orm their lines, the light
cavalry of the second rank rode, sword in hand, through the gaps made
by the cuirassiers, and completed their destruction. Meantime, the
Germans and barbarians stood exposed, with almost naked bodies, to the
destructive shafts of the oriental archers; whole troops, stung with
anguish and despair, threw themselves into the rapid stream of the
Drave, and perished. Ere the sun had set, the army of Magnen'tius was
irretrievably ruined; fifty-four thousand of the vanquished were
slain, and the loss of the conquerors is said to have been even
greater.

17. From this battle the ruin of the Roman empire may be dated; the
loss of one hundred thousand of its best and bravest soldiers could
not be repaired, and never again did any emperor possess a veteran
army equal to that which fell on the fatal plains of Mur'sa. The
defeat of Magnen'tius induced the Italian and African provinces to
return to their allegiance; the Gauls, wearied out by the exactions
which distress forced the usurper to levy, refused to acknowledge his
authority, and at length his own soldiers raised the cry of "God save
Constan'tius." To avoid the disgrace of a public execution,
Magnen'tius committed suicide, and several members of his family
imitated his example. The victor punished with relentless severity all
who had shared in the guilt of this rebellion; and several who had
been compelled to join in it by force shared the fate of those by
whom it had been planned.

18. The Roman, empire was now once more united under a single monarch;
but as that prince was wholly destitute of merit, his victory served
only to establish the reign of worthless favourites. Of these the most
distinguished was the chamberlain, Euse'bius, whose influence was so
great that he was considered the master of the emperor; and to whose
instigation many of the crimes committed by Constan'tius must be
attributed.

19 Gal'lus and Ju'lian, who had escaped in the general massacre of the
Flavian family, were detained as prisoners of state in a strong
castle, which had once been the residence of the kings of Cappado'cia.
Their education had not been neglected, and they had been assigned a
household proportionate to the dignity of their birth. At length the
emergencies of the state compelled Constan'tius to nominate an
associate in the government of the empire; and Gal'lus now in the
twenty-fifth year of his age, was summoned from his retirement,
invested with t