὐτοὺς ἦλθε. [36] καὶ ἀποπειρασάμενος χρόνον τε ἐνταῦθα διατρίψας τινά, ἐπεὶ ἐξελεῖν οὐχ οἷός τε ἦν, ἄπρακτος ἐν Αὐξίμῳ εἰς τὸ στρατόπεδον ἀνεχώρησεν. [37] Ἐπεξῄει δὲ Ῥωμαίων ἔτι τοῖς πολεμίοις οὐδείς, ἀλλ̓ ἐντὸς τειχῶν ἕκαστοι ἔμενον. ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν δορυφόρων τῶν αὑτοῦ δύο Βελισάριος ἐς Ῥώμην στείλας, Ἀρτασίρην τε, ἄνδρα Πέρσην, καὶ Βαρβατίωνα Θρᾷκα, ὡς ξυμφυλάξοντας Βέσσᾳ τὴν πόλιν ὃς ἐνταῦθα ἐτύγχανεν ὤν, ἐπέστελλε τοῖς πολεμίοις ὡς ἥκιστα ἐπεξιέναι. [38] Τουτίλας δὲ καὶ ὁ Γότθων στρατός, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἀξιόχρεων ἀντιτάξασθαι σφίσι τὴν Βελισαρίου δύναμιν ᾔσθοντο οὖσαν, τῶν χωρίων τὰ ἐχυρώτατα ἐνοχλεῖν ἔγνωσαν. [39] διὸ δὴ ἐν Πικηνοῖς ἀμφί τε Φίρμον καὶ Ασκουλον ἐνστρατοπεδευσάμενοι ἐς πολιορκίαν καθίσταντο. καὶ ὁ χειμὼν ἔληγε, καὶ δέκατον ἔτος ἐτελεύτα τῷ πολέμῳ τῷδε, ὃν Προκόπιος ξυνέγραψε.

  XI

  SUCH was the fate which befell Tibur. As for Belisarius, he arrived at Ravenna with the whole fleet; there he gathered those of the Goths who were in the city and the Roman soldiers, and spoke as follows: “This is not the first occasion on which it has come to pass that the achievements of virtue have been brought to naught by wickedness. For from of old this is wholly natural in human affairs, and many a time the depravity of persons of the basest sort has been quite sufficient to frustrate and destroy the deeds of good men. And now, too, this very thing has ruined the cause of the emperor. And he, for his part, is so deeply concerned to correct the mistakes which have been made that he has considered the task of defeating the Persians as of less moment than this situation, and so has decided at the present time to dispatch me to you, in order that I may be able to set right and remedy whatever has been wrongly done by the commanders in their treatment of his soldiers or of the Goths. Now it is not human that no mistakes at all should be committed by anyone, nor is it possible in the natural progress of events; but the task of setting right the mistakes which have been made is one eminently befitting an emperor, and also one which can well afford consolation to his beloved subjects. For not only will you find riddance from your distress, but you will also straightway be privileged to understand and enjoy the emperor’s good-will toward you. And of all things in the world what could be a greater boon for a man than this? Seeing then that I am here with you for this very purpose, it is incumbent upon each one of you, in your turn, to exert himself to the utmost that you may profit by the service thus offered. If any one of you, then, chances to have relatives or friends with the usurper Totila, let him summon these as quickly as possible, explaining the emperor’s purpose; for by such a course you could achieve both the blessings which flow from peace and those which fall from the hand of the mighty emperor For I, for my part, have neither come here with a lust for war against anyone, nor should I ever, willingly at least, be an enemy of the subjects of the emperor. If, however, they consider it even now too trivial a thing to choose the course which is better for themselves, and if they take their stand against us, it will be necessary for us likewise, even though it be sorely against our will, to treat them as enemies.”

  So spoke Belisarius. But not one of the enemy came over to him, either Goth or Roman. Next he sent his bodyguard Thurimuth and some of his own troops with Vitalius and the Illyrian soldiers into Aemilia, commanding them to make trial of the towns there. So Vitalius with this force took up a position near the city of Bononia, and, after taking some of the neighbouring fortresses by surrender, remained inactive in Bononia. But not long after this the whole body of the Illyrians who were serving under him, suddenly and without having either experienced any hard treatment or heard any rebuke, withdrew secretly from the town by night and betook themselves homeward. And sending envoys to the emperor, they begged him to grant them pardon, seeing that they had come to their homes in this manner for no other reason than that, after their long service in Italy without receiving the regular pay at all, the state now owed them a large s
um of money. But it so happened that a Hunnic army had fallen upon the Illyrians and enslaved the women and children, and it was because of this intelligence, and also because they had a scarcity of provisions in Italy, that they withdrew. And though the emperor was at first angry with them, he afterwards forgave them.

  Now Totila, upon learning of the withdrawal of the Illyrians, sent an army against Bononia in order to capture Vitalius and the troops with him by a swift attack. But Vitalius and Thurimuth laid ambuscades in several places and thus destroyed many of the attacking force and turned the rest to flight. There Nazares, a man of note and an Illyrian by birth, commander of the troops in Illyricum, surpassed all others by the remarkable exhibition he made of warlike deeds against the enemy. Thereupon Thurimuth came to Belisarius in Ravenna.

  Then at length Belisarius sent three of his own bodyguards, Thurimuth, Ricilas and Sabinianus, with a thousand soldiers to the city of Auximus, in order to support Magnus and the Romans besieged there. This force, slipping past Totila and the enemy’s camp by night, got inside of Auximus, and then began planning to make sallies against their opponents. So on the following day about noon, upon learning that some of the enemy were near at hand, they sallied forth with the purpose of confronting them; but, before proceeding, they decided to send scouts against them to spy out the enemy’s strength so as not to make an attack on them without reconnoitring.

  But Ricilas, the guardsman of Belisarius, who chanced to be drunk at the time, would not allow any others to go scouting, but he himself rode out alone on horseback and went on at full speed. And happening upon three Goths on a steep slope, he at first took his stand with the intention of opposing them; for he was a man of extraordinary bravery; but upon seeing many men rushing toward him from all sides, he made haste to flee. But his horse stumbled in a rough place, whereupon a great shout arose from the enemy and they all hurled their javelins at him. Then the Romans, hearing this uproar, came to the rescue on the run. And Ricilas was killed, being buried under a great number of spears, but the troops of Thurimuth routed their opponents, and lifting up the body carried it inside the city of Auximus; thus did Ricilas meet his death in a manner unworthy of his valour.