en set forth by me in the preceding
narrative,[11] and because ten Huns from the army in Libya had taken
flight and reached Campania, and Uliaris, who was guarding Naples, had
received them not at all against the will of Amalasuntha, and also
because the Goths, in making war on the Gepaedes about Sirmium,[12] had
treated the city of Gratiana, situated at the extremity of Illyricum, as
a hostile town. So by way of protesting to Amalasuntha with regard to
these things, he wrote a letter and sent Alexander.

And when Alexander arrived in Rome, he left there the priests busied
with the matters for which they had come, and he himself, journeying on
to Ravenna and coming before Amalasuntha, reported the emperor's message
secretly, and openly delivered the letter to her. And the purport of the
writing was as follows: "The fortress of Lilybaeum, which is ours, you
have taken by force and are now holding, and barbarians, slaves of mine
who have run away, you have received and have not even yet decided to
restore them to me, and besides all this you have treated outrageously
my city of Gratiana, though it belongs to you in no way whatever.
Wherefore it is time for you to consider what the end of these things
will some day be." And when this letter had been delivered to her and
she had read it, she replied in the following words: "One may reasonably
expect an emperor who is great and lays claim to virtue to assist an
orphan child who does not in the least comprehend what is being done,
rather than for no cause at all to quarrel with him. For unless a
struggle be waged on even terms, even the victory it gains brings no
honour. But thou dost threaten Atalaric on account of Lilybaeum, and ten
runaways, and a mistake, made by soldiers in going against their
enemies, which through some misapprehension chanced to affect a friendly
city. Nay! do not thus; do not thou thus, O Emperor, but call to mind
that when them wast making war upon the Vandals, we not only refrained
from hindering thee, but quite zealously even gave thee free passage
against the enemy and provided a market in which to buy the
indispensable supplies,[13] furnishing especially the multitude of
horses to which thy final mastery over the enemy was chiefly due. And
yet it is not merely the man who offers an alliance of arms to his
neighbours that would in justice be called their ally and friend, but
also the man who actually is found assisting another in war in regard to