OF THE KOMAN EMPIRE 15 sole master of the eastern provinces. Valens was not aead : but, on the news oi" the rebellion, which he received at Caesarea, he basely despaired of his life and fortune ; proposed to ne- gotiate with the usurper, and discovered his secret inclination to abdicate the Imperial purple. The timid monarch was saved from disgrace and ruin by the firmness of his ministers, and their abilities soon decided in his favour the event of the civil Avar. In a season of tranquillity, Sallust had resigned without a murmur ; but, as soon as the public safety was at- tacked, he ambitiously solicited the pre-eminence of toil and danger ; and the restoration of that virtuous minister to the praefecture of the East was the first step which indicated the repentance of Valens and satisfied the minds of the people. The reign of Procopius was apparently supported by powerful armies and obedient provinces. But many of the principal officers, military as well as civil, had been urged, either by motives of duty or interest, to withdraw themselves from the guilty scene ; or to watch the moment of betraying and desert- ing the cause of the usurper. Lupicinus advanced, by hasty marches, to bring the legions of Syria to the aid of Valens. Arintheus, who, in strength, beauty, and valour, excelled all the heroes of the age, attacked with a small troop a superior body of the rebels. When he beheld the faces of the soldiers who had sei-ved under his banner, he commanded them, with a loud voice, to seize and deliver up their pretended leader ; and such was the ascendant of his genius that this extraordinary order was instantly obeyed.'*- Arbetio, a respectable veteran of the great Constantine, who had been distinguished by the honours of the consulship, was persuaded to leave his retire- ment, and once more to conduct an army into the field. In the heat of action, calmly taking off his helmet, he shewed his grey hairs, and venerable countenance ; saluted the soldiers of Procopius by the endearing names of children and companions, and exhorted them, no longer to support the desperate cause of a contemptible tyrant ; but to follow their old commander, Avho had so often led them to honour and victory. In the two ^2 Et dedignatus hominem superare certamine despicabilem, auctoritatis et celsi fiducia corporis, ipsis hostibus jussit suum vincire rectorem : atque ita turmarum antesignanus umbratilis comprensus suorum manibus. The strength and beauty of Aj-intheus, the new Hercules, are celebrated by St. Basil, who supposes that God had created him as an inimitable model of the human species. The painters and sculptors could not express his figure : the historians appeared fabulous when they related his exploits (Ammian. xxvi. [8] and Vales, ad. loc).
