Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire vol 3 (1897).djvu/453

OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 433 It would have been strange, indeed^ if Theodosius had pur- Embassies chased, by the loss of honour, a secure and solid tranquillity ; or constanti- if his tameness had not invited the repetition of injuries. The Byzantine court was insulted by five or six successive embassies ; ^^ and the ministers of Attila were uniformly instructed to press the tardy or imperfect execution of the last treaty ; to produce the names of fugitives and deserters, who were still protected by the empire ; and to declare, with seeming moderation, that, unless their sovereign obtained complete and immediate satis- faction, it would be impossible for him, were it even his wish, to check the resentment of his warlike ti-ibes. Besides the motives of pride and interest which might prompt the king of the Huns to continue this train of negotiation, he was influenced by the less honourable view of enriching his favourites at the expense of his enemies. The Imperial treasury was exhausted, to pro- cure the friendly offices of the ambassadors and their principal attendants, whose favourable report might conduce to the maintenance of peace. The Barbarian monarch was flattered by the liberal reception of his ministers ; he computed with pleasure the value and splendour of their gifts, rigorously exacted the performance of every promise which would contribute to their private emolument, and treated as an important business of state the marriage of his secretary Constantius.^*^ That Gallic adven- turer, who was recommended by Aetius to the king of the Huns, had engaged his service to the ministers of Constantinople, for the stipulated reward of a wealthy and noble wife ; and the daughter of count Saturninus was chosen to discharge the obligations of her country. The reluctance of the victim, some domestic troubles, and the unjust confiscation of her fortune, cooled the ardour of her interested lover ; but he still demanded, in the name of Attila, an equivalent alliance ; and, after many ambiguous delays and excuses, the Byzantine court was com- pelled to sacrifice to this insolent stranger the widow of Armatius, whose birth, opulence, and beauty placed her in the most illus- trious rank of the Roman matrons. For these importunate and 39 Montesquieu (Considerations sur la Grandeur, &c. c. xix.) has delineated, with a bold and easy pencil, some of the most striking circumstances of the pride of Attila, and the disgrace of the Romans. He deserves the praise of having read the Fragments of Priscus, which have been too much disregarded. ■*o See Priscus, p. 69, 71, 72, &c. [F. H. G. iv. p. 93, 97, g8]. I would fain believe that this adventurer was afterwards crucified by the order of Attila, on a suspicion of treasonable practices ; but Priscus (p. 57 [p. 84]) has too plainly dis- tinguished two persons of the name of Constantius, who, from the similar events of their lives, might have been easily confounded. VOL. III. 28