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| Concerning the Barbarians beyond the Danube, who were driven out by the Huns, and advanced to the Romans, and their Conversion to Christianity; Ulphilas and Athanarichus; Occurrences between them; whence the Goths received Arianism.
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Chapter XXXVII.—Concerning the Barbarians beyond
the Danube, who were driven out by the Huns, and advanced to the
Romans, and their Conversion to Christianity; Ulphilas and
Athanarichus; Occurrences between them; whence the Goths received
Arianism.
This remarkable oration of
Themistius disposed the emperor to be somewhat more humane, and the
punishments became in consequence less severe than before. He would not
have wholly withdrawn his wrath from the priests unless the anxieties
of public affairs had supervened, and not permitted him to pursue them
further.1510
| 1510Soc. iv. 32–35; Philost. ii. 5, ix. 16, 17.
Cf. Theodoret, H. E. iv. 37; Eunap. Fr. i. 5, 6, ii. 34;
Am. Marcel. parts of xxvii., xxx., xxxi.; Zos. iv. 10 sqq.
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For the Goths, who inhabited the regions beyond the Ister, and had
conquered other barbarians, having been vanquished and driven from
their country by the Huns, had passed over into the Roman boundaries.
The Huns, it is said, were unknown to the Thracians of the Ister and
the Goths before this period; for though they were dwelling secretly
near to one another, a lake of vast extent was between them, and the
inhabitants on each side of the lake respectively imagined that their
own country was situated at the extremity of the earth, and that there
was nothing beyond them but the sea and water. It so happened, however,
that an ox, tormented by insects, plunged into the lake, and was
pursued by the herdsman; who, perceiving for the first time that the
opposite bank was inhabited, made known the circumstance to his
fellow-tribesmen. Some, however, relate that a stag was fleeing, and
showed some of the hunters who were of the race of the Huns the way
which was concealed superficially by the water. On arriving at the
opposite bank, the hunters were struck with the beauty of the country,
the serenity of the air, and the adaptedness for cultivation; and they
reported what they had seen to their king. The Huns then made an
attempt to attack the Goths with a few soldiers; but they afterwards
raised a powerful army, conquered the Goths in battle, and took
possession of their whole country. The vanquished nation, being pursued
by their enemies, crossed over into the Roman territories. They passed
over the river, and dispatched an embassy to the emperor, assuring him
of their co-operation in any warfare in which he might engage, provided
that he would assign a portion of land for them to inhabit. Ulphilas,
the bishop of the nation, was the chief of the embassy. The object of
his embassy was fully accomplished, and the Goths were permitted to
take up their abode in Thrace. Soon after contentions broke out among
them, which led to their division into two parts, one of which was
headed by Athanaric, and the other by Phritigernes. They took up arms
against each other, and Phritigernes was vanquished, and implored the
assistance of the Romans. The emperor having commanded the troops in
Thrace to assist and to ally with him, a second battle was fought, and
Athanaric and his party were put to flight. In acknowledgment of the
timely succor afforded by Valens, and in proof of his fidelity to the
Romans, Phritigernes embraced the religion of the emperor, and
persuaded the barbarians over whom he ruled to follow his example. It
does not, however, appear to me that this is the only reason that can
be advanced to account for the Goths having retained, even to the
present day, the tenets of Arianism. For Ulphilas, their bishop,
originally held no opinions at variance with those of the Catholic
Church; for during the reign of Constantius, though he took part, as I
am convinced, from thoughtlessness, at the council of Constantinople,
in conjunction with Eudoxius and Acacius, yet he did not swerve from
the doctrines of the Nicæan council. He afterwards, it appears,
returned to Constantinople, and, it is said, entered into disputations
on doctrinal topics with the chiefs of the Arian faction; and they
promised to lay his requests before the emperor, and forward the object
of his embassy, if he would conform to their opinions. Compelled by the
urgency of the occasion, or, possibly, thinking that it was better to
hold such views concerning the Divine nature, Ulphilas entered into
communion with the Arians, and separated himself and his whole nation
from all connection with the Catholic Church. For as he had instructed
the Goths in the elements of religion, and through him they shared in a
gentler mode of life, they placed the most implicit confidence in his
directions, and were firmly convinced that he could neither do nor say
anything that was evil. He had, in fact, given many signal proofs of
the greatness of his virtue. He had exposed himself to innumerable
perils in defense of the faith, during the period that the aforesaid
barbarians were given to pagan worship. He taught them the use of
letters, and translated the Sacred Scriptures into their own language.
It was on this account, that the barbarians on the banks of the Ister
followed the tenets of Arius. At the same period, there were many of
the subjects of Phritigernes who testified to Christ, and were
martyred. Athanaric resented that his subjects had become Christian
under the persuasion of Ulphilas; and because they had abandoned the
cult of their fathers, he subjected many individuals to many
punishments; some he put to death after they had been dragged before
tribunals and had nobly confessed the doctrine, and others were slain without being permitted to
utter a single word in their own defense. It is said that the officers
appointed by Athanaric to execute his cruel mandates, caused a statue
to be constructed, which they placed on a chariot, and had it conveyed
to the tents of those who were suspected of having embraced
Christianity, and who were therefore commanded to worship the statue
and offer sacrifice; if they refused to do so, the men and the tents
were burnt together. But I have heard that an outrage of still greater
atrocity was perpetrated at this period. Many refused to obey those who
were compelling them by force to sacrifice. Among them were men and
women; of the latter some were leading their little children, others
were nourishing their new-born infants at the breast; they fled to
their church, which was a tent. The pagans set fire to it, and all were
destroyed.
The Goths were not long in making peace among
themselves; and in unreasonable excitement, they then began to ravage
Thrace and to pillage the cities and villages. Valens, on inquiry,
learned by experiment how great a mistake he had made; for he had
calculated that the Goths would always be useful to the empire and
formidable to its enemies, and had therefore neglected the
reinforcement of the Roman ranks. He had taken gold from the cities and
villages under the Romans, instead of the usual complement of men for
the military service. On his expectation being thus frustrated, he
quitted Antioch and hastened to Constantinople. Hence the persecution
which he had been carrying on against Christians differing in opinion
from himself, had a truce. Euzoïus, president of the Arians, died,
and Dorotheus was proposed for his government. E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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