ing high treason. The man's fate was such as he deserved, and such as history often has occasion to record. A Gothic chieftain had raised a formidable rebellion, and declined all negotiations with the Emperor unless the head of the imperial favourite was delivered up to him. The emperor's scruples, whatever they may have been, were soon overcome by the Empress Eudoxia, the daughter of a Frank, and a lady of conspicuous ability and strength of purpose. So within four years of the accession of Arcadius his unworthy minister was driven into exile and ultimately beheaded.
It is said that paganism declined during his reign, and that the Church could count many converts. The emperor was at least orthodox, and did his best to promote orthodoxy. In other respects the time was dark and dismal. Theodosius knew how to manage the Goths: they were partly afraid of him; partly, too, they sincerely respected him, and had been conciliated by his judicious concessions. But the weak Arcadius, and the treacherous ministers who directed his policy, soon provoked them. Under their renowned king Alaric they rose in revolt, and poured into Thessaly and the Peloponnese, capturing and plundering Corinth, Sparta, and Argos among its ancient cities. Athens saved itself by a vast ransom. Greece, the population of which had for some time enjoyed peace and prosperity, was so fearfully impoverished by this inroad, that a law had to be passed a few years afterwards relieving it from two-thirds of its customary contribution to the imperial revenue. It was not merely a number of precious works
