352
DEATH OF ATTILA AND AËTIUS.
where Aetius could oppose to him only the weak and untrust∙
army of the
country, which had become quite unwar-
worthy
like. Aquileia1 Padua, and other towns, were destroyed, and
all who did not escape were murdered: many fled into the
marshes, and this was the occasion of the foundation of Venice.
The details related of the first tribunes of Venice and the like,
are fabulous. Attila had been invited to come to Italy by the
princess Honoria.
lecture cxxxvιπ.
The death of Attila, which soon followed, would perhaps have
quieted Italy, had not Aetius the only support of Rome, been
killed at the same time. If Aetius had wished it, he might
have revolted long before, and usurped the throne; but he was
satisfied with being acknowledged as the real sovereign of the
empire. His title was Patricius, but in chronicles, he is also
called Dux Romanorum. His younger son, Gaudentius, was
betrothed to Eudoxia, the daughter of Valentinian; both were
yet very young, and Aetius no doubt thereby intended to secure
the succession to Gaudentius. Valentinian, however, was not
yet advanced in years, and apprehensive that he might be de-
prived of his government, if Aëtius’ plan succeeded, he con-
spired against him. Aëtius unsuspectingly went to Rome;
and having entered the imperial palace on the Palatine,
Valentinian himself ran him through with his sword. It was
no doubt customary at Rome, as it was at Constantinople, that
no one should appear before the emperor armed. His son, too,
and many of his friends, were murdered. I am inclined to
believe that this event was the cause of Ricimer’s rising: he
at least appears soon after in Aëtius’ place. Rome was now
deprived of the great man who alone could secure the safety
of the empire; for all the successors OfValentinian held their
power only nominally. Valentinian completed the misery of
the state by an outrage which he committed on the wife of
Petronius Maximus, whom he treacherously enticed into the
palace, for the purpose of satisfying his base lust. This deed
roused the injured husband to form a conspiracy. Valentinian
PETRONIUS MAXIMUS—MAECILIUS AVITUS.
353
was murdered in the field of Mars, and Petronius Maximus
was proclaimed emperor.
Meantime tlιe wife of the latter died, and lie compelled
Valentiniaifs widow, Eudoxia, to marry him ; but she, who
had loved her former husband, notwithstanding his dissolute-
ness now brooded over the means of revenge. She invited
Genseric to come to Rome, and take possession of the city.
This conquest was so easy, that we can hardly conceive why
he did not undertake it before, or repeat it afterwards : the
influence of the empress is visible throughout. Genseric
appeared; the clergy and senate went out to meet him, im-
ploring his mercy, and he promised not to destroy the people.
But, notwithstanding this, the rage of the soldiers was almost
as unbridled as if the city had been taken by storm, except
that not so much blood was shed. The city was plundered
for fourteen days. All the silver and works of art in bronze
were carried away; the gold plates and the gilt tiles on the
Capitol; nay, everything of any value that could be moved,
was conveyed to the ships of the Vandals stationed at Ostia
Pctroiiius himself was slain doling the tumult, and the con-
querors left Rome exhausted and lifeless. The senate did not
venture to proclaim a new emperor.
At this moment, M. Maecilius Avitus, a very wealthy and
highly educated nobleman, set himself up as emperor in
Auvergne, and crossed the Alps. No one had really pro
claimed him, but circumstances had become quite alteιcd; the
army in the provinces did not proclaim the emperor, but a
peculiar custom bad gradually arisen, according to which, in
cases where there was no heir, the senate elected the emperor,
the people sanctioned the election by acclamation, and the
soldiers recognised it. Avitus, on his arrival in Rome, was
acknowledged emperor; but Ricimer, a Suevian of royal
descent, was now all powerful in the city. All the barbarians,
who acted a prominent part at Rome, must not be looked upon
as savages: they WereGhristians, and spoke and understood
the lingua vulgaris, which already resembled the Italian moɪe
than the Latin; they were just as civilised as our ancestors in
the middle ages. A few of them had a shadow of classical
education, as Iheodoric, the Visigoth, and the younger Alaric;
but the case was quite different with Ricimer and Jiis equals,
who no doubt hcuitily despised the culture of the Romans.
vol i∏. a a