12 THE DECLINE AND FALL [Chai xxxvi a short slumber ; and, as soon as he wakes, he calls for the dice and tables, encourages his friends to forget the royal majesty, and is delighted when they freely express the passions which are excited by the incidents of play. At this game, which he loves as the image of war, he alternately displays his eagerness, his skill, his patience, and his cheerful temper. If he loses, he laughs ; he is modest and silent if he wins. Yet, notwithstanding this seeming indifference, his courtiers choose to solicit any favour in the moments of victory ; and I myself, in my applications to the king, have derived some benefit from my losses. 27 About the ninth hour (three o'clock) the tide of business again returns, and flows incessantly till after sunset, when the signal of the royal supper dismisses the weary crowd of suppliants and pleaders. At the supper, a more familiar repast, buffoons and pantomimes are sometimes introduced, to divert, not to offend, the company by their ridiculous wit ; but female singers and the soft effeminate modes of music are severely banished, and such martial tunes as animate the soul to deeds of valour are alone grateful to the ear of Theodoric. He retires from table ; and the nocturnal guards are immediately posted at the entrance of the treasury, the palace, and the private apartments." Hisexpedi- When the king of the Visigoths encouraged Avitus to Spain. assume the purple, he offered his person and his forces, as a faithful soldier of the republic. 28 The exploits of Theodoric soon convinced the world that he had not degenerated from the warlike virtues of his ancestors. After the establishment of the Goths in Aquitain and the passage of the Vandals into Africa, the Suevi, who had fixed their kingdom in Gallicia, aspired to the conquest of Spain, and threatened to extinguish the feeble remains of the Eoman dominion. The provincials of Carthagena and Tarragona, afflicted by an hostile invasion, represented their injuries and their apprehensions. Count 27 Tunc etiam ego aliquid obsecraturus feliciter vincor, et mini [leg. quando niihi ad hoc] tabula perit ut causa salvetur. Sidonius of Auvergne was not a subject of Theodoric ; but he might be compelled to solicit either justice or favour at the court of Toulouse. 28 Theodoric himself had given a solemn and voluntary promise of fidelity, which was understood both in Gaul and Spain. Bomffi sum, te duce, amicus, Principe te, Miles. Sidon. Panegyr. Avit. -511. a.d. 456
