Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol 3 | Page 3

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The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

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History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire
Edward Gibbon, Esq.

With notes by the Rev. H. H. Milman
Vol. 3



Chapter XXVII
: Civil Wars, Reign Of Theodosius.



Part I.
Death Of Gratian. - Ruin Of Arianism. - St. Ambrose. - First Civil War,
Against Maximus. - Character, Administration, And Penance Of
Theodosius. - Death Of Valentinian II. - Second Civil War, Against
Eugenius. - Death Of Theodosius.
The fame of Gratian, before he had accomplished the twentieth year of
his age, was equal to that of the most celebrated princes. His gentle and
amiable disposition endeared him to his private friends, the graceful
affability of his manners engaged the affection of the people: the men
of letters, who enjoyed the liberality, acknowledged the taste and
eloquence, of their sovereign; his valor and dexterity in arms were
equally applauded by the soldiers; and the clergy considered the
humble piety of Gratian as the first and most useful of his virtues. The
victory of Colmar had delivered the West from a formidable invasion;
and the grateful provinces of the East ascribed the merits of Theodosius
to the author of his greatness, and of the public safety. Gratian survived
those memorable events only four or five years; but he survived his
reputation; and, before he fell a victim to rebellion, he had lost, in a
great measure, the respect and confidence of the Roman world. The
remarkable alteration of his character or conduct may not be imputed to
the arts of flattery, which had besieged the son of Valentinian from his

infancy; nor to the headstrong passions which the that gentle youth
appears to have escaped. A more attentive view of the life of Gratian
may perhaps suggest the true cause of the disappointment of the public
hopes. His apparent virtues, instead of being the hardy productions of
experience and adversity, were the premature and artificial fruits of a
royal education. The anxious tenderness of his father was continually
employed to bestow on him those advantages, which he might perhaps
esteem the more highly, as he himself had been deprived of them; and
the most skilful masters of every science, and of every art, had labored
to form the mind and body of the young prince. ^1 The knowledge
which they painfully communicated was displayed with ostentation,
and celebrated with lavish praise. His soft and tractable disposition
received the fair impression of their judicious precepts, and the absence
of passion might easily be mistaken for the strength of reason. His
preceptors gradually rose to the rank and consequence of ministers of
state: ^2 and, as they wisely dissembled their secret authority, he
seemed to act with firmness, with propriety, and with judgment, on the
most important occasions of his life and reign. But the influence of this
elaborate instruction did not penetrate beyond the surface; and the
skilful preceptors, who so accurately guided the steps of their royal
pupil, could not infuse into his feeble and indolent character the
vigorous and independent principle of action which renders the
laborious pursuit of glory essentially necessary to the happiness, and
almost to the existence, of the hero. As soon as time and accident had
removed those faithful counsellors from the throne, the emperor of the
West insensibly descended to