Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1827) Vol 1.djvu/423

OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 399 healthy tract of marshy ground. An army thus em- CHAP, ployed, constituted perhaps the most useful, as well as '__ the bravest, portion of Roman subjects. But in the prosecution of a favourite scheme, the His death, best of men, satisfied with the rectitude of their inten- tions, are subject to forget the bounds of moderation ; nor did Probus himself sufficiently consult the patience and disposition of his fierce legionaries °. The dangers of the military profession seem only to be compensated by a life of pleasure and idleness ; but if the duties of the soldier are incessantly aggravated by the labours of the peasant, he will at last sink under the intolerable burden, or shake it off with indignation. The impru- dence of Probus is said to have inflamed the discontent of his troops. More attentive to the interests of man- kind than to those of the army, he expressed the vain hope, that, by the establishment of universal peace, he should soon abolish the necessity of a standing and mercenary force P. The unguarded expression proved fatal to him. In one of the hottest days of summer, as he severely urged the unwholesome labour of draining the marshes of Sirmium, the soldiers, impatient of fa- tigue, on a sudden threw down their tools, grasped their arms, and broke out into a furious mutiny. The emperor, conscious of his danger, took refuge in a lofty tower, constructed for the purpose of surveying the progress of the work "i. The tower was instantly A. D. 282. forced, and a thousand swords were plunged at once "^^^ ' into the bosom of the unfortunate Probus. The rage of the troops subsided as soon as it had been gratified. They then lamented their fatal rashness, forgot the severity of the emperor whom they had massacred, and hastened to perpetuate, by an honourable monument, the memory of his virtues and victories'. o Julian bestows a severe, and indeed excessive censure on the rigour of Probus, who, as he thinks, almost deserved his fate. P Vopiscus in Hist. August, p. 241. He lavishes on this idle hope a large stock of very foolish eloquence. <i Turris ferrata. It seems to have been a moveable tower, and cased with iron. "■ Probus, et vere probus, situs est : victor omnium gentium barbararum : victor etiam tyrannorum.